Putin: US among security threats

A new appraisal names the United States as one of the threats to Russia's national security for the first time, a sign of how relations with the West have deteriorated in recent years.

The document, About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation, was signed by President Vladimir Putin on New Year's Eve. It replaces a 2009 version, endorsed by then-president Dmitry Medvedev, the current prime minister, which mentioned neither the US nor NATO.

It said Russia has managed to heighten its role in solving global problems and international conflicts. That heightened role has caused a reaction in the West, it said.