"We are essentially witnessing the breakdown of the international arms control order and (the start of) an arms race," Putin told his annual news conference with hundreds of reporters. "Another U.S.-Russia treaty, the New START pact, which limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads each side can have, expires in 2021. Putin said he was worried that Washington didn't appear to be interested in discussing its future. "GROWING THREATThe Russian leader, who said Moscow had developed nuclear weapons which he believed gave it an edge over other countries, warned the threat of a nuclear conflict was growing as a result of the U.S. moves. He also cited the dangerous tendency of lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons and the idea of using ballistic missiles with conventional warheads.

Source: Egypt Today December 20, 2018 12:22 UTC