MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser is meeting with Russia's defense minister in Moscow just a few days after Trump announced that he intended to pull the United States out of a landmark nuclear weapons treaty.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday lauded National Security Adviser John Bolton for his two-day visit. Russian news agencies quoted Shoigu as saying that "even small steps will benefit our relations and help restore trust" between the two countries.

Bolton arrived in Russia on Monday when he met Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev. He is expected to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin later on Tuesday.

Trump over the weekend declared his intension to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty because he claims Russia has violated it.