Vladimir Putin issues chilling warning on the rising threat of nuclear war

As Vladimir Putin moved to back Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, the Russian President said the the rising threat of nuclear war could lead to global “destruction”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a chilling warning about the rising threat of nuclear war, saying it could lead to “the destruction of civilisation as a whole and maybe even our planet”.

It comes as Mr Putin also said that “Donald [Trump] is right” about the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria.

Speaking at his annual press conference, Mr Putin also scoffed at western claims he wanted to dominate the world, saying that western countries are antagonising Russia for their own domestic reasons, and at their own peril.

Vladimir Putin spoke out on the threat of nuclear war. Picture: AP

He dismissed claims of Russian interference abroad, from a nerve agent poisoning in Britain to an alleged effort to infiltrate the US National Rifle Association. Pointing at the US intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Mr Putin warned that if the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures. “We are witnessing the breakup of the arms control system,” Putin said on Thursday.

US officials say the withdrawal from the INF was prompted by Russian violations of the treaty.

Donald Trump has a solid supporter in Vladimir Putin. Picture: AP

The Russian President denied claims that he wanted to take over the world. Picture: AFP

Mr Putin noted that western analysts are talking about the possibility of using low-yield nuclear weapons and said lowering the threshold could lead to “a global nuclear catastrophe”.

He said Russia will have to ensure its security, and headed off arguments it was trying to gain unilateral advantages, saying the country was “trying to preserve the balance”.

Mr Putin also welcomed the US decision to pull its troops out of Syria, adding that they shouldn’t have been there from the start.

Russian President Vladimir speaks during his annual press conference in Moscow. Picture: AP

“I agree with the US president, we have made significant progress in fighting terrorism on that territory and dealt serious blows to IS in Syria,” the Russian leader said.

He noted that there is still a danger that militants could move to the countries they came from.

“Donald is right about that, I agree with him,” Mr Putin added.

He noted that Russia has supported efforts aimed at a political settlement in Syria, including talks on forming a committee to draft the nation’s new constitution. He hoped that it could be formed in the closing days of the year or in early 2019.

“It will mark the start of a new phase — that of a political settlement,” Mr Putin said, adding it would mean that there is no need for a US presence.

Vladimir Putin backed Donald Trump’s decision to qwithdraw troops from Syria. Picture: AP

“Is the American troops’ presence necessary?” he said. “No, I don’t think so.”

The Russian president repeated Moscow’s long-held argument that the US presence in Syria was unlawful from the start, unlike the Russian deployment that was made at Syrian President Bashar Assad’s invitation. Russia has waged an air campaign in Syria since September 2015, changing the course of the war in Assad’s favor and helping his forces reclaim control over most of the country’s territory.

Mr Putin also took aim at sanctions and “made-up” spy scandals.

Asked about western sanctions against Moscow, Mr Putin said these were “connected to the growth of Russia’s power”.

Vladimir Putin said accusations of Russian interference in the west were not true. Picture: AP

“A powerful player appears who needs to be reckoned with. Until recently it was thought there was no longer such a country,” he said from behind a large wooden desk to an audience of hundreds of journalists.

The Russian leader also dismissed spy scandals — such as the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England — as invented to damage Russia’s standing.

“If there hadn’t been the Skripals, they would have made up something else. There is only one aim: to hold back Russia’s development,” he said, later lamenting that relations with Britain were at a “dead end”.