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Donald Trump Provides Nuclear Weapons Update.
President Donald Trump has said he wants to hold “denuclearization” talks with Russia and China now he is back in office. Newsweek has contacted the White House and the U.S. embassies of Russia and China for comment via email. Why It Matters During Joe Biden’s presidency, Russia had suspended its participation in the New START arms control treaty, which is due to expire in 2026, in protest of U.S. support of Ukraine. Trump’s comments during the first week of his second term indicate that reducing nuclear stockpiles appears to be a key focus for his administration.
What to Know Trump delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, where he discussed the prospect of talks with Russia and China to reduce nuclear weapon stockpiles. The president said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously held denuclearization discussions during Trump’s first term, but the talks were cut short after his 2020 election loss. Trump added that China “would have come along too” in the efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles. He had made similar comments during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, which aired Wednesday.
The United States has approximately 1,770 deployed nuclear warheads, while Russia holds around 1,710, according to estimates cited in a January 22 Congressional Research Service report. Putin expressed openness to discussing nuclear arms reductions with Trump after congratulating the U.S. president shortly before the Republican’s Monday inauguration, reported Reuters. In December, the Pentagon stated that China has 600 operational nuclear warheads, an increase of 100 from the 2023 estimate. A previous Pentagon report said China was on track to possess 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. China has supported Russia, politically and financially during the Ukraine invasion. Under the terms of the New START treaty, U.S. and Russian officials are able to inspect each country’s nuclear sites. Inspections have not occurred since the COVID pandemic.
What People Are Saying President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum: “We’d like to see denuclearization. In fact, with President Putin, prior to an election result, which was, frankly, ridiculous, we were talking about denuclearization of our two countries, and China would have come along. “China has a much smaller nuclear armament than us, but they’re going to be catching up at some point over the next four or five years. And I will tell you that President Putin really liked the idea of cutting way back on nuclear. And China would have come along too.
And I think the rest of the world, we would have gotten them to follow. So, we want to see if we can denuclearize, and I think that’s very possible.” Trump during Fox News’ interview with Sean Hannity: “I was dealing with Putin about the denuclearization of Russia and the United States. And then we were going to bring China along on that one. I was very close to having a deal. I would have made a deal with Putin on that denuclearization.
It’s very dangerous and very expensive, and that would have been great, but we had a bad election that interrupted us.” Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, in a state television address: “We see the statements by the newly elected president of the United States and members of his team about the desire to restore direct contacts with Russia.
We also hear his statement about the need to do everything possible to prevent World War III. We, of course, welcome this attitude and congratulate the elected president of the United States of America on taking office.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a Wednesday press conference:”China’s development of nuclear weapons is a historic choice forced to be made. As a responsible major country, China is committed to the path of peaceful development and friendly cooperation with all countries in the world.” What Happens Next Trump has vowed to quickly end the war between Russia and Ukraine following his return to office. It remains to be seen whether the U.S, Russia, and China can reach an arms control agreement.
Miami herald