Moscow, March 1 (RHC)--   President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Moscow would regard a nuclear attack on its allies as a nuclear attack on Russia itself and would immediately respond.

During a state of the nation address to lawmakers of the bicameral Federal Assembly, Putin recalled that the new US nuclear posture allows a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack.

Putin said that Russia had tested an array of new nuclear weapons, including a new nuclear-powered missile at the end of 2017 which could reach almost any point in the world and could not be intercepted by anti-missile systems.

During his address, the Russian president presented a number of new advanced strategic weapon systems which, he said, would render all anti-missile capabilities that the US currently has powerless.

 “We are greatly concerned by some parts of the new nuclear posture, which reduces the benchmark for the use of nuclear weapons.And it says that these weapons can be used in response to a conventional attack or even a cyber-threat,” he said.

“Our nuclear doctrine says Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear attack or an attack with other weapons of mass destruction against her or her allies, or a conventional attack against us that threatens the very existence of the state.”

“It is my duty to state this: Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, be it small-scale, medium-scale or any other scale, will be treated as a nuclear attack on our country. The response will be instant and with all the relevant consequences,” Putin warned.