White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders made the allegation on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin announced an array of new nuclear weapons, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday that Russia categorically denied it was in breach of any international arms control pacts.

Peskov also rejected an assertion that Putin's speech, one of his most bellicose in years, would deepen Russia's international isolation and said it did not herald the start of a new arms race.

"Russia does not plan to get dragged into any arms race," said Peskov. </s> Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Federal Assembly, including the State Duma parliamentarians, members of the Federation Council, regional governors and other high-ranking officials, in Moscow, Russia March 1, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday rejected a U.S. allegation that Russia had been developing destabilizing weapons systems for over a decade in direct violations of its treaty obligations.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders made the allegation on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin announced an array of new nuclear weapons, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday that Russia categorically denied it was in breach of any international arms control pacts.

The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump discussed Putin’s statements on nuclear weapons in separate phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

Related Coverage NATO says Russian warnings against allies 'unacceptable'

The leaders “shared their serious concerns” about the statements and agreed they “detract from productive discussion of a range of issues between Russia and the West,” the White House said.

Peskov rejected an assertion that Putin’s speech, one of his most bellicose in years, would deepen Russia’s international isolation and said it did not herald the start of a new arms race.

“Russia does not plan to get dragged into any arms race,” said Peskov. </s> The Kremlin has said Russia is not investigating the two men that Britain has named as suspects in the nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, and Theresa May has accused the Russian government of orchestrating the March attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that the prime minister's accusations were "unacceptable" and that "no one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning.

Peskov said Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the two individuals – Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov– charged on Wednesday because Britain had not asked for legal assistance with the case.

“Neither the highest-level of Russia’s leadership, nor lower ranks, nor any official representatives had or have anything to do with the events in Salisbury,” said Peskov. “Even the suggestion that they did so is unacceptable. Russia was not involved.”

May told the House of Commons on Wednesday that the attempted murder of Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, and his daughter, Yulia, had likely been approved at the highest levels of the Russian government. Ben Wallace, the British security minister, said on Thursday that Putin was “ultimately responsible".

Peskov also said Russia had not received any official request from Britain for assistance in identifying the two suspected Russian GRU military intelligence officers that Scotland Yard believes carried out the attack – the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since the end of the second world war. “For us to be able to do something in this direction, we need to receive a request,” Peskov said. “This is usual international practice.”

Earlier Russia said its request for the British embassy in Moscow to provide the fingerprint records of the two men had been met with “an unconditional refusal”.

Moscow said Laurie Bristow, the British ambassador to Russia, was summoned to the foreign ministry shortly after May’s statement.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, told state television that Russian nationals would have had to provide fingerprints to receive a British visa.

Appearing in the studio of the 60 Minutes programme, she called the British refusal to allow Russia to study the alleged GRU officers’ fingerprints records “a gross rudeness”. The UK had refused to share evidence through official channels, she complained, and had staged an “absurd and funny provocation”.

Zakharova claimed Moscow was still open to cooperating with London in the investigation into the attack in Salisbury. The British embassy was not immediately available for comment.

She also described British accusations that Russia was behind the high-profile poisoning in Salisbury as “a hellish carousel that has no end or beginning”. She accused British authorities of doctoring CCTV images that the Metropolitan police say show the two suspects arriving on Friday 2 March at Gatwick airport. Police say the two men used aliases to travel to Britain.

“The same place, the same corridor, and the timestamp on the footage is identical to the second,” Zakharova said. “Accordingly, either the date and the exact time were overlaid on the image, or these are GRU agents who have learned to walk synchronously while appearing separately in two different photos. You know, this is god-level trolling,” the foreign ministry spokeswoman added, using a computer-game term.

On Thursday Scotland Yard said the images of the two suspects at Gatwick were taken from two different cameras covering separate lanes. The photos were recorded at the point passengers exit from international arrivals, a spokesperson said. Gatwick airport has several, nearly identical gate corridors that people arriving in Britain must pass through. The Scotland Yard response was also cited by Russia’s state-controlled RIA Novosti news agency.

