Donald Trump has said the United States is holding talks with Russia and China about nuclear disarmament, as he warned that China could match the two countries’ arsenals within five years.
Speaking to US broadcaster Newsmax, the US president said Washington was discussing a route to “denuclearise” with both Moscow and Beijing.
“The whole thing is a shame because I’d love to denuclearise if possible,” Mr Trump said. “We’re actually talking to Russia about that, and we’re talking to China about that denuclearisation.”
China has an estimated 620 nuclear warheads, compared with more than 4,000 held by each of the US and Russia. Mr Trump said he believed Beijing would “catch up” with the two countries within five years.
He acknowledged that China did not appear willing to disarm, but said discussions had continued. Newsmax reported that Mr Trump had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the issue, although no further details were given about the talks with either China or Russia.
US and Russia nuclear arsenals
Russia has the world’s largest nuclear stockpile, with the US close behind, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Together, the two countries possess an estimated 86 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons.
China has the third-largest arsenal and expanded its stockpile to 620 warheads in the past year.
Mr Trump’s comments came shortly after the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, an agreement between the US and Russia intended to limit their nuclear arsenals.
A month after the treaty expired, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the Forward Deterrence Initiative, amid European concern over Russia’s nuclear sabre-rattling during its war in Ukraine.
Gareth Evans, a former Australian foreign minister, said the world had become less focused on the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.
“[The] world … has become alarmingly complacent about the risks of nuclear war with every major nuclear arms control agreement dead, dying or on life support and the longstanding taboo against threat or use eroding,” he said.
