WASHINGTON. Jan 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia is developing state-of-the- art nuclear missile weaponry, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.
"We have begun testing the Bulava missile this year, and we are also pursuing research to create even more perfect systems," Ivanov said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
"Thank God, engineers capable of creating such weapons have not yet become extinct in Russia," he said.
Ivanov emphasized that Russia "is not thinking of beefing up its nuclear potential."
"That is out of the question. We don't need such a (large - Interfax) amount of nuclear weapons, missiles, or means of their delivery," Ivanov said.
Russian research on building new nuclear weapons is not directed against any particular country, he said.