The United States decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will create an opening for a dangerous arms race with Russia, US Congressman Eliot Engel said in a news release, Sputnik reports.
"The Trump Administration has played into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s hands in tearing down the treaty rather than pursuing serious diplomacy to save it", Engel said on Friday. "By pulling out of the agreement, the President is creating an opening for a dangerous arms race in which Russia can act with impunity".
Engel, who is the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs committee, warned that the Trump administration has already set its sights on the next arms control agreement to dismantle, New START.
The congressman from New York said that President Donald Trump should "reconsider this foolhardy and dangerous path" and extend New START - set to expire in 2021 - as long as Russia remains in compliance.
