President Donald Trump is giving "yet another gift" to Russia's Vladimir Putin with a U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear pact between Washington and Moscow, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Tuesday.
In remarks on CNN's "The Situation Room," Hirono said "it's very problematic" if Trump can accomplish something by exiting the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
"He is very much on the page with Putin and his announcement that we're going to withdraw from the INF is yet another gift to Putin," she said. "Because I think Putin would like that to happen so that he can be unfettered in his aggression."
She also railed at Trump's promise to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal in a possible escalation of the arms race.
"This is yet another example of how President Trump makes these kind of announcements without consulting, certainly with Congress, and definitely with our allies," she said.
"Our allies both in Europe and Asia are very concerned about where he's going, that we don't need another nuclear arms race . . . and then to encourage other countries . . . to develop these kind of capabilities also," she added. "This is not what we need. We should be pursuing diplomatic means to bring about a peaceful resolution to what's going on in North Korea as well as the Middle East."
For its part, Russia has called the withdrawal a form of "blackmail," and a "dangerous stance" by the White House, asserting Russia will act to "restore balance" if the United States does formally withdraw.
The White House argues Russia has repeatedly broken the treaty, which Russia denies, and the United States will not begin developing more advanced nuclear missiles previously prohibited under the deal.
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