Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Madagascan counterpart Eloi Maxime Dovo in Moscow, Russia October 22, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow expected Washington to explain its plans to quit a landmark Cold War-era treaty that eliminated nuclear missiles from Europe.

President Donald Trump said Washington would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because Russia was violating the pact, triggering a warning of retaliatory measures from Moscow.