Leonid Slutsky, the head of the Russian parliament’s international relations committee, also lashed out at May’s allegations that Moscow had dispatched would-be assassins to Salisbury.

"Britain is continuing a large-scale anti-Russian provocation,” he said. "This is absolute nonsense. Once again there is no real evidence of Russia's involvement, only ungrounded accusations.”

May’s claims that GRU officers carried out the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury came two days after Putin signed a presidential decree making information about freelance agents who carry out operations for Russian foreign intelligence services a state secret.

On Wednesday, Estonia said it had detained two of its nationals on suspicion of spying for Russia. One worked at the country’s defence forces’ headquarters. The men are suspected of passing Estonian and foreign classified information to GRU officers. </s> Moscow strongly rejects accusations of violating international laws concerning strategic stability, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. Russia’s efforts to develop new weapon systems do not disrupt nuclear parity in the world, he added. “It does not threaten anyone in any way, as the president explained in his address,” Peskov said, adding that “we have absolute parity.” President Vladimir Putin’s state of the nation address to the Federal Assembly has no militaristic nature while the new types of weapons that were shown are a guarantee of maintaining nuclear parity in the world, TASS quoted the spokesman as saying. </s> In one of his most bellicose speeches in years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced an array of new nuclear weapons that he says could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

Putin was speaking ahead of an election on March 18 that polls indicate he should win easily. He said a nuclear attack on any of Moscow's allies would be regarded as an attack on Russia itself and draw an immediate response.

It was unclear if he had a particular Russian ally, such as Syria, in mind, but his comments looked like a warning to Washington not to use tactical battlefield nuclear weapons.

His remarks were greeted with scepticism in Washington, where officials cast doubt on whether Russia has added any new capabilities to its nuclear arsenal beyond those already known to the US military and intelligence agencies.

The Pentagon, which recently announced a nuclear policy revamp based partly on the bellicose posture from Moscow, said it was not surprised by Putin's presentation.

"We've been watching Russia for a long time. We're not surprised," Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

"These weapons that are discussed have been in development a very long time," she told a news briefing, without addressing any of Putin's specific claims of new capabilities.

John Rood, US under secretary of defense for policy, declined to comment on US intelligence on Russian capabilities.

But, addressing a forum in Washington, Rood generally played down Putin's presentation, saying: "I think it's broadly consistent with things that have been stated before (by) Russian officials."

The Trump administration accused Moscow anew of violating a Cold War-era treaty which banned nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometres.

"President Putin has confirmed what the United States government has known all along, which Russia has denied: Russia has been developing destabilizing weapons systems for over a decade in direct violations of its treaty obligations," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin has often used militaristic rhetoric to mobilise support and buttress his narrative that Russia is under siege from the West. His 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea boosted his ratings to a record high and he has cast his military intervention in Syria as a proud moment for Moscow.

On Thursday, he sought to back his rhetoric with video clips of what he said were some of the new missiles. The images were projected onto a giant screen behind him at a conference hall in central Moscow where he was addressing Russia's political elite.

"They have not succeeded in holding Russia back," said Putin, referring to the West, which he said had ignored Moscow in the past, but would now have to sit up and listen.

"Now they need to take account of a new reality and understand that everything I have said today is not a bluff." </s> MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin announced an array of new nuclear weapons on Thursday, in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.

Putin was speaking ahead of an election on March 18 that polls indicate he should win easily. He said a nuclear attack on any of Moscow’s allies would be regarded as an attack on Russia itself and draw an immediate response.

It was unclear if he had a particular Russian ally, such as Syria, in mind, but his comments looked like a warning to Washington not to use tactical battlefield nuclear weapons.

His remarks were greeted with scepticism in Washington, where officials cast doubt on whether Russia has added any new capabilities to its nuclear arsenal beyond those already known to the U.S. military and intelligence agencies.

