President Vladimir Putin has said his country would go back to its Cold War stance of aiming missiles at Europe if the US went ahead with a plan to build a missile defence shield near Russia's borders.
Mr Putin acknowledged that Russia's response risked reviving an arms race in Europe.
But he said Moscow would not be responsible for the consequences because Washington had started the escalation.
Mr Putin made the tough statement before what is likely to be a frosty G8 summit in Germany on 6 June.
There, among other world leaders, he will come face to face with US President George Bush.
Russia has not specifically targeted its missiles at Europe since the end of the Cold War.
Asked if it might return to that if the US missile shield plan went ahead, Mr Putin said: ‘Of course we are returning to those times’.
Russia's combative response to the US missile shield has prompted comparisons with the Cold War.
Mr Putin has directed angry rhetoric at the White House, last week calling US policy ‘imperialist’.
Russia test-launched a new ballistic missile recently in a move it tied to America’s missile plans.
It also suspended its compliance with a treaty limiting the deployment of conventional forces near Russia's western borders.
Mr Putin's comments came in an interview he gave to selected media from G8 countries on Friday. The Kremlin released a transcript of the interview on its Internet site this evening.
