US missile system a threat to Russia: Vladimir Putin

On his first trip to a European Union country in 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sharply criticised Western policy toward Moscow, describing a newly-expanded US missile defence system as a threat to his country’s security.

Mr Putin arrived in Athens on a two-day visit on Friday and emerged from talks with the Greek government to lash the United States and Nato allies, also accusing them of stifling trade and energy cooperation with Russia.

Earlier in May, the US missile programme was declared operational at a site in Romania, drawing an angry reaction from Russia.

Nato said the system is purely defensive and a response to a growing capability of ballistic missiles globally.

“We keep hearing that it’s not a threat against Russia, that it’s not aimed at Russia,” Mr Putin said late on Friday.

“Of course it’s a threat to us. It can easily be modified to have an aggressive capability... We are obliged to take action in response to guarantee our security,” he said.

Mr Putin has made only a handful of visits to the EU since sanctions were imposed on Moscow two years ago.