Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that the United States is putting the world at the risk of a nuclear war.
Putin made the remarks in Moscow during his annual news conference, throwing the ball in Washington’s court to avert the warfare.
"Now they are leaving the treaty on eliminating the short and middle-range missiles," Putin said referring to the Trump administration. "What's next? It's hard to imagine how the situation will evolve. What if those missiles appear in Europe? What do we do then?"
The 1987 pact, which Washington has threatened to ditch, bans the two sides from stationing short- and intermediate-range missiles in Europe. The treaty did not cover sea-launched missiles.
“If these missiles appear in Europe, what should we do? Of course, we'll have to ensure our own security," said the Russian head of state.
Analysts have criticized President Donald Trump for walking away from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty-INF-. They argue that quitting it could trigger an arms race with ground-based nuclear missiles returning to Europe for the first time in decades.
Putin also referred to address the New START, another Russo-American pact that limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads each side can have. It expires in 2021.
"No talks on extending this are yet being held. Are the Americans not interested, do they not need them? -- Ok, we'll survive and will ensure our own security which we know how to do,” Putin said.
"We are essentially witnessing the breakdown of the international arms control order and [the start of] an arms race," he added.
The Russian leader concluded, “In general, this is very bad for humankind because it takes us closer to a dangerous threshold," referring to the prospect of a nuclear conflict.
Putin also reacted to a recent announcement by the US that it was to pull its troops out of Syria.
"I don't know what this is about. The US has had a presence in Afghanistan for 17 years, lets say? And almost every year it says that it is withdrawing troops from there. But they are still present there," he said.
