SOCHI, October 19. /TASS/. Russia will be working for universal nuclear disarmament, but it is ready to develop new non-nuclear weapons in response to their emergence in other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the international discussion club Valdai on Thursday.

"Should you ask me if nuclear disarmament is possible, I will tell you ‘Yes, it is possible.’ Does Russia wish to achieve universal nuclear disarmament or not? The answer is in the affirmative, too. ‘Yes, it does, and it will be working for it’," Putin said.

At the same time he pointed out that advanced high-tech countries were creating alternative weapon systems only slightly inferior to nuclear weapons, but far more accurate ones.

"A nuclear bomb or a missile hits a large area. Its yield is great enough to affect a vast territory with its blast wave and radiation," Putin said.

He pointed out that other countries were declaring their readiness for nuclear disarmament precisely to an extent matching their own progress in developing new weapon systems and the ability to use them.

"I would like to say that we will be prepared for that," Putin said. "We keep a close watch on what is happening around the world and our country will be arming itself with new weapon systems, including non-nuclear ones," Putin said.