MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti) - The major role of the Russian army on the international arena is to prevent a new world war, the chief of the General Staff said Tuesday.

"It is my personal opinion that the main goal of the Russian army is to prevent a war similar to the one that our ancestors lived through, because, God forbid, if we allow this war to happen, it will be much worse than the previous one," Army General Yury Baluyevsky said after a military parade on Moscow's Red Square commemorating Victory Day.

Baluyevsky said that the stability in the world should be primarily achieved by preventive political, diplomatic and economic measures, but any country had the right to show its military capability to defend its national interests.

Speaking about Russia's position on the international arena, the general said the country should not copy the example of Europe or Asia.

"Russia should follow its own path, it has always been, is and will be Russia, because not a single country that is considered a political trendsetter, has the same history as our country does," Baluyevsky said.