Russian leader Vladimir Putin is warning the U.S. decision to pull out of a decades-old nuclear weapons treaty could reignite a global nuclear arms race.<br />However, he stressed that he is ready to resume talks with Washington anytime.<br />Kim Da-mi reports.<br />Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty could spark an unrestrained arms race.<br />Putin said on Monday that Moscow would be forced to start developing intermediate-and short-range missiles if it's confident that Washington has begun the production of its own weapons.<br />Russia also pointed out that the U.S. withdrawal from the INF treaty would be a serious blow to international security.<br /><br />"Far-reaching consequences for the international security and strategic stability systems are inevitable. The American side is to be solely blamed for that."<br /><br />And in case of any U.S. attack before the development of new weapons, he said his country will cope with any threats with its existing weapons.<br />But the Russian leader also made sure to note that there will be no case where his country will launch any intermediate-and-short-range-missiles first.<br />And he also reached out to the U.S., saying Russia is ready to resume fully-fledged negotiations on strategic stability and security anytime.<br />He argued that serious talks are much need in order to avoid any confusion where there is no set of rules or laws.<br /><br />Over the past weekend, the U.S. expressed its hope for possible deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Asia.<br /><br />"But let's be clear, I'm talking about conventional weapons, INF range... I would prefer months. I just don't have, I don't have the latest state of play on timelines for either a cruise missile or long range missile as the Army was preparing it, but these things tend to take longer than you expect."<br /><br /><br />The U.S. formally left the accord last Friday after determining Moscow was violating the treaty.<br />KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.<br />
