“The Defense Ministry’s budget has grown for next year to about $50 billion, but the Pentagon’s budget is almost 10 times higher, about $575 billion,” Putin said.
Russian leader highlighted that Russia does not conduct any sort of aggressive policy. According to Putin, Russia practically has only two military bases abroad in the areas associated with high terrorist threat – Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Putin also noted that Russian Air Force’s strategic bomber flights have begun only couple of years ago, while US’ planes have never stopped patrolling.
The United States Army has posts in Italy, Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Kuwait and South Korea. The US’ Marine Corps have installations in Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, and Japan. The United States Navy and Air Force also have bases in several countries, including in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Arabian Peninsula.
