"We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other," Trump said in a statement announcing the change.
The U.S. formally suspended the INF Treaty on Sunday, and will officially leave in six months.
Trump said that the United States would "move forward with developing our own military response options," and would work alongside NATO and other countries to "deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct."
According to the U.S. government, Russia has been in violation of this treaty since at least 2014, including working to build an intermediate-range missile. This violation was identified five years ago.
With Russia's non-compliance, the administration argues, the U.S. is the only country in the world prevented from developing these missile systems.
China, which is not part of the INF Treaty, possesses intermediate-range missiles that would be able to strike U.S. territories and military bases in the Pacific Ocean, seen by military strategists as a significant tactical advantage.
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Fr. Thomas Petri, O.P., vice president and academic dean at the Dominican House of Studies, told CNA that the teachings of the Church recognize the "duties of governments to protect their citizens from unjust aggressors," which means that war can happen "when necessary."
Petri said that the magisterial documents of Vatican Council II urged against the creation of weapons stockpiles, and said that they were not an effective deterrent against wars.
"Essentially," said Petri, "the Council Fathers thought every arms race is a trap." He also noted that "weapons of mass destruction-whether biological, chemical, or nuclear-are also immoral precisely because their destruction is not only grave and lasting but is also indiscriminate. Countries who possess these weapons have a serious responsibility before God and the world."