Trump confirms U.S. to abandon nuclear arms treaty with Russia

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States will pull out of a decades-long nuclear deal signed between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed between former President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, bans all land-based cruise missiles with a range between 310 and 3,417 miles.

Before a campaign rally in Nevada, Trump told reporters unless other countries quit violating the INF, the United States will terminate the agreement.

"Russia has violated the agreement. They've been violating it for many years and I don't know why President Obama didn't negotiate or pull out. We're not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we're not allowed to," Trump said. "We're the ones that have stayed in the agreement and we've honored the agreement but Russian has not, unfortunately .... so were going to terminate the agreement."

When asked by a reporter if pulling out of the agreement would lead to the United States developing the weapons, Trump said yes.

"We'll have to develop those weapons. Unless Russia comes to us and China comes to us and they all come to us and they say let's really get smart and let's none of us develop those weapons," Trump said. "But if Russia's doing it and if China is doing it and were adhering to the agreement, that's unacceptable.

"If others get smart and say let's not develop these horrible nuclear weapons I would be extremely happy with that. But as long as someone is violating that agreement we're not going to be the only ones to adhere to it," Trump said.

The New York Times reported on Friday the Trump administration will tell Russian leaders next week about the plan to exit the landmark treaty, partly to enable the United States to counter a Chinese arms buildup in the Pacific.

Trump's national security adviser John Bolton is expected to warn Russian President Vladimir Putin next week during a trip to Moscow.