Putin denies ‘new cold war’ in Megyn Kelly interview

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday dismissed as “propaganda” claims that Russia and the West have entered a new “cold war.” 

In an interview with NBC’s Megan Kelly in Moscow, Putin said his earlier comments that Russian ballistic missiles could penetrate any missile defense systems on the planet were not a declaration of a new “cold war” as some defense analysts suggested.

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“My point of view is the individuals who have said that a new cold war has started are not really analysts, they do propaganda,” Putin said in the interview that first aired Thursday night on “NBC Nightly News.”

“If you were to speak about arms race, then an arms race began at exactly the time and moment when the U.S. opted out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty,” he added.

The Russian leader’s comments to NBC follow remarks delivered to Russian lawmakers earlier Thursday in which Putin claimed new Russian warheads would render defense systems “useless.”

“Missile defenses will be useless against it,” Putin said. 

“Nobody listened to us. Well listen to us now,” he added, calling out Western powers for their treatment of Russia on the world stage.

In the NBC interview, Putin went further, claiming that many of the weapons systems he discussed with Russian lawmakers had already been tested and provided to the Russian military.

“The test was excellent. Some of them still have to be fine-tuned and worked on. Others are already available to the troops and already are battle ready,” he said.

“One of them is already on combat duty. It’s with troops,” he said.

Putin told Russian lawmakers that Russia’s military would not act as an “aggressor,” but rather as a “guarantor of peace on our planet.”

“Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies … any kind of attack … will be regarded as a nuclear attack against Russia and in response we will take action instantaneously no matter what the consequences are,” he added. “Nobody should have any doubt about that.”