US To Withdraw from the Landmark Cold-Era Treaty with Russia, Says Trump

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US would exit from the 30-year-old nuclear arms pact, as announced by the US President Donald Trump. This treaty, formed in the year 1987 by the then President Ronald Reagan, involved the requirement for eliminating the short-range and intermediate-range nuclear missiles by both the countries. The reason behind the US to back off from this treaty is the violation of the pact by Russia.

“Russia has not, unfortunately, honored the agreement so we’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out,” said Mr. Trump to the reporters at a rally in Nevada.

He also said that the United States would keep developing nuclear weapons until and unless Russia along with China does not stop the development.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, on his meeting with Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton to be held in Moscow this week, would look for answers about this “planned” withdrawal. Nonetheless, Russia is constantly denying the allegation of the breach of the treaty which the US officials believe that Moscow is involved in building and deploying a ground-launched system.

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Even in some past, Mr. Trump has already warned for withdrawing from the international agreements and now has implied on it.

Relating this crucial step with that of NAFTA, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker, said: “This could be somewhat like the fact that they were going to end NAFTA, and then ended up negotiating some small changes.”