Russia could start building intermediate-range nuclear forces after the US "tore up" the treaty banning them, President Vladimir Putin has said.
"If you recall, I said that due to the US withdrawing from the [INF] treaty and announcing that they are starting to produce [the missiles], we also consider ourselves entitled to start research and development work, [first] designing and then manufacturing," Putin told a press conference at the SCO summit in the Kazakh capital Astana.
"We are carrying our R&D and design, we are ready to start the production process, in fact, we have already given appropriate instructions to the industry," he added.
Putin also told reporters that if US deploys medium- and short-range missile complexes anywhere near Russia, the Russian Federation can take reciprocal action.
"With regard to the deployment, if you recall, if you do not, I will remind you that I have said that we are declaring a moratorium on the possible future deployment of our respective systems until these missile systems pop up in some region of the world," the president said. "If US-made medium- and short-range missile complexes appear somewhere, then we reserve the right to mirror those actions."
The US tore up the treaties that were the basis of international stability, Putin said.
"The first thing I want to point out is that, indeed, the fundamental documents that underpinned international stability and security were destroyed by the United States," he stressed.