John Bolton faces Putin’s dismay amid INF exit tension

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with US National Security Adviser John Bolton, after the Kremlin said President Donald Trump's talk of quitting a decades-old Cold War-era nuclear arms control treaty was dangerous.

In opening remarks, Putin told Bolton on Tuesday in Moscow that Russia was sometimes surprised by unprovoked steps that Washington took against Moscow.

"We barely respond to any of your steps but they keep on coming," Putin said.

In a bit of dark humor that underscored the moment, Putin quipped about the balance between peace and force represented by the Great Seal of the United States.

"On the coat of the arms of the United States there's an eagle holding 13 arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other. My question is whether your eagle has gobbled up all the olives leaving only the arrows?"

The visit by Bolton comes after Russia said it would be forced to respond in kind to restore the military balance with the United States if Trump followed through on his threat to quit the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and began developing new missiles.

Before the talks began, a Kremlin spokesman said the US approach of talking about leaving the INF without proposing a replacement was dangerous. The spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he expected Bolton to explain Washington's stance.

"Of course there are weak points (in the treaty), but tearing up the agreement without plans for anything new is what we don't welcome," Peskov told reporters, adding, "To first reject the document and then (talk of) ephemeral possibilities to conclude a new one is a dangerous stance."

On Saturday, Trump announced that Washington would withdraw from the historic accord after alleging that “Russia has violated the agreements ... for many years” in the framework of the treaty. The announcement and the accusation drew the Kremlin’s response on Sunday, denouncing such allegations and vowing to respond with military, technological and other means necessary should the White House insist on pulling out willfully.

PressTV-Trump to bring back nuclear race with Russia

The US president declares plans to abandon a key arms control treaty with Russia.

Signed by then US President Ronald Reagan and reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, the INF required elimination of all short- and intermediate-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles held by both countries in Europe.

Gorbachev, now 87, has warned that quitting it could have catastrophic consequences.

The treaty's demise could raise the prospect of a new arms race and of Europe once again hosting American land-based ballistic and cruise missiles.

Trump's withdrawal announcement is causing particular concern in Europe which was the main beneficiary of the INF treaty as a result of the removal of Pershing and US cruise missiles from Europe and of Soviet SS-20 missiles from the European part of the then Soviet Union.

Some European countries fear Trump’s withdrawal would once again turn Europe into a potential nuclear battlefield.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday that Germany would seek NATO's help to maintain the treaty between Russia and the United States.

Others, such as Poland, were supportive of Trump's stance.

Polish President Andrzey Duda has recently said his country has not discussed the possibility of hosting US intermediate-range missiles, but said Trump's stance made "a certain amount of sense."

Trump’s withdrawal statement puts the rest of NATO in a difficult position as the Western military alliance's leaders said in July they were committed to preserving the landmark pact.

PressTV-Russia vows to respond in kind if US exits nuclear treaty

The Kremlin says Russia will be forced to take the “necessary” measures to restore the balance of military power if the US leaves the Cold War-era arms control treaty.

Envoys from the alliance are due to discuss the US withdrawal plan later this week.

Late last year, Russia said the US had violated the treaty, arguing that the missile defense system in Romania, also planned for deployment in Poland this year, could launch Tomahawk medium-range missiles apart from interceptor missiles.

Furthermore, in May, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the US produced a series of target missiles.

Experts have already warned that leaving the agreement could provoke a dangerous arms race across Europe, akin to the one that was unfolding during 1980, but was ended by the INF.

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