Russia's Putin wants to step up arms exports despite Ukraine conflict

Alsharq Tribune- Zainab Hussin 

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to boost Russian arms exports to other countries. "It is necessary to actively increase the volume of export deliveries," he said in a speech broadcast on state television on Friday.

The order backlog for Russian military products is high, amounting to tens of billions of euros, said Putin at a meeting of a commission for military-technical cooperation.

The president noted that supplying the units in the war in Ukraine remains the top priority and said there should be new government incentives for this.

At the same time, Putin stressed that Russia must maintain its position in the international arms market and survive tough competition. Last year, Moscow largely fulfilled its export obligations to foreign partners.

Russia has been at war with Ukraine for more than three years. Observers assume that it has suffered heavy losses of soldiers and military equipment.

Nevertheless, Russia remains one of the world's largest arms exporters.