President Putin: Russia will reduce defense spending in the future

According to RIA Novosti, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at a press conference after the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Summit and praised the success of the association. During it, he spoke about a new round of negotiations with Ukraine, strongly condemned Western attempts to "bury" the Russian economy and talked about a possible meeting with President Donald Trump.

Regarding the future of the EAEU, President Putin said that the growth rate of the union's economies is higher than the world average:

“In the EAEU, the growth rate is higher than the world average. Global growth is 3.3%, and the EAEU has more than 4%, and more. In some countries, the growth rate is 5-6%,” President Putin said.

According to the Russian leader, the country's growth rate has increased, despite difficulties, especially efforts in the West to "bury" the Russian economy.

"What is happening in Western countries? They bury us all the time. They will soon be destroyed. Germany and France, for example, are on the verge of recession," President Putin said.

Mr. Putin recalled that the coup in Ukraine was supported by the West, after which they started talking about Russian aggression: “They themselves are idiots, or they consider us idiots.”

President Putin said that defense spending accounts for 6.3% of the country's GDP: "That's 13.5 trillion rubles. And our entire GDP is 223 trillion rubles. Is 13.5 out of 223 a lot or a little? Quite a lot. We paid for it with inflation, but now we are fighting this inflation. Yes, we are trying to move towards the fact that the economy makes a soft landing in some way. But anyway, we are very sober about it." In the future, Russia plans to reduce defense spending, while the West, on the contrary, plans to increase it.

Regarding the dialogue with Kiev, President Putin said that Russia is committed to the third round of negotiations with Ukraine. Moscow is ready to transfer another 3,000 dead soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but Mr. Putin asked Ukraine to accept the bodies of the soldiers who died.

Regarding relations with the United States, President Putin said that President Donald Trump is sincerely trying to resolve the conflict around Ukraine. “He is a brave man,” Mr. Putin said.

The Russian leader revealed that a meeting with the head of the White House is entirely possible.

"I am always open to contacts, meetings. I know that Mr. Trump also spoke about the possibility of meetings. I, like him, believe that such meetings should be prepared. As a result, we must reach new frontiers of cooperation," President Putin said.