US representative for Ukraine Volker: Putin's statements about new missiles are part of his election campaign
In an interview with Ukrinform news agency, Kurt Volker, US Department of State Special Representative for Ukraine, said that he believes that Vladimir Putin's statements about new missiles are related to the upcoming elections.
"I see this mainly in the context of Putin's re-election. It’s a campaign presentation. We have a lot of specific issues in relations with Russia that are worrisome: Syria, North Korea and Ukraine, including the Crimea. We can also recall other bilateral military and diplomatic issues with Russia. Yes, a lot of work has already been done, but I would not believe that this video campaign will have a great added value to all this," said Volker.
On March 1, Putin addressed the Russian parliament with a speech reporting on the successful testing of a new cruise missile with an nuclear-power engine. According to Putin, the new missile has an unlimited range and unpredictable flight trajectory and has no analogues in the world.
He said that the new Russian weapon makes the expansion of NATO meaningless.