Putin urges arms talks:

Europe

Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia would only deploy new intermediate-range missiles if the United States does and called for urgent arms control talks to prevent a chaotic arms race following the demise of a key nuclear pact.

Putin made his statements after the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ended Friday, with the US announcing its intention to test and deploy weapons previously banned by the 1987 accord.

Washington said it withdrew because of Russia’s alleged violations of the pact; Russia denies breaching the terms of the treaty.

Putin condemned the US exit from the treaty “in a unilateral way and under a far-fetched reason,” saying that it “seriously exacerbated the situation in the world and raised fundamental risks for all.”

He said in a statement that Russia will carefully monitor Washington’s actions and respond in kind if it sees that the US is developing and deploying new intermediate-range missiles.

The INF Treaty, which was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned the production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,410 miles). Such weapons were seen as particularly destabilizing because of shorter time they take to reach targets compared to intercontinental ballistic missiles, raising the likelihood of a nuclear conflict over a false launch alert.

“If we receive reliable information that the US has completed the development and launched production of the relevant systems, Russia will have to engage in full-scale development of similar missiles,” Putin said.

The US has accused Russia of developing and deploying a cruise missile that violated provisions of the pact. Russia has denied the breach, and, in its turn, accused the US of violations.

Putin noted that Russia for now will rely on its existing air-launched X-101 and Kinzhal missiles and the Kalibr missiles carried by submarines and navy ships, as well as prospective weapons, including the Zircon hypersonic missiles, to ensure its security.

He also reaffirmed Moscow’s earlier pledge not to deploy intermediate-range weapons until the US places them near Russia’s borders.

“Our actions related to the development, production and deployment of ground-based intermediate-range missiles will be exclusively reciprocal and mirrored,” he said. “We will not deploy them until the US-made intermediaterange missiles are deployed” in areas where they may threaten Russia. (AP)