US President Donald Trump said he wants to resume nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China. He hopes that eventually all three countries will be able to agree to cut their defense spending in half.
AP writes about this.
There is no point in creating new nuclear weapons – Trump
During a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump expressed regret over the hundreds of billions of dollars that are being invested in restoring the US nuclear arsenal.
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He emphasized that he is seeking commitments from America's main rivals to reduce their own military budgets.
– There is no point in creating new nuclear warheads when we already have so many of them. We can destroy the world 50 or even 100 times over. And yet we continue to produce new nuclear weapons, just like they do, the American leader said.
The US President stressed that the huge defense spending could be directed to much more productive purposes.
China is catching up with the US and Russia's nuclear arsenals
While the US and Russia have had huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons since the Cold War, Donald Trump suggests that China could catch up with them in its capabilities “within five to six years”.
He also warned that if these weapons were used, the consequences would be catastrophic.
“It will probably be absolute destruction,” he warned.
Earlier, Trump announced his intention to sign an updated nuclear agreement with Iran. The countries already had a corresponding agreement in 2015, but in 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the treaty.
