"There is an impression that hotspots and conflict zones have become for some just a profitable business, a link of gray schemes for the supply of weapons to countries and regions with an unstable military and political situation," Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated at a meeting of the Commission for Military Technical Cooperation of Russia with foreign states.
According to Putin, "the export of weapons is a huge responsibility for any country, and it is very important that all participants of the global market understand that."
The Russian president has voiced concern that some arms makers "depart from the norms and principles of international law," which results in weapons being supplied to "moderate opposition" falling into the hands of terrorists.
"Instead of a real fight against terrorist groups, there is an imitation of this struggle, while uncontrolled armed supplies are growing."
READ MORE: 'Kamikaze' Drones: 'Covert Channels' and Other Ways Terrorists in Syria Get Arms
Shedding light on Russia's approach to the issue, Putin has stated that Moscow controls how Russia-supplied weapons are used.
"Russia is firmly committed to its obligations in the fight against terrorism, responsibly approaching the choice of counterparties, as well as monitoring how its recipients use our equipment and weapons."
Russian Arms Exports
Commenting on Russia's defense industry, Putin has stated that it is complicated by unfair competition.
"I would like to note that domestic manufacturers and suppliers of arms and military equipment have to operate in difficult conditions, in the situation of unfair competition, this is absolutely obvious when financial operations are artificially hampered, barriers in logistics and protection of intellectual property rights, and so on, are in place. All this leads to additional costs and complicates the work of Russian subjects of defense industry cooperation."
Putin further said that the export of the Russian arms should amount to $15.3 billion by end of 2017.
"Of course, we are interested in obtaining profits from the sale of military goods, but we will always focus on the interests of global and regional security and stability," Putin emphasized.
According to the CEO of Rostec, the Russian arms exports are expected to total more than $13 billion this year. Over 50 percent of the arms orders portfolio are related to military aviation equipment, with Middle East and Pacific Rim states as main customers.
READ MORE: Russian State Arms Exporter Expects 50% of 2017 Exports to Be Aviation-Linked
The February report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stated that Russia accounted for almost a quarter of the world's weapons exports between 2012 and 2016.
