Vladimir Putin was speaking at a government meeting Thursday when he made the strong comment.
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The Russian President warned on Thursday that those who attack the country will "have their teeth knocked out."
Vladimir Putin was speaking at a government meeting when he made the strong comment saying Russia's enemies were looking to clip its wings every time the nation grew stronger.
He didn't name the country's adversaries explicitly, but it comes at a time of difficult relations with the West.
Putin said that "everyone wants to bite us somewhere or to bite off something from us. But they -- those who are going to do it -- should know that we will knock out their teeth so that they cannot bite."
"It is obvious, and the key to this is the development of our armed forces. But I would like to stress once again that we are not going the way of militarising our economy."
Putin also noted that foreign efforts to contain Russia date back centuries.
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