Russia should develop offensive weapons systems to counter against U.S. missile shield plans, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
"The problems of missile defense and offensive arms are very closely linked," Putin was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying during a working visit to Russia's far east region.
Putin said the U.S. missile defense plans would destroy the strategic balance between the United States and Russia, so Russia should develop offensive systems to preserve the balance.
He added that Russia would make the information about its offensive weapons more transparent, to exchange for more information on U.S. missile defense systems and would link such a demand with the new nuclear arms control treaty.
The premier also said Russia-U.S. nuclear disarmament talks were progressing positively, and a final decision should be made by the presidents of the two countries.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced in September that Washington would abandon Bush-era missile defense plans while initiating a "phased, adaptive approach" in Eastern Europe.
Russia cautiously welcomed the shift initially but said the new program would require further study and information from the United States.
The two largest nuclear powers have been trying to clinch a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) that expired on Dec. 5.
The START-1, signed in 1991 between the Soviet Union and the United States, obliged both sides to reduce the number of their nuclear warheads to 6,000 and delivery vehicles to 1,600.