The US will withdraw from a landmark nuclear weapons treaty with Russia, President Donald Trump has confirmed.

The US President said Russia had “violated” the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.

The deal banned ground-launched medium-range missiles, with a range of between 500 and 5,500km .

The US would not let Russia “go out and do weapons [while] we’re not allowed to”, Trump said.”I don’t know why President [Barack] Obama didn’t negotiate or pull out,” the president said after a campaign rally in Nevada. “They’ve been violating it for many years.”

In 2014, President Obama accused Russia of breaching the INF after it allegedly tested a ground-launched cruise missile.

He reportedly chose not to withdraw from the treaty under pressure from European leaders, who said such a move could restart an arms race.