Trump Says US will Withdraw from Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia

• 10.21.2018, 11:55
•  America,  World

Evan Vucci / AP

President Donald Trump said Saturday he would pull out of a Cold-War era treaty with Russia that limited the number of missiles in each country, USA Today reports. 

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. He said the U.S. 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. 

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 U.S. 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.