U.S. President pledges to revive arms talks with Russia and China, says “no reason” to keep building weapons

Muscat: Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that denuclearization remains a key goal for his second term and that he hopes to kick off discussions in the “not too distant future.”

Trump’s push comes as Russia has warned of a deadlock over the future of The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last significant nuclear arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington. This agreement—capping the number of strategic nuclear warheads and the missiles or bombers to deliver them—is set to expire on February 5, 2026. Though it represents the world’s two largest nuclear powers, Russia says the path to renewing it looks bleak.

Asserting that there’s “no reason for us to be spending almost $1 trillion on military,” Trump reiterated his belief that the U.S., Russia, and China could redirect vast defense funds toward more pressing needs. According to Trump, he and Putin had already reached a preliminary understanding to scale back nuclear arms during his first term, and China was “very open” to a deal before the outbreak of COVID-19 stalled negotiations.
Under Trump’s predecessor, then-President Joe Biden, Washington pushed for China to join nuclear talks, but with little progress. Trump said he plans to re-energize the effort by starting discussions separately with Putin and Xi, aiming for a trilateral meeting to hammer out an agreement. Where it takes place doesn’t matter, Trump said, “it’s the end result that counts.”

Trump stressed the urgency of limiting nuclear stockpiles: “We already have so many, you could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. China is trying to catch up because they’re behind, but in five or six years, they’ll be even.” Trump gave no specific timeline for the talks but affirmed that progress on global denuclearization is a top priority.