BAKU, Dec 15: The US withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty will end the Cold War arms race, not start a new one, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Saturday.

“With the withdrawal from the treaty we are seeing both sides announce the end of the arms race and a dramatic reduction in the number of strategic weapons,” he told reporters on a visit to Azerbaijan.

“Rather than causing problems it seems to me that this puts aside a problem so that we can look forward into the 21st century and not backward into the Cold War,” Rumsfeld added.

He said a missile defence system was needed to counter a possible nuclear threat posed by “rogue” states such as Iraq and North Korea.

However, Russia and some European leaders have said they fear the plans could lead to a renewal of the Cold War arms race.

Rumsfeld countered that the treaty had done nothing to stop the arms race while it was at its height. “There have always been concerns that there will be an arms race once the treaty has been set aside,” he said.—AFP