Putin to Trump: Fancy buying one of our missiles?
President Vladimir Putin claimed yesterday that he had offered to sell Russia’s most advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles, to the United States but was rebuffed by President Donald Trump.
He made the startling announcement at an economic forum in Vladivostok, apparently to underscore his commitment to arms control. ‘‘I told Donald: if you want, we will sell them to you and that is how we keep everything balanced right away,’’ Putin said at the event, also attended by Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Acknowledging that the US was developing similar technology, he said: ‘‘Why waste money when we have already spent it and we can get something for it that doesn’t harm our security?’’ He claimed that Trump informed him during a recent phone call that Washington was researching weapons such as hypersonic missiles, which travel so fast that it is virtually impossible to intercept them.
Putin said in his speech that Russia would renew production of missiles previously banned by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, from which the US formally withdrew last month. It had accused Russia of violating the terms of the treaty – allegations that Moscow has denied.
The pact banned land-based missiles with a range of 500km5500km, reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.
Putin suggested yesterday that it was, in fact, the US which had started a new arms race, adding that he was concerned by Washington’s talk of deploying missiles in Japan and South Korea. ‘‘We are not happy that the head of the Pentagon said that the United States intends to deploy them in Japan and South Korea. This saddens us and is a cause for certain concern,’’ Putin said. He also warned that Trump’s recent inauguration of a US ‘‘space force’’ as a new military branch could open a new frontier for the nuclear arms race.
The Russian president said that his offer to sell Trump an advanced hypersonic nuclear missile system was part of an effort to revive disarmament talks. Trump hinted on Twitter last month that the US was working on new weapons after it was revealed that Russia had conducted a series of secretive nuclear tests. – The Times
‘‘I told Donald: if you want, we will sell them to you and that is how we keep everything balanced right away.’’