Trump claims he spoke to China, Russia on ‘denuclearisation of weapons’

US President Donald Trump said he has recently discussed the denuclearisation of weapons with both China and Russia, signalling renewed efforts to reduce the world’s nuclear stockpiles.

The remarks came on Thursday, shortly after the US president signed an Executive Order designed to prevent a “patchwork” of state-level regulations on artificial intelligence, as he addressed reporters at the White House.

Calling it an issue of collective responsibility, Trump said global nuclear powers share a mutual interest in stepping back from the expansion of their arsenals. “One of the things I talked to China about is the denuclearisation of weapons. We’d like to see if we could stop that. I’m talking about nuclear weapons. I’ve spoken to China about that. I’ve spoken to Russia about that. And I think it would be something that we would want to do, and they would like to do, and I think Russia would like to do,” Trump said, foreign media reported.

Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source

He further pointed out that the three countries possess the largest number of nuclear warheads and should work together to prevent further escalation. According to him, both Beijing and Moscow have shown interest in such conversations.

The president also revisited his earlier stance from October, when he described global denuclearisation as a “tremendous thing” but simultaneously argued that restarting US nuclear testing could be “appropriate”. He cited Russia’s development of advanced nuclear-capable systems—including the Poseidon underwater drone—as a significant concern.

Trump had said at the time that Russia and China appeared to be conducting nuclear tests. He argued that although the United States possessed more nuclear weapons than any other country and had refrained from testing, the ongoing tests by other nations made it appropriate for Washington to resume its own. He also indicated that preparations for such tests were already underway and that the US had test sites ready, with formal announcements expected later.

Amid questions about shifts in US strategy, Washington reaffirmed its commitment to the “complete denuclearisation” of North Korea. Concerns had emerged after the latest US National Security Strategy (NSS) omitted explicit references to Pyongyang.

Acting US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim clarified the position during a meeting with First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo. “President Trump and President Lee (Jae Myung) reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea in the joint fact sheet. That is our Korea policy right now.”