Putin says no plans to send troops to Venezuela, blames U.S. for nuclear pact dispute

Moscow has no plans to send troops to shore up Venezuela's embattled leader,Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

Putin also warned that the U.S. reluctance to start talks on extending a key arms control pact raises the threat of an uncontrollable arms race.

Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet earlier this week that Moscow had informed Washington it had pulled its personnel out of Venezuela, Putin said Russian experts come and go to service Russian-made weapons bought by Caracas.

"We aren't building any military bases there, we aren't sending troops there, we have never done that," Putin said. "But we have fulfilled our contract obligations in the sphere of military-technical co-operation and we will keep doing that."

The Russian leader said the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela have hurt ordinary peopleand warned Washington against using force.

Russia has staunchly backed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while the U.S. and several dozen other nations have cast their support behind opposition leader Juan Guaido and recognized him as interim president, asserting Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

Putin was speaking Thursday at a meeting with international news agencies' chiefs at the sidelines of an investment forum in St. Petersburg, and also issued a stern warning about the danger of a new arms race that could spin out of control.

He accused the United States of shunning talks on extending the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty that is set to expire in 2021.

Putin, Xi issue joint remarks criticizing U.S.

Putin noted that while Russia has repeatedly signalled its intention to begin discussions on extending the pact, Washington has given no response.

"We have said a hundred of times already that we are ready, but no one is talking to us," he said.

The pactsigned in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.

Putin also criticized the U.S. withdrawal from another key arms pact, the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, rejecting Washington's claims of Russian violations of the agreement.

Citing Russian violations, the U.S. has formally suspended its obligations under the INF that bans all land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres, setting the stage for the treaty to terminate later this year. Russia, which has denied any breaches, has followed suit.

The investment conference has also included more outward signs of increased Russia-China co-operation as they both face mounting tensions with the U.S.

Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is scheduled to speak at the conference on Friday. He arrivedon Wednesday for his eighth visit to Russia since taking office in 2012.

Moscow's ties with Washington have declined sharply over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and the allegations of Kremlin meddling in the U.S. 2016 presidential elections, while China is engaged in a spiraling trade war with the U.S.

"Protectionism and unilateral approaches are on the rise, and a policy of force and hegemonism is increasingly taking hold," Xi said.

In a joint statement issued after they spoke, Putin and Xi criticized the U.S. move with respect to the INF, saying it will "undermine strategic stability."

They also voiced worry about the growing threat of an arms race in space, calling for a legally binding international agreement banning weapons in orbit.

"A ban on deployment of any weapons in space would avert a serious threat to global peace and security," Putin and Xi said in a statement.