Putin: expanding missile defense, non-nuke high-precision systems may nullify strategic nuclear arms limitations
MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Agreements on the reduction and limitation of strategic nuclear armaments may be brought to naught by the enlarging military potential of foreign countries, President Vladimir Putin said.
"The rising potential of strategic non-nuclear high-precision systems of foreign countries combined with the growing capacity of the missile defense network may bring to naught all earlier agreements on the limitation and reduction of strategic nuclear armaments," Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly.
This may disturb the strategic balance of forces, he noted. "We are well aware of that and we know what we should be doing," Putin stressed.
The president said he was concerned about the development of new weaponry systems, such as small-sized nuclear munitions, non-nuclear strategic rockets and hypersonic non-nuclear high-precision systems for delivering strikes within a short period of time and on long distances.
"We are attentively monitoring the development of the so-called concept of a mass disarming strike. There is such a concept, and it is developing actively in certain states. The implementation of these plans may have extremely negative consequences for regional and global stability," the president emphasized.
