Putin warns of World War III risk during TV show as US ‘violates nuclear balance’

Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of violating the nuclear balance and warned against a “Third World War” during a television call-in show.Responding to a worried viewer who asked if such a war would occur, Mr Putin called for negotiations in an attempt to return to the strategic parity the United States and Soviet Union had during the Cold War.Quoting Albert Einstein’s aphorism that “World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones”, he said the US exit from the Soviet-era anti-ballistic missile treaty in 2002 had disrupted the balance.“The fear of mutually assured destruction has always restrained and forced military powers to respect each other,” he said. “The exit of the United States from the missile defence treaty was an attempt to ruin this parity, but our efforts in the development of new weapons will preserve this parity.”In March, the Russian president announced an array of “invincible” new nuclear weapons including an underwater drone and glider warhead that he claimed could overcome US missile defences.

 

Source: Putin warns of World War III risk during TV show as US ‘violates nuclear balance’ – Independent.ie