MOSCOW (AP) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says efforts must be taken to prevent a new arms race.

Gorbachev, 87, told reporters Thursday that Moscow and Washington should focus on mending their rift and improving their relationship, one he described as the most important in the world.

Gorbachev said that "I hope that the arms race could be stopped and we could continue the nuclear disarmament" that he and U.S. President Ronald Reagan initiated. He spoke after attending the Moscow premier of a film made by Werner Herzog based on their conversations.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced last month that he intends to opt out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that Gorbachev and Reagan signed in 1987 over alleged Russian violations.

Gorbachev led the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991.