Putin 'Gives Signal' to Trump About Consequences of US Exit From ABM Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a signal to US President-elect Donald Trump that Washington's withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty leads to instability within the global security system, Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia's Federation Council, said on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Putin said at his annual press conference that the prerequisites for a new arms race were created, as the United States withdrew from the ABM treaty. He added that Russia "has to respond to this challenge."

"The Russian president has given a signal to Washington that Russia has a negative attitude to this situation, Vladimir Putin drew attention of Trump that the US withdrawal from the ABM creates instability in the world," Pushkov told RIA Novosti.

The issue of anti-ballistic missile deployment continues to be one of the most "pressing" in the relations between Moscow and Washington, the senator said. He expressed confidence that it would become a subject of discussion at the first meeting of the heads of Russia and the United States, after Trump takes office in January.

On December 13, 2002, then US President George W. Bush announced that Washington would unilaterally withdraw from the ABM Treaty with the USSR. The treaty, signed in 1972, barred the parties from deploying anti-ballistic missile systems that could cover the entire territory of their countries, or providing a base for such broad-range defense.