Russia follows U.S. in suspending Reagan-era arms treaty

Russia will follow the United States in exiting the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Saturday.

"We will respond quid pro quo. Our American partners announced that they are suspending their participation in the treaty, and we are suspending it too," Putin said. "All of our proposals in this sphere, as before, remain on the table, the doors for talks are open."

Putin said Russia will begin work on new missiles previously prohibited under the Reagan-era arms control agreement but will not increase its military budget for the project, seeking to avoid a "costly arms race." He pledged Moscow will not deploy these weapons to Europe and elsewhere abroad unless the United States initiates an arms build-up in those regions.

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The Trump administration announced its suspension of the INF on Friday, though President Trump revealed his plans to leave the deal in October. Washington has with NATO agreement accused Moscow of failing to comply with the treaty, which was originally signed in 1987 between then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.