 "Donald Trump wants Russia and China, alongside US, to cut spending on nuclear weapons into half. Reuters")
President Donald Trump said Thursday (February 13) that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he also said he hoped that all three nations could eventually agree to cut their defence budgets in half.
Trump said he would pursue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping once “we straighten it all out” in West Asia and Ukraine.
“One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia,” Trump said. “And I want to say: ‘Let’s cut our military budget in half.’ And we can do that. And I think we’ll be able to,” the Guardian reported.
A money matter
Trump criticised the vast sums being spent on nuclear weapons programs and said he plans to seek commitments from both adversaries to reduce their own military expenditures.
“There’s no reason for us to be building brand-new nuclear weapons. We already have so many,” Trump said. “You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.”
Trump warned that if such weapons were ever used, it would lead to “probably oblivion.” He predicted that while the United States and Russia have long held the world’s largest stockpiles, China could reach similar levels of nuclear capability “within five or six years.”
Troubles in years past
During his first term, Trump attempted but failed to bring China into nuclear arms reduction talks while negotiating an extension of the New START treaty with Russia.
That agreement, which limits strategic nuclear warheads and launchers, was suspended by Russia during the Biden administration, as both nations pressed forward with nuclear modernisation efforts.
Impact Shorts
View AllThaw in US-Russia relations
Trump said on Wednesday that he expects to meet with Putin separately for Ukraine peace talks, marking a shift in diplomatic relations. In their first confirmed contact since Trump’s return to the White House, the U.S. president described a “highly productive” phone conversation with Putin.
Trump’s latest outreach comes as his administration considers a reset in relations with Moscow, even as Russia continues its military campaign in Ukraine.