Russia’s deployment of 40 additional nuclear ballistic missiles in
response to the US military buildup in Europe doesn’t mean the world is
at greater risk of a nuclear war, President Vladimir Putin told the
heads of global news agencies.
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| A combination photo shows the Yars land-based mobile missile system and the Abrams tank. |
The Russian head of
state held a late-night meeting with top executives from 12
foreign news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum. Most of the event was held behind
closed doors and not recorded.
The extra deployment is necessary to protect Russia and is a
response to a growing threat from the West, Putin explained as
EFE, a Spanish news agency, later quoted him as saying. Pentagon
is reportedly considering placing additional American heavy
weapons, including artillery, in Europe. Washington says it is
needed to protect its NATO allies from an aggressive Russia.
“Russia is not an aggressor and does not favor increasing the
level of tension… but is obliged to respond to Western actions
targeting Moscow,” EFE cited Putin as saying, without using
direct quotes. The meeting was apparently held under so-called
Chatham House rules, where participants’ comments cannot be
reported directly without their express permission.
“The increase in belligerent rhetoric between Russia and the
US does not mean the world is at greater risk of nuclear
confrontation,” the agency added, summarizing the Russian
leader’s response.
Putin also commented on the seizures of Russian state property in
European countries, intended to enforce a Hague court ruling to
pay billions of dollars in damages to shareholders of the
now-defunct oil giant Yukos. The Russian president said Russia
cannot fail to react to the asset seizures, but would not
elaborate, saying it was up to lawyers to come up with a
solution.
He added that the arbitration court’s decision to order Russia to
pay $50 billion in compensation is based on the European Energy
Charter, which Russia has not ratified. It makes the decision
unlawful, because the court was acting beyond its jurisdiction,
Putin said, according to EFE.
Commenting on the recent G7 summit in Bavaria and the statement
by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that Russia was not
welcome in the group, Putin implied that Harper would act as
instructed by Washington on this issue.
"I don't want to offend anyone, but if the United States says
Russia should be returned to the G8, [Canada's] prime minister
will change his opinion," Putin told The Canadian Press.
Putin reiterated his calls for Western powers to pressure the
government of Ukraine to stick to its obligations under
February’s Minsk peace agreement, a ceasefire deal between Kiev
and rebels in the east of the country, which appears to have
completely broken down in the past few weeks. The Russian
president also said that the government of Petro Poroshenko must
stop the economic blockade of the rebels in the east, implement
constitutional reform and call local elections in the Lugansk and
Donetsk regions, AP reports.
Putin denied allegations by Kiev and its foreign backers that
Moscow is sending troops and weapons to eastern Ukraine. He said
that once Kiev stops trying to solve the crisis by force, and the
Ukrainian government returns to seeking a political resolution to
the crisis, the rebels would no longer need to take up weapons to
defend themselves.
In response to other questions, Putin defended Russia’s right to
host the FIFA 2018 World Cup, insisting that the country had won
the right to host the event fairly. He said that people claiming
that the selection was marred by corruption in FIFA should
present the evidence of their allegations.
Source: RT News
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