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Submitted by unname1 on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 21:02
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told CNN television Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and "strike forces" if it were shut out of a Western missile shield, adding punch to a warning from President Dmitry Medvedev.

In an interview with Larry King taped Tuesday, Mr Putin said the WikiLeaks scandal was "no catastrophe" and warned the United States not to meddle with Russian elections. He also warned of the "colossal danger of an escalation" in tensions on the Korean Peninsula and urged Iran to open its nuclear facilities to U.N. scrutiny.

Mr Putin said missile threats against Europe must be tackled jointly - a reference to an agreement reached at a November 20 Russia-NATO summit to cooperate on missile defense. Plans are sketchy and Russia has warned it wants an equal role.

If Russia's proposals are rejected and Western missile defense installations create "additional threats" near its borders, "Russia will have to ensure its own security," he said.

Russia would "put in place new strike forces ... against the new threats which will have been created along our borders," he said, according to a translation in an excerpt on CNN's website. "New missile, nuclear technologies will be put in place."

Reuters

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