U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Washington is a long way from taking decisions about deploying missiles in Europe as a consequence of its planned withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, U.S. national security advisor John Bolton said on Tuesday.

Bolton, speaking at a news conference in Moscow after a Kremlin meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he and Putin had lengthy discussions about the treaty and Washington’s intention to quit the pact.

He said there was a new strategic reality where nuclear missiles were no longer a bilateral issue, because China now also had missiles of the type that would be outlawed by the INF treaty if Beijing were a party to it.