File Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving for Alabama to survey areas devastated by powerful tornadoes, in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday informed the Senate of his decision to withdraw from the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

In a short letter to the Senate on Monday, Trump noted that the treaty does not serve the interest of the United States.

"I have, therefore, decided to withdraw the aforementioned treaty from the Senate and accordingly request that it be returned to me," he wrote in the letter.

Former President Barack Obama signed the treaty in 2013 and sent it to the Senate in 2016, but the Senate never ratified the treaty.

Trump announced last Friday while attending an annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Indianapolis that his country is withdrawing from the ATT.

The White House said the same day in a separate statement that the pact is "misguided" and constrains U.S. ability to sell arms to its allies and partners.

The Arms Trade Treaty, which regulates international trade in conventional weapons from small arms to military aircraft, was approved by the UN General Assembly in 2013.