PUTIN VOWS ‘RESPONSE’ TO US MISSILE TEST

SAYS HE’S TOLD HIS MILITARY TO TAKE COMPREHENSIVE MEASURES

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a like-for-like response to a recent US missile test, which he said showed that Washington aimed to deploy previously banned missiles around the world.

The Pentagon said on Monday it had tested a conventionally configured cruise missile that hit its target after more than 500km of flight, its first such test since the demise of a landmark nuclear pact this month. Washington formally withdrew from the Cold War-era INF (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty on August 2 after accusing Moscow of violating it, a charge dismissed by the Kremlin.

The pact had prohibited landbased missiles with a range of 310-3,400 miles, reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.

Putin told his security council on Friday that Russia could not stand idly by, and that US talk of deploying new missiles in the Asia-Pacific region “affects our core interests as it is close to Russia’s borders”.

US defence secretary Mark Esper said this month he was in favour of placing ground launched intermediate-range missiles in Asia soon, and Putin complained this week that the US was now in a position to deploy its new land-based missile in Romania and Poland. “All this leaves no doubts that the real intention of the United States (in exiting the INF pact) was to... untie its hands to deploy previously banned missiles in different regions of the world,” said Putin.