In an effort to both maximize foreign revenue and strengthen Russia’s own military potential, former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who now oversees Russia’s military-industrial complex and is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Putin as president, stressed the need for “the national defense industry to find a balance between a commitment to arm the Russian military and an opportunity to export arms to countries not subject to UN sanctions.” Besides helping to sustain the health of Russia’s military industrial complex, many Russian officials think that arms sales will promote Russia’s diplomatic interests by strengthening ties with recipient states.