The Pentagon, which recently announced a nuclear policy revamp based partly on the bellicose posture from Moscow, said it was not surprised by Putin’s presentation.

“We’ve been watching Russia for a long time. We’re not surprised,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

“These weapons that are discussed have been in development a very long time,” she told a news briefing, without addressing any of Putin’s specific claims of new capabilities.

John Rood, U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, declined to comment on U.S. intelligence on Russian capabilities.

But, addressing a forum in Washington, Rood generally played down Putin’s presentation, saying: “I think it’s broadly consistent with things that have been stated before (by) Russian officials.”

The Trump administration accused Moscow anew of violating a Cold War-era treaty which banned nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 km (300-3,400 miles).

“President Putin has confirmed what the United States government has known all along, which Russia has denied: Russia has been developing destabilizing weapons systems for over a decade in direct violations of its treaty obligations,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Putin has often used militaristic rhetoric to mobilise support and buttress his narrative that Russia is under siege from the West. His 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea boosted his ratings to a record high and he has cast his military intervention in Syria as a proud moment for Moscow.

On Thursday, he sought to back his rhetoric with video clips of what he said were some of the new missiles. The images were projected onto a giant screen behind him at a conference hall in central Moscow where he was addressing Russia’s political elite.

“They have not succeeded in holding Russia back,” said Putin, referring to the West, which he said had ignored Moscow in the past, but would now have to sit up and listen.

“Now they need to take account of a new reality and understand that everything I have said today is not a bluff.”

Among weapons that Putin said were either in development or ready was a new intercontinental ballistic missile “with a practically unlimited range” able to attack via the North and South Poles and bypass any missile defence systems.

Putin also spoke of a small nuclear-powered engine that could be fitted to what he said were low-flying, highly manoeuvrable cruise missiles, giving them a practically unlimited range.

The new engine meant Russia was able to make a new type of weapon - nuclear missiles powered by nuclear rather than conventional fuel.

“Nothing like it in the world exists,” Putin told the audience. “At some point it will probably appear (elsewhere) but by that time our guys will have devised something else.”

Other new super weapons he listed included underwater nuclear drones, a supersonic weapon and a laser weapon.

In one of his video clip demos, a weapon appeared to be hovering over what looked like a map of the state of Florida.

“It was certainly unfortunate to have watched the video animation that depicted a nuclear attack on the United States,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news briefing. “We don’t regard that as the behavior of a responsible international player.”

Putin’s audience, made up of Russian lawmakers and other leading figures, frequently stood up and applauded his presentation, which culminated with the Russian national anthem being played.

Earlier in the speech, he had struck a very different tone, ordering officials to halve the number of Russians living in poverty by sharply boosting social and infrastructure spending in an obvious pre-election pitch to voters.

Putin, who has dominated his country’s political landscape for the last 18 years, said the technological advances meant that NATO’s build-up on Russia’s borders and the roll-out of a U.S. anti-missile system would be rendered useless.

“I hope that everything that was said today will sober up any potential aggressor,” said Putin.

“Unfriendly steps towards Russia such as the deployment of the (U.S.) anti-missile system and of NATO infrastructure nearer our borders and such like, from a military point of view, will become ineffective.”

Steps to contain Russia would also become unjustifiably expensive and pointless, he forecast.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a statement after the speech that the new weapons Putin had unveiled meant that NATO’s missile defence shield, in Poland, Romania and Alaska and planned elements in South Korea and Japan was like an umbrella that was full of holes.

“I don’t know why they would now buy such an ‘umbrella’,” Shoigu said, referring to Seoul and Tokyo.

The United States has long asserted that U.S. missile defenses are incapable of halting a large-scale attack by a major nuclear power, like Russia or China, due in part to the limited number of U.S. missile interceptors.

Instead, the technology is aimed at what the United States views as “rogue” states, such as Iran or North Korea.

