Putin says Nato members are seeking to eliminate Russia

Mr Putin claimed that Russia faces an existential threat because, in his view, Nato members are seeking the country’s “strategic defeat”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Kremlin Wall during the national celebrations of the ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’ in Moscow, Russia (AP)

Russian president Vladimir Putin said in an interview on Sunday that Russia has no choice but to take into account Nato’s nuclear capabilities.

He made the remarks in justifying Russia’s recent suspension of its participation in the New START treaty, which seeks to cap the number of nuclear warheads possessed by the US and Russia.