BBC:
Russia will develop missiles banned under a Cold War agreement if the US exits the pact, President Vladimir Putin has warned. His comments follow Nato’s accusation on Tuesday that Russia has already broken the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Signed in 1987 by the US and USSR, it banned both countries’ use of all short and medium-range missiles. But Mr Putin says the accusation is a pretext for the US to leave the pact. In televised comments, the Russian leader said many other countries had developed weapons banned under the INF treaty.
“Now it seems our American partners believe that the situation has changed so much that [they] must also have such a weapon,” he said. “What’s our response? It’s simple – in that case we will also do this.”
