Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has warned that a new arms race could erupt within the next decade unless Russia and the West forged an agreement to cooperate on building a missile defence system.
In his annual state of the nation address, Mr Medvedev called for closer cooperation with the US and European Union, holding out the prospect of closer ties two decades after the Soviet Union's collapse ended the Cold War.
He said tension would ratchet up fast, forcing Russia to bolster its military arsenal, if Western offers of cooperation on a system to defend against missile threats failed to produce a concrete agreement.
The warning appeared to reflect wariness in the Kremlin over uncertainty about senate ratification of New Start, a nuclear arms limitation pact Mr Medvedev signed with US president Barack Obama in April.
"In the coming decade we face the following alternatives: Either we reach agreement on missile defence and create a full-fledged joint mechanism of cooperation, or ... a new round of the arms race will begin," Mr Medvedev said.
"And we will have to take a decision about the deployment of new offensive weapons. It is clear that this scenario would be very grave."
The remarks, in a 72-minute speech to members of parliament and ministers, raised the stakes in sensitive discussions with the United States and NATO on missile defence. The issue has divided Moscow and the West since the 1980s.
Mr Medvedev agreed to Nato's offer of missile defence cooperation at a summit with the alliance that was hailed as a fresh start, but the plans are sketchy and Russia has warned it wants an equal voice in evaluating threats and responses.
Mr Medvedev has pursued warmer ties with the West and particularly Washington since he was steered into the presidency by his predecessor, Vladimir Putin.
He has embraced Obama's efforts to "reset" a relationship that hit post-Cold War lows during Russia's war with Georgia in August 2008, months after he took office.
After the address, Kremlin aide Arkady Dvorkovich told journalists the collapse of the New Start pact "would mean nothing good and we are counting on ratification going through."
Mr Obama wants the treaty ratified before his Democratic Party's majority decreases when the new Senate elected this month convenes early next year.
Mr Medvedev's comments also seemed aimed to assuage hard-liners and assure Russians steeped in decades of anti-Western rhetoric that Moscow will not open itself up to a threat.
When Mr Medvedev said Russia might have to deploy more weapons, applause broke out after a brief pause before he went on to say that would be "very grave."
Mr Medvedev also said he intended to offer free land to families who have at least three children in a bid to halt Russia's population decline.
He also promised to overhaul social policies toward children to reverse the country's "serious threat" of demographic decline as the 2012 election approaches.
He also pledged to introduce tougher penalties for people found guilty of child abuse and to make more kindergarten places available.
"The main task is to improve people's standard of living," he told the Kremlin.
Reuters