The United States starting the process of withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is an "awful mistake," Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said Saturday.

Axar.az reports citing on Sputnik that, Late on Friday, the United States submitted a formal communication to the United Nations indicating Washington’s intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as possible. Trump announced his decision for the United States to withdraw from the accord in June.

"News for those still in doubt. An awful mistake!!! [US President Donald] Trump has basically aborted the Paris agreement by excluding the United States, the biggest actor, from it. But from the historical point of view, there is nothing surprising. He repeated US actions regarding the first international action on fighting climate change – the Kyoto Protocol," Dosnkoi wrote on Facebook.

The Paris climate agreement, signed by more than 190 countries and ratified by 153, was adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015 and came into force in November 2016.