Moscow (TDI): Russian President sounded confident and calm as he commented on the recent NATO meeting and the subsequent agreement by the European countries to increase defense spending to 5% of the GDP over ten years.
Initially calling it NATO’s own business, Putin shocked his audience when he mentioned that Russia is planning to cut its defense spending from next year.
“We are planning to reduce defense spending. For us, next year and the year after, over the next three-year period, we are planning for this,” he said.
He told that a formal order on this has not come up yet but this is the direction in which Russia’s top leadership is thinking.
Drawing up a comparison then, Putin added, “We plan to cut defense spending, while the West ramps theirs up. Let them, it won’t make them safer, and it will hurt them socially and economically.”
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Fears regarding balancing increased defense spending with non-defense domestic expenditures exist among the European countries as well. Though the only country that has said this openly is Spain, for which it drew harsh-tariff-terms threat from Trump as well.
The new NATO defense spending goal reflects Trump’s demand that Europe should step up for its own security, and also a noticeable shift in European security perceptions, which have been hit hard by the Russia-Ukraine war.
On the other hand, Russia is spending huge resources on defense as the war with Ukraine has continued since February, 2022. Putin acknowledged this too, “6.3 per cent of Russia’s GDP goes on defense needs. That is 13.5 trillion rubles ($172 billion). It’s a lot.”
At home, economic slowdown and inflation have been the most expected outcome of higher defense spending. Russia’s defense spending for the ongoing year is 32% of its total federal budget. Overall, Russia falls third in the list of countries that spend more on defense, after US and China.
Though the ceasefire talks do not seem to be heading in any decisive direction, Putin acknowledged Trump’s constructive role. Trump has also, on many occasions, spoke highly of President Putin.
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