Trump seeks talks with Russia and China on denuclearization and hopes to reduce defence spending

President Donald Trump expressed on Thursday his desire to revive nuclear arms control discussions with Russia and China, with the ultimate goal of achieving a mutual agreement to reduce their substantial defense budgets by fifty percent.

During a press briefing in the Oval Office, Trump criticized the extensive financial resources allocated to modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, emphasizing his hope to secure commitments from U.S. adversaries to similarly decrease their expenditures.

“There’s no justification for developing new nuclear weapons when we already possess so many,” Trump stated. “We have the capability to annihilate the world multiple times over. Yet, we continue to invest in new nuclear arms while they are doing the same.”

“We are all allocating significant funds that could be redirected towards more constructive initiatives,” he added.

Despite the extensive arsenals held by the U.S. and Russia since the Cold War, Trump warned that China is likely to enhance its nuclear capabilities to a comparable level within the next five to six years.

He remarked that if nuclear weapons were ever deployed, “it would likely lead to total destruction.”

Trump indicated his intention to initiate nuclear discussions with both nations once the situations in the Middle East and Ukraine are resolved.

“One of my initial meetings will be with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia. I want to propose, ‘let’s halve our military budgets.’ I believe this is achievable.”

During his first term, Trump attempted to engage China in discussions regarding nuclear arms reduction while the U.S. and Russia were negotiating an extension of the New START treaty, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

Under the Biden administration, Russia halted its involvement in the treaty, as both the U.S. and Russia continued extensive programs aimed at prolonging the life or replacing their nuclear stockpiles from the Cold War era.

China has consistently rejected previous American initiatives to include it in nuclear arms negotiations, asserting that the U.S. and Russia must first reduce their significantly larger arsenals. A government representative reaffirmed this stance on Friday.

“The U.S. and Russia should … make significant and substantial reductions to their nuclear arsenals and establish the necessary conditions for other nuclear-armed nations to participate in the nuclear disarmament process,” stated Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun during a daily briefing in Beijing.