MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened US allies in his latest comment on US President Donald Trump's announcement of his intention to withdraw from the Cold War nuclear weapons treaty of the Cold War.
Putin said deploying medium-range US missiles in Europe would prompt us to target countries where missile bases are deployed.
Putin's stern warning comes after Trump announced at the weekend that he intends to withdraw from a historic nuclear weapons deal because of alleged Russian abuses.
Putin rejected Trump's claim that Russia had violated the Mid-Range Nuclear Powers Treaty, concluded in 1987, and claimed that the United States had violated the agreement.
"If the United States withdraws from the medium-range nuclear power treaty, the main question is what they will do with these newly available missiles, if they send them to Europe, then our response will naturally be similar," the Russian president said.
Putin said the collapse of disarmament treaties could trigger a new arms race after the US president's announcement.
"If the United States abandons the medium-range nuclear missile treaty and refuses to renew the agreement known as New START," he said, "the situation could become very serious." Russia will reciprocate and do so quickly and effectively.
The Russian president said he hoped to discuss the matter with his US counterpart in Paris on the sidelines of the November 11 events marking the 100th anniversary of the truce.
