MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a chilling warning on Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war, saying “it could lead to the destruction of civilisation as a whole and maybe even our planet” and putting the blame squarely on the US Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin scoffed at Western claims he wants to dominate the world and said Western countries are antagonising Russia for their own domestic reasons, and at their own peril. He dismissed claims of Russian interference abroad, from a nerve agent poisoning in Britain to an alleged effort to infiltrate the US National Rifle Association.

Instead he sought to paint himself as the world’s protector. Pointing at the US intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty, Putin warned that if the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures.

“We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system,” Putin said, noting the US plan to opt out of the INF Treaty and its reluctance to negotiate the extension of the New START agreement. US officials say the withdrawal from the INF was prompted by Russian violations of the treaty.

Putin noted that Western analysts are talking about the possibility of using low-yield nuclear weapons. “There is a trend of lowering the threshold” of using nuclear weapons, Putin said. “Lowering the threshold could lead to a global nuclear catastrophe.” “We will have to ensure our security,” he said. “And they shouldn’t squeak later about us gaining unilateral advantages. We aren’t seeking advantages, we are trying to preserve the balance and ensure our security.”

Putin also emphasised that the US is pondering the use of ballistic missiles with conventional warheads, saying that the launch of such a missile could be mistaken for the launch of a nuclear-tipped one and trigger a global catastrophe. “If that happens, it could lead to the destruction of civilisation as a whole and maybe even our planet,” he said.

Putin also noted that the US appears to show little interest in extending the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, which expires in 2021. “You aren’t interested, you don’t need it? OK, we know how to ensure our security,” he said.

Putin said it’s the US, not Russia, that’s aspiring to dominate the world. He pointed at US annual defence spending exceeding $700 billion, comparing it with Russia’s military budget of $46 billion.

Supports Trump on Syria

He had one nice thing to say about the United States, however: he welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US military from Syria.

The US “has done the right thing”, Putin said, reaffirming the long-held Russian argument that the US presence in Syria was illegitimate because it wasn’t vetted by the UN Security Council or approved by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government. The pullout is also likely to strengthen Russia’s role in Syria’s future.

Ukraine position same

Putin showed no sign of backing down from Russia’s stance on Ukraine. He accused his Ukrainian counterpart of provoking a naval standoff with Russia to boost his electoral prospects. The Russian coast guard fired upon and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 seamen when they tried to sail from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov in what US and its Nato allies condemned as unjustified use of force by Russia.

Backs May on Brexit

Putin said Brexit was a matter for the British people and that London would accuse him of something if he commented on the matter, but that he thought May did not have any choice but to deliver Brexit.

“In terms of Brexit, if it is carried through to the end, I can understand the position of the prime minister who is fighting for Brexit ... There was a referendum after all. What can she do? She must enact the will of the people, expressed during the referendum.” Putin said holding another referendum was risky.

“Is that democracy or what? What will critics of this process say if and when they spit on Brexit and hold more referendums until such time as somebody is not unhappy. What then would a referendum be for?”

Putin, who said Russia’s own relations with Britain were deadlocked but that Moscow was interested in improving them, characterised Brexit as an example where Western democracy was starting to show cracks.

“Brexit happened,” he said. “[But] nobody wants to implement it. They aren’t recognising the results of elections. Democratic procedures are being degr­aded, des­troyed, their val­ue is being destroyed.”

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018