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Putin warns against turning hotspots into cash cows to be milked by arms dealers

Putin also said that Russia faces unfair competition on arms markets

MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that hotspots have turned out to be a meal ticket for some arms traders, but deviating from international law on this point is impermissible.

"Today weapons are first obtained by the moderate opposition… only to end up in the hands of radicals and terrorists tomorrow," he noted at a meeting of the commission for military-technical cooperation on Tuesday. "It seems that hotspots and conflict zones have become for some just a profitable business, a hub for diversified shady deals to supply weapons to countries and regions with an unstable military and political situation."

According to the Russian leader, Moscow is committed to its obligations in the war on terror and responsibly deals with the issue of choosing buyers for its weapons.
"Russia is firmly committed to its obligations in the war on terror and responsibly selects counterparties, and also control of how the recipients of our military hardware and equipment use them," the Russian leader stressed.

Putin also said that Russian arms manufacturers and suppliers face unfair competition.

"National manufacturers and suppliers of arms and material had to act in challenging climate, in a situation of an unfair competition, which is already evident, when financial settlements are artificially complicated and hurdles are put up in logistics, securing intellectual property rights, and so on," the head of state emphasized. "Overall, this leads to extra costs and complicates the work of Russia’s military and technical cooperation entities," Putin said.

The portfolio of orders in the sphere of military and technical cooperation with foreign countries was over $45 bln as of the end of the third quarter of 2017, the Russian president said.

Putin said that Russia would like to sell its weapons to more clients, but in doing so it will certainly keep in mind the matters of global and regional security.

"Of course, it is necessary to strengthen ties with our strategic partners and establish contacts with new customers. Certainly, we are interested in commercial gains from the marketing of military products, but we will always place the interests of global and regional stability above all," the Russian leader said.