The US president has said that Washington’s existing nuclear weapons could destroy the world “more than 100 times.”
President Donald Trump has proposed talks with China and Russia, debating reducing nuclear reserves in all three countries and cutting defense budgets in half.
Speaking to White House reporters on Thursday, Trump said he hopes to meet Chinese national president Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin when things go down.
“When we straighten it all, I want one of the first meetings I have [to be] With Russian President Putin and Chinese President XI. And let’s cut our military budget in half,” Trump said ahead of a summit meeting with India’s President Narendra Modi.
“We’re going to let them have much less money,” Trump added. “We’re going to spend less money, and I know they’re going to do that.”
Trump said he would “reason for building new nuclear weapons when Washington’s existing weapons can “destroy more than 100 times” the world and spend public funds on “things that are actually much more productive.” There is none.”
A day after he spoke with Putin about negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, Trump said he and the Russian leader agreed to pursue “very big” weapons cuts.
“And we’re building new nuclear weapons, they’re building nuclear weapons, China is building nuclear weapons, China is trying to catch up because you know, Trump said. .
Trump said that if the US had to use nuclear weapons it would be a “sad day.”
“It’s probably going to be oblivion,” he said.
Global nuclear stockpile
According to the Arms Control Association, a US-based nonprofit, the US and Russia account for the majority of the world’s nuclear weapons stockpile, with an estimated 10,805 warheads between them.
China is estimated to have 600 warheads, while France, the UK, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are believed to have around 1,000 people.
The United States spends much more military force than any other country, but military budget estimates for other countries have a modest scale due to its lower purchasing power.
The US Congress allocated $895 million in defense spending for fiscal year 2025.
China’s expected military spending is expected to reach $185 billion this year, according to estimates from RAND Corporation.
Russia’s military spending totaled $145.9 billion last year, according to estimates from the Institute for International Strategic Studies.
On Monday, Russian Deputy Minister Sergei Lyabkov said the situation to renew the new strategic arms reduction treaty, which limits the deployment of strategic nuclear warheads, was “not very promising” ahead of the expiration date scheduled for February next year. ” he warned.
The agreement is the last remaining arms control agreement between the two largest nuclear forces in the world after withdrawing Washington from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Treaty (INF) against alleged violations by Moscow.
Trump later failed to attempt to seal the three-way weapons control deal with Putin and Xi’s neighbors.
Moscow expressed interest in the idea, but Beijing rejected the proposal, and among other reasons, Washington refused the decision to withdraw the INF.
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