U.S. plans to scrap broken nuclear deal with Russia

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday to discuss the United States’ withdrawal from a nuclear treaty that dates back to the Reagan administration. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that Russia had not held up its end of the deal. “Russia has not adhered to the agreement, so we are going to terminate the agreement and we are going to develop the weapons,” Trump said. “If they get smart, and if others get smart, and they say, let’s not develop these horrible nuclear weapons, I would be extremely happy with that.” Trump added that he’d like China to join in on a new nuclear agreement.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty prohibits the United States and Russia from developing or having certain ground-launched nuclear missiles. President Ronald Reagan and then–Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the agreement in 1987 to reduce the threat of missiles launched at or from Europe. Both sides have long accused each other of violating the deal, but the United States and its NATO allies say a missile Russia is developing poses a new and more dangerous threat.

The European Union on Monday urged the United States and Russia to stick to the deal, while the Kremlin denied that it is in violation of the terms of the treaty. Gorbachev said Sunday it would be a mistake for the United States to pull out of the agreement.