WEB DESK
US President Donald Trump has said he wants a new Nuclear pact to be signed by both Russia and China.
Mr Trump said he had spoken to the two countries about the idea, and that they were both “very, very excited”.
“China was very, very excited about talking about it and so was Russia. So I think we’ll have a deal at some point”, he told reporters.
His comments came after the US withdrew from a key nuclear treaty with Russia, raising fears of a new arms race. The US withdrawal yesterday followed accusations by Washington that Russia had violated the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile. Moscow has, however, denied this. The Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty banned missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 km.
The Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty banned missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 km (310-3,400 miles).
The US withdrawal on Friday followed accusations by Washington that Russia had violated the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile. Moscow has denied this.
Responding to questions about how he would avoid a nuclear arms race following end of the INF treaty, Mr Trump said his administration had been speaking to Russia “about a pact for nuclear, so that they get rid of some, we get rid of some”.
“We’d certainly have to include China at some point,” he added.
Mr Trump said such a treaty would be “a great thing for the world” and that he believed it would happen.
“Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Friday.
“With the full support of our Nato allies, the United States has determined Russia to be in material breach of the treaty, and has subsequently suspended our obligations under the treaty,” he added.
US withdraws from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia
The US has formally withdrawn from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia. The INF was signed by then US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
It banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km. But earlier this year the US and NATO accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile, which Moscow has denied.
The Washinton said they had evidence that Russia had deployed a number of 9M729 missiles – known to NATO as SSC-8. In a statement US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today said Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise.
He said that with the full support of NATO allies, the United States has determined Russia to be in material breach of the treaty, and has subsequently suspended its obligations under the treaty.
In a statement carried by State-run Ria Novosti news agency, Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed the INF treaty was formally dead. In last February, President Donald Trump set the August 2 deadline for the US to withdraw if Russia didn’t come into compliance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his country’s own obligations to the treaty shortly afterwards.