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Putin’s annual address to Russia’s Federal Assembly as it happened

Published time: 20 Feb, 2019 09:05Edited time: 20 Feb, 2019 12:09Get short URL

© Sputnik / Alexey Nikolskii

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been addressing the Federal Assembly in Moscow. He spoke about domestic affairs and foreign policy to MPs, members of the government, as well as other officials and public figures.

• 20 February 201910:34 GMTThe address ends after about 90 minutes.
• 10:33 GMTRussian people feel in their hearts that the future of the country depends on their own actions, and they will do their best to improve the country. The government’s task is to help them achieve this.
• 10:32 GMT© Sputnik / Mikhail Klimentev
• 10:31 GMTAll Russian actions in military terms are aimed at ensuring in safety, to eliminate even a shade of possibility that somebody would try to use force against Russia. What Russia wants is peace.
• 10:30 GMTThe American elites may be misguided in that they believe themselves to be exceptional. But do they have counting skills? They should use them to assess Russia’s new weapons and take decisions based on what they calculate.
• 10:29 GMTDespite what some nations claim, Russia is not a threat to other nations. Russia’s military moves come in response to what the US and its allies do and are defensive in nature. The policies of Washington are short sighted, destructive and ultimately undermine America’s own interest.
• 10:28 GMTRussia has sped up the deployment of some military assets, including the Tsirkon anti-ship missile and several ships, Putin announced.
• 10:27 GMT
• 10:26 GMTPutin gave an overview on Russia’s actions to develop the weapon systems, which he first announced in March 2018. This includes deploying a submarine armed with the Poseidon nuclear-propelled long-range torpedo.
• 10:25 GMTThe current international situation does not call for an escalation. The US already tried and failed to achieve an advantage over Russia by developing anti-ballistic missile capabilities. Russia responded to those moves to preserve its deterrence.

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