Moscow, Russia:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday threatened to relaunch production of intermediate-range nuclear weapons if the United States confirmed its intention to deploy missiles to Germany or elsewhere in Europe.

“If the United States carries out such plans, we will consider ourselves liberated from the unilateral moratorium previously adopted on the deployment of medium- and short-range strike capabilities,” Putin said during a naval parade in Saint Petersburg.

Putin added that now in Russia “the development of a number of such systems is in the final stages”.

“We will take mirror measures in deploying them, taking into account the actions of the US, its satellites in Europe and in other regions of the world,” the Russian president warned.

Such missiles, which can travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometres (300-3,400 miles), were the subject of an arms control treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987.

But both Washington and Moscow withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, each accusing the other of violations.

Russia subsequently said it would not restart production of such missiles as long as the United States did not deploy missiles abroad.

In early July, Washington and Berlin announced that the “episodic deployments” of long-range US missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles, to Germany would begin in 2026.

Putin said that “important Russian administrative and military sites” would fall within the range of such missiles that “could in the future be equipped with nuclear warheads, such that our territories would be within around 10 minutes” of a strike being launched.

The Russian president also mentioned that the US has deployed Typhon mid-range missile systems in Denmark and the Philippines in recent exercises.

‘Cold War’ reminder 

“This situation reminds us of the events of the Cold War linked to the deployment of American Pershing medium-range missiles in Europe,” said Putin.

The US deployed US Pershing ballistic missiles in West Germany in the 1980s at the height of the Cold War.

US missiles continued to be stationed through the reunification of Germany and into the 1990s.

But following the end of the Cold War, the United States significantly reduced the number of missiles stationed in Europe as the threat from Moscow receded.

The Kremlin had already warned in mid-July that the proposed US deployment would mean that European capitals would become a target for Russian missiles.

“We are taking steady steps towards the Cold War. All the attributes of the Cold War with the direct confrontation are returning,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a state TV reporter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who accused the White House of complicating the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The U.S. has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the murder plot of a Khalistani terrorist in that country, Russia has said, as it accused Washington of meddling in India’s domestic affairs and the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

In November last year, U.S. federal prosecutors charged an Indian national with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Mr. Pannun, wanted in India on terror charges, holds dual citizenship of the U.S. and Canada. He has been designated as a terrorist by the Union Home Ministry under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

‘No evidence yet of India’s hand in Pannun plot’

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, when asked to respond to a report by the Washington Post claiming that India is trying to adopt the policies as Russia and Saudi Arabia, said: “According to the information we have, Washington has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the preparation of the murder of a certain G.S. Pannun. Speculation on this topic in the absence of evidence is unacceptable.”

Washington lacks understanding of India’s national mentality and history and continues to make “unfounded accusations” about religious freedoms in India, she said.

“Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi… we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other states… of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States’ misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state,” she said.

‘Complicating’ Lok Sabha elections

Describing the interference as a “colonial period mentality,” the Russian spokesperson accused the White House of complicating the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“The reason is that they try to unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the general parliamentary elections. That is part of meddling into India’s internal affairs,” RT news quoted her as saying.

“The Washington Post, it seems to me, should use the term “repressive regime” and everything you quoted in relation to Washington. It is difficult to imagine a more repressive regime than Washington, both in domestic and international affairs,” she said.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in connection with the alleged plot to kill Mr. Pannun on American soil last year.

India has strongly rejected the claims, saying that the report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a serious matter and that an investigation into the case was underway.

“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

Mr. Jaiswal said a high-level inquiry committee set up by New Delhi to look into inputs provided by the U.S. on the alleged plot was still probing the case.

“There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the Government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others,” he said.

“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” Mr. Jaiswal added.