Trump will decide whether to extend START treaty 'next year' - official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will not decide until next year whether he will extend a nuclear treaty with Russia, a White House aide said on Wednesday.

Extending the New START treaty is under discussion within the administration "and a decision the president will make next year," Tim Morrison, a director at the National Security Council, said at an arms control forum hosted by the Hudson Institute.

Trump has criticised the treaty, which sets limits on the number of nuclear weapons Russia and the United States can have. But supporters of the accord say it is important because it created a monitoring regime to verify compliance.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Writing by Makini Brice)