Russia always ready to provide humanitarian aid to other countries: Putin

Providing humanitarian aid is one of the key areas covered by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and Russia will always provide the necessary assistance to other countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"A very difficult noble task that you are now undertaking is delivering humanitarian aid to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. I will add that over the past 30 years, the Ministry of Emergency Situations has carried out more than 500 humanitarian operations abroad. I consider this one of the most important, significant areas of your work," Putin said in an address on Emergency Rescuer's Day, marked on December 27.

He added that Russia is proud of its rescuers who will certainly continue to carry out their duties responsibly,

"The whole world knows that Russia will help, will send its rescuers and specialists to where the situation is especially difficult, will deliver the most essential items - food, medicine, clothing, provide emergency medical and psychological assistance to people in desperate situations. And Russia will do it without any ulterior motives. Not for the sake of any political benefits. This experience, of course, should be used to further improve the entire system of the Ministry of Emergencies," Putin said.

The Russian President said that a lot is already being done to improve the emergencies system in Russia, including in what concerns technical capabilities, but the system could still benefit from additional improvements.

"... it is necessary to further build up the capabilities of the unified state system for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations, to fully use the advantages of modern approaches in predicting risks in order to minimize damage from natural disasters, fires, floods, accidents. And most importantly, to save lives, lives and people's health," Putin said.