US President Donald Trump has warned that the United States intended to build up its arsenal of nuclear weapons to put pressure on Russia and China.

Speaking to reporters, he repeated his contention that Russia had violated the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which he has threatened to abandon.

Russia denies this.

The Cold War-era treaty banned medium-range missiles, reducing the perceived Soviet threat to European nations.

Mr Trump said the US would build up its arsenal “until people come to their senses”.

He went on: “It’s a threat to whoever you want to include China and it includes Russia and it includes anybody else that wants to play that game… [Russia has] not adhered to the spirit of that agreement or to the agreement itself.”

Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser John Bolton has been holding talks in Moscow after Russia condemned the US plan to quit the deal.

Mr Bolton was told that the US withdrawal would be a “serious blow” to the non-proliferation regime.

However, Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev also said the Kremlin was “ready” to work with the US to remove “mutual” grievances over the INF.