The US president suggested potential discussions with Russia and China about eliminating nuclear arsenals.
President Trump stated that all nations should eliminate their nuclear weapons instead of participating in a nuclear arms race.
According to Anadolu, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, “It’d be great if everybody would get rid of their nuclear weapons.”
“Russia and us have by far the most. China will have an equal amount within four or five years, and it would be great if we could all denuclearize, because the power of nuclear weapons is crazy. It’s crazy.”
Trump added, “I would very much like to start those talks,” and that “Denuclearization would be incredible.”
Last month, Trump said a nuclear arms race would be wasteful and that the US has “no reason” to build new weapons, adding, “We’re all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully, much more productive.”
These remarks were made amidst existing tensions between Russia and NATO, as well as the US-China trade dispute.
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron described Russia as “a threat to France and Europe,” and floated the idea of France extending its nuclear protection to other EU members. The Kremlin called his comments “highly confrontational.”
During Trump’s previous term, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987, initially signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Russia has criticized the withdrawal and denied Washington’s claims of secretly violating the agreement.
In 2023, Russia announced it was placing nuclear weapons in Belarus, due to NATO tensions. The following year, President Vladimir Putin modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine, potentially lowering the bar for nuclear weapon use. Moscow also cautioned that it might resume nuclear testing if the US were to do so first.
In January, the US announced it was deploying upgraded nuclear bombs at its European bases. Media reports also suggest that the Pentagon intends to station nuclear weapons in the UK.
Russia has encouraged all nuclear-armed countries to act responsibly. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in December, “We have never started discussions on what to do with nuclear weapons or whether they can be used. There can be no winners in a nuclear war, which is why it should never happen.”