Washington: President Donald Trump said he would pull out of a Cold-War era treaty with Russia that limited the number of missiles in each country.
Trump said Moscow had violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and he would halt the agreement.
“We’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out,” Trump said when leaving a rally in Nevada Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to reporters, he Said, US would pull out “and then we are going to develop the weapons” unless Russia and China agree to a new deal, though China isn’t currently a party of the agreement.
“Russia has violated the agreement. They have been violating it for many years,” the president said.
“And we’re not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we’re not allowed to.” US Today reported.
Trump made the revelation as his National Security Adviser John Bolton was headed to Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
His first stop is scheduled in Moscow, where he’ll meet with Russian leaders, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev.
For most of the Cold War, US-Russian summits were dominated by the issue of nuclear weapons, with Presidents Nixon, Carter and Reagan reaching a series of incremental agreements to limit the number, size and location of each side’s nuclear arsenal.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was one of those agreements and is set to expire in the next two years.
The 1987 pact helps protect the security of the US and its allies in Europe and the Far East.
It prohibits the United States and Russia from possessing, producing or test-flying a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of 300 to 3,400 miles.
It also covers all land-based missiles, including those carrying nuclear warheads. (UNI)
