Russian President Vladimir Putin's confrontation with the West is "artificial" and aimed at protecting Russia's ruling elite and distracting attention from a corrupt system, a former Russian oil tycoon said on Wednesday.
Russia accused NATO on Wednesday of reviving the ghost of the Cold War by encroaching close to its borders and seeking to change the strategic balance of power, as Germany denounced Moscow's nuclear weapons build-up as a Soviet-style reflex.
NATO's top commander said on Wednesday Russia's announcement it was adding 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal was not the kind of behavior expected of a responsible nuclear power.
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia would add more than 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year and a defense official accused NATO of provoking a new arms race.
