Commenting on the cruise missile strike conducted by the Russian Navy from the Caspian Sea against Islamic State positions in Syria being a surprise for US intelligence, Vladimir Putin said it’ wasn’t the time to throw brickbats at the American intelligence community.
“American intelligence is one of the most powerful in the world, yet it does not know everything – and should not for that matter,” Putin said. The Russian president also said he’s perplexed as to why the US refused to share with Russia intelligence on the whereabouts of Islamic State’s installations.
Russian military experts have already appealed to the Pentagon with proposals regarding the fight against terrorists in Syria, President Putin said.
"Some of Russia’s missile strike systems are outdated so extensive rearmament with high-tech precision weapons is on its way,” Vladimir Putin said, stressing that, if threatened, Russia would make use of its most sophisticated weapons to maintain national security.
However, he also added that “Russian foreign policy is truly peaceful, without any exaggeration.”
“If you take a look at the political world map and see what Russia is, it becomes evident that we don’t need neither foreign territories, nor natural resources. We’ve got everything in abundance. We’re a self-sufficient country,” President Putin told the TV anchor, adding that Russia seeks neither to wage war nor conflict in any country.
Russia has no intention of creating an empire or reconstructing of the Soviet Union, yet “we must defend our independence and sovereignty,” Putin stressed. “We’ve done it before, we are going to do it in future.”
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