Putin: Russia To Develop Offensive Weapons To Keep Balance With U.S.

[Purveyor]

Source: CNN

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- Russia needs to develop "offensive strike systems" to preserve strategic balance with the United States, without producing its own missile defense, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

Putin's comment, made at a press briefing in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, echoed a similar call from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week.

"If we want to retain the balance, we have to establish an exchange of information: Let the U.S. partners provide us information on missile defense while we will give them information on offensive weapons," Putin said.

Putin also spoke positively about ongoing negotiations between the two countries on a new nuclear arms control agreement that would replace the U.S.-Russian START treaty, which expired December 5.

The United States and Russia plan to complete it and sign it at the beginning of 2010, Russian and American leaders have said. As envisioned, the new treaty would significantly reduce nuclear arms on both sides.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/29/russia.offensive.weapons/

[mac56]

1. misleading headline

Makes it sound like a return to the Cold War.

[AlphaCentauri]

2. yep, many souls feel empty without the cold war

anything that would revive those year make them be alive again

[Soylent Brice]

3. +1

my first immediate thought, actually.

strange article.

[WriteDown]

4. So they want missile shield technology?

Keep working on those missiles Tiger Killer.