Moscow slams US withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty

Russia on Sunday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Rybakov said.

Washington uses blackmailing to gain concessions in the security domain, Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow.

“We have been repeating — the U.S. has no foundations to say that Russia violates the treaty,” he said.

He warned that if the U.S. continues to unilaterally withdraw from treaties, Russia will take retaliatory measures, including military ones.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty was signed in 1987 by then Soviet Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

It was a groundbreaking agreement, which considerably improved international security and stability.