Russia's Putin says threat of nuclear war should not be underestimated

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during annual news conference in Moscow, Russia December 20, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the threat of nuclear war should not be underestimated, but that he hoped that common sense would prevail.

Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin said it was hard to predict what the consequences would be of a U.S. withdrawal from the landmark Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987.

(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey)