Putin scolds U.S. in annual address

In his annual state-of-the-nation address Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin placed all the blame on the United States for deteriorating relations between the two countries and threatened to deploy “new types of weapons” against any perceived threats. In his speech before the Russian Parliament, Putin criticized the recent U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty and other “anti-Russian activities,” including levying economic sanctions on the country. He said the United States abandoned the treaty to free up its hands to build new missiles, though U.S. officials claim Russia broke the pact first by developing an unapproved cruise missile.

Russia will willingly engage in nuclear arms control talks whenever the United States is ready, Putin said, adding, “We are not interested in confrontation and do not seek it.” But he also announced that the Russian navy will deploy a new hypersonic Zircon missile to counter what he called hostile U.S. actions. The missile can travel nine times the speed of sound and has a range of 620 miles, according to Putin.

The speech also highlighted social development with promises to improve education and healthcare, increase welfare payments, revamp infrastructure, and clear toxic dump sites from Russian cities. Public trust in Putin has fallen to 33.4 percent, its lowest in 13 years, the Russian state Public Opinion Research Center pollster reported last month, though he remains the most trusted politician in the country. His highest reported trust rating was 71 percent in July 2015, just after Russia annexed Crimea.