“They know very well that it’s not about them. Our missile defense has never been about them,” White said.

She added that the U.S. focus in addressing Russia’s nuclear modernization was strengthening America’s own nuclear forces to serve as a deterrent.

Lisbeth Gronlund, senior scientist and co-director of the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Putin’s announcement of a missile with a nuclear-powered engine, even if true, would change little when it came to the Russian threat since Russia already has large numbers of ICBMs.

Putin also voiced concerns about a new U.S. nuclear doctrine, saying Russia’s own doctrine was defensive and only envisaged the use of nuclear weapons in response to an attack.

Russia has repeatedly said it is keen to hold talks with the United States about the balance of strategic nuclear power and Putin put Washington and other nuclear powers on notice.

“We will view any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, be it of small, medium or any force, as a nuclear attack on our country,” he said.

“Our response will be immediate. Nobody should have any doubts about that.”

Putin said that Russia did not plan to attack anyone, however. Russia’s growing military might was a guarantee of world peace, he said, designed to preserve a strategic balance of power on the planet. </s> MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday almost all communications channels between Russia and the United States have been frozen but the U.S. State Department disputed the statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during a news briefing on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Russia, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not expect the incoming U.S. administration to quickly reject enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that almost all communication with the United States had ceased, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.

There are fears among allies that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could withdraw funding for NATO at a time of heightened tensions with Moscow. Russia has said it would take countermeasures in response to any expansion of the 28-member military alliance.

“Almost every level of dialogue with the United States is frozen,” RIA quoted Peskov as saying. “We don’t communicate with one another, or (if we do) we do so minimally.”

Peskov’s reported comments came as tensions between Moscow and Washington are growing, a month before U.S. President Barack Obama hands over power to Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

State Department spokesman John Kirby quickly rejected Peskov’s statement.

‎”It’s difficult to know exactly what is meant by this comment, but diplomatic engagement with Russia continues across a wide range of issues,” Kirby said in an emailed statement. “That we have significant differences with Moscow on some of these issues is well known, but there hasn’t been a break in dialogue.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone on Tuesday regarding the situation in Syria, Kirby said.

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed in recent talks find a solution to the Syrian crisis. While the United States had been excluded from those talks, communications with Moscow on ending the war continued, Kirby told his daily briefing later on Wednesday.

“We weren’t in the meeting in Moscow, but it’s not as if we haven’t had communication with them before and then right after that meeting,” Kirby told reporters, adding that the United States was in touch with Moscow on concerns over Ukraine’s conflict.

Pressed on what Peskov could have meant, Kirby added: “I think you should ask Mr. Peskov what he means by his comments. From our perspective there is no break in the dialogue.”

Separately, the Pentagon said in a statement it had held a video conference with counterparts from the Russian defense ministry to ensure the two sides’ air operations do not come into conflict with each other in Syria. Such discussions with Russia are held regularly as U.S. warplanes conduct daily air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.

RIA, citing an interview it said Peskov gave to Russia’s Mir TV station, quoted him as saying he did not know whether President Vladimir Putin would seek re-election in 2018.

“Everyone’s heads are aching because of work and with projects and nobody is thinking or talking about elections,” Peskov said.

Most Kremlin-watchers expect Putin to run for the presidency again. </s> Russian state television has broadcast a list of US military facilities that it claimed Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike.

The development comes just days after President Vladimir Putin's annual address to parliament during which he said Russia would retaliate if Washington deployed any missiles in Europe.

The targets named by the TV report included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland.

In the Sunday evening broadcast, Dmitry Kiselyov, presenter of Russia's main weekly TV news show "Vesti Nedeli", showed a map of the United States and identified several targets he claimed Moscow would want to hit in the event of a nuclear war.

The targets, which Kiselyov described as US presidential or military command centres, also included Fort Ritchie, a military training centre in Maryland closed in 1998; McClellan, a US Air Force base in California closed in 2001; and Jim Creek, a naval communications base in Washington state.

