Putin says arms race between US, Russia followed Washington’s withdrawal from ABM Treaty

The arms race between Moscow and Washington followed the US’ withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty), Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with NBC News.

Asked whether his Thursday's address to the Federal Assembly should be considered declaration of a new Cold War and whether the US and Russia are currently pursuing an arms race, Putin said: "From my point of view, those who make statements about a new Cold War being launched, are not analysts, they engage in propaganda. If you speak about the arms race, it started when the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty."

On December 13, 2001, President George W. Bush announced the US pullout from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty signed with the Soviet Union in 1972. In accordance with the Treaty's provisions, the withdrawal from the agreement came into force six months after the announcement, on June 13, 2002.