Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the defense and foreign ministries to study the level of threat posed by recent US tests of medium-range missiles and take the necessary steps to reciprocate.

During his presidency of the Russian National Security Council, Putin pointed out that US plans to deploy these missiles in Asia and the Pacific affect Russian interests in those areas.

Putin stressed that Russia will not be dragged into an arms race that is straining its economy, but stressed at the same time that it will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to protect its security and that of its citizens.

Putin said Russia would not stand idly by. "As you know, we have never responded, we do not want and we will not get involved in an expensive and destructive arms race."

At a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, Russia warned of a possible arms race with the United States.

"In general, do you realize that, because of US geopolitical ambitions, we are all one step away from an arms race that cannot be controlled or regulated in any way? We are very concerned about this possibility. But our American colleagues are They do not seem to feel this concern. "

The new US Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently announced during a visit to Australia that his country wants to accelerate the deployment of new missiles in Asia in the coming months if possible.

Earlier this month, Washington announced its withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Weapons Convention, after long accusing Russia of violating the production of surface-to-air missiles capable of reaching a restricted range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

The agreement was instrumental in curbing the escalation of the arms race between the United States and the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s.