Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev said he believed it looked "as if the world is preparing for war” as a nuclear threat once again seems real amid a global arms race.

Gorbachev urged new US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to work together for a fresh resolution and to strongly denounce nuclear war in the face of the “militarisation of politics and the new arms race”.

He said: "The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss... But no problem is more urgent today than the militarisation of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority... The current situation is too dangerous.”

Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority... The current situation is too dangerous

The politician lauded for bringing an end to the Cold War made the comments in a piece for Time magazine ahead of Theresa May's first meeting with Mr Trump today. Putin and Trump could speak by telephone for the first time on Saturday.

During the US election campaign, Putin and Trump praised each other's personal qualities and said they were hopeful they could reset relations.

Gorbachev also writes how Nato and Russian forces and weapons, once deployed at a distance, are at “point-blank” range of one another.

State budgets were struggling to fund people's essential social needs but military spending is growing.

“Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defence doctrines more dangerous,” Gorbachev said.

The world has felt uneasy since Donald Trump's election.