Putin says Russia won't steal foreign technology

Russia will not illegally copy foreign technology, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"To steal a delicious piece of technology from an owner's table and consume it under the blanket -- we don't have such a practice in the Russian Federation," Putin said an international machine-building conference.

Putin said that in some countries, people actually try to copy technology but in Russia "the protection of intellectual property has been well tuned."

"Are there any victims due to technology transferring? Just point me out to them," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying.

He called the expression "technology transfer" "a strange term."

"Everything is for sale. Modern technology is a commodity," said Putin, adding that a price for the information must be negotiated.

During the conference, Putin also announced that the Russian-built engine for the new Superjet-100 new airliner received an international certificate last week.

An espionage dispute is unfolding between Russia and the United States as the two Cold War-era rivals try to reset their relationship.

U.S. Justice Department announced on Monday that authorities had busted a spy ring suspected of conducting long-term, "deep-cover" espionage for Moscow. Court documents said that the 11 suspects had tried to penetrate decision-making circles of the U.S. government.

In response to the spy scandal, the Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday that the alleged reports of Russian spies in the United States were groundless.

Putin told former U.S. President Bill Clinton Tuesday that hopefully the latest Russian spy row in the United States would not jeopardize bilateral ties.

Source:Xinhua