President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would react to Washington’s attempts to encircle Russia with missile defense systems, state news agency reported on Wednesday.
“The systems have already been installed in Alaska, so practically the entire Russian territory will be surrounded by these systems,’’ Putin said in an interview with American film director Oliver Stone.
Putin has indicated that this is another major strategic mistake because Russia will respond adequately to all these actions.
“It will mean nothing more than another round of arms race,’’ he declared.
The Russian leader also noted that after the U.S. exited the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT) in 2002, while Russia was forced to develop its missile strike capabilities in order to maintain the strategic balance of forces in the world.
He stressed that there was no reason for these, although the American side interpreted it as alleged threat from Iran.
The Russian president also said that Moscow was seeking to continue dialogue with Washington on issues related to maintaining nuclear balance and disarmament.
Putin said that a large-scale conflict between the U.S. and Russia with the use of nuclear weapons would be a defeat for both sides.
“I think no one would be able to survive in such a conflict.
