Trump says US in talks with Russia and China on nuclear disarmament

US President Donald Trump says Washington is holding talks with Russia and China aimed at reducing their nuclear arsenals.

“I’d love to denuclearise if possible, but we’re actually talking to Russia about that, and we’re talking to China about that denuclearisation,” Trump told Newsmax in an interview on Thursday.

Newsmax reported that Trump had discussed the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump also said he expects China to “catch up” with the US in nuclear weapons within the next five years.

Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, followed by the US and China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. However, the US has more deployed warheads than Russia.

Trump’s comments come months after the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the US and Russia, expired earlier this year.

The treaty, signed in 2010, allowed for only one extension, which was agreed by former President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.