Putin: Russia's Deterrent Forces Improvement Ongoing Since Early 2000s

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Work on improvement of Russia’s deterrent forces has been ongoing since the early 2000s, President Vladimir Putin said after hearing a report on the successful launch of the Sarmat missile. "Work on improvement of deterrent forces has been resumed in Russia and has continued since the early 2000s. Frankly, we had other things on our minds back then. Russia was experiencing a very difficult period in its history," he said. After the US withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, Russia was forced to "think about ensuring its strategic security in the context of the new reality and the need to maintain a strategic balance of power and parity," Putin noted.