Putin renews nuclear arms warning

Putin says U.S defence plans will "disrupt" the balance of power

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeated his threat of a nuclear build-up if the U.S. abandons the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty in favour of President Bush's missile defence plans.

World stability has been preserved "thanks to the balance of powers and interests" in the nuclear sphere, Putin told reporters after a meeting with Austrian President Thomas Klestil on Saturday.

"We are certain that the elimination of the 1972 ABM treaty and the creation of the Nuclear Missile Defense system by the United States disrupts this balance," he said.

He reiterated Russia's position that scrapping the ABM would mean the collapse of the START I and START II treaties limiting nuclear weapons.

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"This means that all countries, including Russia, will have the right to install multiple warheads carrying nuclear weapons on their missiles," he said.

For Russia, he said, installing multiple nuclear warheads on existing missiles "is the cheapest response."

Earlier this week, Putin warned that Russia would strengthen its nuclear arsenal if the U.S. developed missile defences that violate the ABM treaty.

However, he said on Friday that such a response should not be seen by Washington as a threat.

"I want to say that if such a response does take place, it will not be aimed against the creators of the NMD system," he said, adding that "it should not worry anyone."

American officials have said the aim of a missile defence system would be to protect against possible attacks by unpredictable nations such as North Korea, Iran and Iraq, not former U.S. Cold War foe Russia.

China has praised Russia for taking a stance against the U.S. defence plan.

China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese president Jiang Zemin telephoned Putin, during which Putin briefed Jiang about his summit with Bush.