In language that observers say was unusual, Kiselyov, known for his close relationship with the Kremlin, said Russia has hypersonic missiles that could hit the targets in less than five minutes if they were launched from Russian submarines.

In his address to lawmakers, Putin said Moscow was militarily ready for a "Cuban Missile"-style crisis if the US wanted one.

Russia fears that Washington might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels.

READ MORE: Russia joins US in suspending Cold War-era nuclear arms treaty

Were that to happen Putin has said Russia would be forced to respond by placing hypersonic nuclear missiles on submarines near US waters.

The US says it has no immediate plans to deploy such missiles in Europe and has dismissed Putin's warnings as disingenuous propaganda. It does not currently have ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles that it could place in Europe.

However, its decision to quit the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty over an alleged Russian violation, something Moscow denies, has freed it to start developing and deploying such missiles.

Putin has said Russia does not want a new arms race, but has nevertheless ratcheted up his military rhetoric.

Asked to comment on the TV report, the Kremlin said on Monday it did not interfere in state TV's editorial policy.

However in a statement on the state news agency TASS, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had made no reference to specific geographical locations in his speech to parliament. </s> Vladimir Putin is ultimately responsible for the Salisbury nerve agent attack that left three people fighting for their life and killed an innocent mother, a Government minister has told ITV News. Security Minister Ben Wallace says that while Russia's intelligence service carried out the attack, it is President Putin who is "ultimately responsible for his government's actions". He added: "It is safe to say that it was not a freelance operation by the GRU or operatives or anything else, it was clearly supported by the wider Russian state." He went on to criticise the Russian intelligence service, saying the failed operation proves "the GRU can't really run a bath". The Kremlin has responded to the allegations it was behind the attack, saying it will not investigate the two men named as suspects. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said on that Theresa May’s accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning. Mr Peskov added Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the two individuals charged on Wednesday because Britain has not asked for legal assistance on the case.

It comes as the UN Security Council waits to discuss the attack, a meeting where British and Russian officials will come face-to-face. The UK will brief the council on evidence relating to the Russian suspects, hours after Theresa May said the Moscow agents were behind the deadly poisoning. Police and prosecutors announced on Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge the men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, over the poisoning in March. The Prime Minister told MPs it was carried out by two Russian spies and sanctioned at a “senior level” by Vladimir Putin’s regime. She told the Commons investigations have concluded that the two suspects are members of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, and it was not a “rogue operation”. Commenting on the failed assassination attempt that resulted in the death of an innocent mother, Mr Wallace said it was a "proper planned deliberate assault carried out by a couple of duffers".

He added: "If it wasn't so tragic, the death of Dawn Sturgess, it would be almost comical, they were so reckless. "Their amateurism endangered the lives of Britons, casting aside Novichok nerve agent recklessly put at risk and did ultimately lead to the death of a British citizen." As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursday’s meeting – called by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation – alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Australia on Thursday said it was in “lock step” with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the “heinous” attack, although it is not currently a council member. Mrs May did not explicitly blame the Kremlin for authorising the attempted assassination, although senior Conservatives directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving the operation.

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said there was “no doubt it was state ordered and President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act”. The charge d’affaires at Russia’s London embassy was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official following Mrs May’s statement. The PM told MPs the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to “counter the threat posed by the GRU”.

While the suspects have been named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Neil Basu said it is likely they were travelling under fake aliases. The pair, believed to be aged around 40, are thought to be officers for the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU. The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, considered a threat to British citizens and allies.. The Prime Minister claimed the GRU was ordered by a member of the Russian state to send officers to the UK to carry out the attack. The two suspects spent two days in the UK before arriving back in Moscow.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March. The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference. Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names. Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol. Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal’s Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on Sunday March 4.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders' claim that Russia breached any international arms control pacts, after President Vladimir Putin's March 1 speech on nuclear weapons.