Hillary Clinton on Wednesday night criticized President Trump’s decision to remove the United States from a key arms treaty with Russia, calling it "a gift to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin" to withdraw.
Clinton slams Trump's decision to suspend nuclear treaty with Russia as 'a gift to Putin'
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: She also suggested that beginning with the Obama administration, "we should have done a better job" communicating that the Russians were cheating on the treaty, The Hill reports.
The Trump administration pulled out “without really holding Putin accountable for his cheating on the treaty," Clinton said at an event hosted by Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service. She called for more "public diplomacy" on the issue.
“The last thing the world needs right now is a nuclear arms race,” Clinton said.
The U.S. has publicly accused Russia of violating the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty since at least 2014. Former President Reagan and former General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev signed the treaty in 1987, prohibiting the production of nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
