Russia to build missiles if U.S. exits arms treaty

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday warned that Russia would be forced to respond if the United States exits the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) arms control treaty.

Putin made the remarks in a televised speech after Washington said it is giving Moscow 60 days to comply with the treaty.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that if Russia doesn't heed the call, the U.S. will no longer abide by the agreement and could manufacture, test and deploy new missiles.

Putin noted that Moscow is against the scrapping of the treaty, adding that the U.S. had decided long ago to exit the treaty and was blaming Russia for violations as a pretext.

Russia will develop missiles banned under a Cold War agreement if the US exits the pact, Putin announced.

"Now it seems our American partners believe that the situation has changed so much that [they] must also have such a weapon," he said.

"What's our response? It's simple – in that case we will also do this."

Arriving for talks with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini urged the two countries to safeguard the treaty, saying it had "guaranteed peace and security in European territory for 30 years now."

The military alliance has accused Moscow of breaching the agreement.

"Allies have concluded that Russia has developed and fielded a missile system, the 9M729, which violates the INF Treaty and poses significant risks to Euro-Atlantic security," read a statement issued by NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday.