US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that the US will withdraw from the landmark nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, alleging that Kremlin violated the Cold War-era pact.
The announcement comes after heated exchange between the two powers recently failed to resolve a long-running accusation that Russia is violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Trump said that the US will begin withdrawing from the pact on Saturday and will exit the treaty in six months unless Russia comes back into compliance by destroying all of its "violating missiles, launchers, and associated equipment."
The INF treaty, signed in 1987 by then President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, prohibited the development and deployment of ground-launched nuclear missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 kilometers.