MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russia does not allow excessive militarization of the economy, President Vladimir Putin said on the Rossiya-24 news channel on Saturday.
"We are building our economy in such a way that we do not allow excessive militarization, As for all our plans for [the development of] civil engineering, healthcare, education, infrastructure development, we are not cutting anything. Nothing! And they [the West] will have to cut [spending]," Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Putin noted that the West is going to increase the production of weapons. "I think that if the United States is going to switch from 15,000[munitions] this year to 42,000 [munitions] next year, for others it will be even more difficult," Putin said.
However, he noted that each Western country has its own rules, its own plans for the development of the armed forces, the national economy, infrastructure, education, healthcare, etc.
"We will need to [develop] this in any way, but in specific NATO countries - that’s a question. But of course, this is their choice," the head of state said.