On the 5th (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States said that instead of extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a nuclear arms reduction agreement between the United States and Russia that expired that day, a new treaty should be established.
On the same day, President Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, "Instead of extending New START, we should have our nuclear experts seek a new, improved, and modernized treaty that can endure into the future."
He described New START as "a deal that the United States negotiated very poorly," adding that "even leaving everything else aside, it is being egregiously violated."
President Trump has consistently maintained that, rather than extending New START, a new nuclear arms reduction treaty should be concluded that includes other nuclear-armed states such as China.
In an interview with the New York Times (NYT) released on the 8th of last month, he also said of New START, "If it expires, it expires, and we will make a better deal," adding, "There may be a couple more players involved."
On the previous day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said at a press conference, "In the past, the President has made it clear that it is impossible to achieve genuine arms control in the 21st century without including China."
However, China has previously expressed opposition to being asked to participate in a nuclear arms reduction agreement at this point in time, saying that such a demand is "neither fair nor reasonable," suggesting that the conclusion of a new treaty will not be easy.
President Trump said that day, "The United States is the most powerful nation in the world," adding, "During my first term, I completely rebuilt the military, including new and upgraded nuclear weapons. I also created the Space Force, and we are still rebuilding our military to an unprecedented level."
He continued, "We are even adding battleships more than 100 times stronger than the battleships that roamed the seas during World War II, such as the USS Iowa, USS Missouri, and USS Alabama," and added, "I prevented the outbreak of a global nuclear war between Pakistan and India, between Iran and Israel, and between Russia and Ukraine."
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