ASTANA: Russia is ready to start producing short- and medium-range missiles in response to US actions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
"I said that in connection with the withdrawal of the United States from the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty and the announcement that they start production, we also consider that we have the right to begin research, development, and production (of these missiles) in the future," Putin told reporters on Thursday after the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana.
Russia is carrying out such research and development and is ready to start production, he said, adding that Moscow can act in a similar way in case US short-and medium-range missiles are deployed in any region of the world, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US and the Soviet Union signed the INF treaty in 1987, which prohibited possessing, developing and testing ground-launched missiles with a range of 500-5,500 km.
In 2019, the US officially announced its withdrawal from the INF treaty.