Says that the West must have concluded that Russia's military potential had been crippled and so there was no reason to take Russia's position into consideration on international issues.
Now talking about what Russia "lost" with the collapse of the Soviet Union in terms of territory, population, economy, and military potential.
Says Russia did everything possible to talk U.S. out of leaving the ABM treaty. After the U.S. left, Russia continued to try to work with the U.S. to find a compromise. "All our suggestions were rejected," Putin says.
Criticizes U.S. for leaving the ABM treaty, which he says was a cornerstone of international security.
Russia now has 384,000 contract soldiers.