LONDON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow valued its ties with countries in Latin American, Asia and Africa and was ready to offer modern weapons to its allies.
Putin used a speech at an arms show near Moscow to boast of Russia’s advanced weapons capabilities and declare its willingness to share technology with like-minded countries.
“(We) are ready to offer our allies the most modern types of weapons, from small arms to armored vehicles and artillery to combat aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles,” Putin said at the opening ceremony of the “Army-2022” forum near Moscow.
“Almost all of them have been used more than once in real combat operations.”
He was speaking nearly six months into Russia’s war in Ukraine, where Moscow has suffered repeated setbacks and heavy losses.
Western military analysts say the poor performance of Russian troops and weaponry could make its arms exports less attractive to potential buyers, such as India, which have heavily relied on its technology in the past.
(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Toby Chopra)
