(Washington, D.C.) U.S. President Donald Trump said he might work with China and Russia on a denuclearization plan, but he provided no details.
Speaking at the U.S. Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday (November 5), Trump said the U.S. has reorganized its nuclear arsenal, adding, "We are still the number one nuclear power... Russia is second, and China is far behind, third, but they will catch up in four or five years." He therefore believes the three countries could develop a plan to promote denuclearization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia has no intention of violating the existing Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but if the U.S. or other major powers conduct nuclear tests, Russia will take appropriate retaliatory measures.
At a meeting of the Russian Security Council, Putin said he had instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and security services, among other relevant agencies, to gather as much information as possible and submit recommendations regarding the possibility of initiating preparations for a nuclear weapons test.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin did not set a deadline for this. He emphasized that Putin did not order the initiation of preparations for a nuclear test during the meeting, but rather requested a study on the "appropriateness" of initiating such preparations. Further Reading
Russia has not conducted a nuclear test since 1990. Last Thursday, Trump said on social media that he had instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing on a scale comparable to that of other nuclear-armed states such as China and Russia. The following day, in an interview with CBS, Trump claimed that China and Russia were secretly conducting underground nuclear tests, and therefore the United States would follow suit.
China has denied Trump's claims, stating that it adheres to a no-first-use policy and upholds its commitment to suspending nuclear testing. Security analysts believe that the resumption of nuclear testing by any nuclear power could trigger a race to conduct nuclear tests by other nuclear-armed states, leading to instability.
