MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - Russia needs to increase the level of independence of its financial system in order to neutralize threats coming from the United States, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.
"Apparently, given the changes in the U.S. policy towards Russia, threats to the national security are growing. This will require the development of additional measures to neutralize them," Patrushev said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council's interagency commission for strategic planning on Friday.
The key tasks include the need "to continue working on increasing the independence of the Russian financial system," he said.
Russia needs "to increase the efficiency of imports-substitution programs in the defense and civilian sectors of our economy," he said.
It is also needed to pay attention to ensuring energy security and to creating conditions for the development of fundamental science and scientific and technical capacity, he said.