Trump makes it official: US is leaving nuclear arms treaty
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The Trump administration will begin the process of leaving a key nuclear arms control treaty with Russia on Saturday, setting the potential for a new ground-based cruise missile arms race in Europe.
However, administration officials said it will be some time before the Pentagon is able to produce and deploy any new system that would violate the rules of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Rreaty
“For too long,” President Donald Trump said in a written statement issued by the White House, Russia has violated the treaty “with impunity, covertly developing and fielding a prohibited missile system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad.”
Trump said that on Saturday, the U.S. will “suspend its obligations” under the treaty, meaning it will be freed from its constraints, including the testing and deployment of missiles banned by the pact.
At the same time, the U.S. will begin the process of withdrawing from the treaty, which involves delivering a diplomatic notice to Russia, as well as the former Soviet states that, by being part of the USSR when the treaty was signed in 1987, are required to be alerted to an American withdrawal.
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