UFA. Feb 26 (Interfax) - The Russian state should switch from the patch-up policy to a development strategy in the social sector, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in Ufa at a meeting with local press on Tuesday.

"The priority today is to switch from the patch-up social policy, a survival policy, which was pursued in the 1990s and even at the beginning of the new century, to a social development policy," Medvedev said, adding that this goal has been set by the president.

"This implies a different set of priorities. This course is based on the interests of man, the improvement of living standards and the entire set of issues related to social protection of our citizens, including pensions, salaries, and medical services," Medvedev said.

The state is prepared to resolve these issues not simply by allocating some funds "just in order for some social program not to collapse," Medvedev said.

"We are capable of doing this today by taking advantage of growing opportunities, that is, by providing additional opportunities to all citizens of our country," he said.

This, in particular, concerns pensioners, whose problems the state is "capable of resolving at a radically new level," Medvedev said.