MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. The risks of a new arms race are becoming real amid the degrading European security system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an article, Being Open, Despite the Past, published on the Kremlin’s website and in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit on Tuesday.

The article is timed for the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Soviet Union’s 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany.

"The whole system of European security has now degraded significantly. Tensions are rising and the risks of a new arms race are becoming real," the Russian leader stressed.

The sides are missing out on the tremendous opportunities that cooperation offers, Putin said.

"This is all the more important now that we are all facing common challenges, such as the pandemic and its dire social and economic consequences," the Russian president stressed.