Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday criticized what he called the "dangerous" use of force by the United States in the face of international law in a hard-hitting speech at the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy.

Speaking to a forum of over 250 participants from more than 40 countries, Putin said the almost "uncontained" use of US force had overstepped the scope of its sovereignty in the pursuit of its national interests, and observed that the Bush administration's doctrine of preventive war was destabilizing as other states were more likely to engage in nuclear proliferation when they thought they were in danger.

"We are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations ... the United States has overstepped its national borders in every way," said Putin at a high-profile security conference in southern German city of Munich.

"The legitimate use of force can only be done by the United Nations, which cannot be replaced by EU or NATO," he said.

Putin criticized the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) for becoming a "vulgar instrument for ensuring foreign policy of one country."

He also sharply criticized the planned development of 10 anti-ballistic missiles systems by the U.S. in Poland and the Czech Republic, vowing that Russia would develop cheaper, asymmetrical systems to overcome the threat.

On the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Putin said "NATO expansion is a serious factor which reduces the level of mutual trust."