Russia will develop a new generation of high-tech weapons in retaliation for Nato expansion and the US deployment of missile defence systems on its border, Vladimir Putin said on Friday as he lashed out against a “new arms race”.

In a speech just weeks before March 2 presidential elections in which his handpicked successor is expected to sweep to victory, the Russian president launched a blistering attack on the west’s foreign policy. He said Nato and the US had failed to respond to Moscow’s security concerns and had used consultations merely as “diplomatic cover for implementing their own plans”.