Meanwhile Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned of “dangerous consequences” unless the US engaged in “serious dialogue” with his country, while warning of the risk of a renewed arms race if it does not. Mr Kosachev, chairman of the Russia’s Foreign Affairs Committee, issued his chilling warning after the scrapping of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty on August 2.

The agreement, which was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, banned all of the two nations’ land-based ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and missile launchers with ranges of 500–1,000 kilometers (310–620 mi) (short medium-range) and 1,000–5,500 km (620–3,420 mi) (intermediate-range).

However, US President Donald Trump announced last year he was pulling out of the treaty, accusing Moscow of violating the deal with its 9M729 missile system.

Mr Kosachev told Russia’s Tass news agency yesterday: “We have to make it absolutely clear, before propaganda campaigns begin saying ‘Why us? We’ve just let the US place its missiles on our territory, but they are aimed exclusively against terrorists (Iran, North Korea, Syria and so on)’.

Those who place missiles automatically and willingly become a nuclear target with several minutes of flight time

Konstantin Kosachev

“No, this is not going to work. Those who place missiles automatically and willingly become a nuclear target with several minutes of flight time.”

Earlier on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged renewed negotiations to ensure strategic stability and security between Russia and the US.

He said: “Despite what has happened, we still count on the common sense, the feeling of responsibility of American colleagues and their allies before their peoples and before the entire international community.

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“In order to avoid chaos, in which there are no rules, restrictions or laws, it is necessary once again to weigh all possible dangerous consequences and start a serious dialogue without ambiguities and in substance.”

Mr Putin said he had also ordered the defence and foreign ministries and Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service to closely monitor any steps the US takes to develop, produce or deploy missiles banned under the defunct treaty.

He added: “If Russia obtains reliable information that the United States has finished developing these systems and started to produce them, Russia will have no option other than to engage in a full-scale effort to develop similar missiles.”

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US officials have said the United States is months away from the first flight tests of an American intermediate-range missile that would serve as a counter to the Russians.

Any deployment would be years away, they have said.

Mr Putin said Russia’s arsenal of air and sea-launched missiles combined with its work on developing hypersonic missiles meant it was well placed to offset any threat emanating from the United States for now.

Officials from President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said Russia has

deployed “multiple battalions” of a cruise missile throughout Russia in violation of the defunct pact, including in western Russia, “with the ability to strike critical European targets”.

Russia denies the allegation, saying the 9M729 missile’s range put it outside the scope of the treaty.

Speaking in June, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said allies would prepare a “defensive, measured and co-ordinated” response to Moscow if it refused to comply with the INF deal.

He added: “We call on Russia to take the responsible path – but unfortunately we see no indication that Russia intends to do so.

“We must ensure that our deterrence and defence remain credible and effective. This is Nato’s job.”

As well as possessing its own nuclear arsenal, the UK also permits the US to deploy nuclear weapons on British soil.

According to Hans M Kristensen’s report, US Nuclear Weapons in Europe, prepared for the Natural Resources Defence Council, about 110 B61 nuclear bombs were stored at RAF Lakenheath as of 2005.

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