Trump Renews Push for Denuclearisation Talks with Russia and China

Wed Aug 27 2025
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Key points

  • Trump hints at reviving North Korea diplomacy
  • New START treaty nearing 2026 expiry
  • China urged to join nuclear talks

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has reiterated his intention to open denuclearisation talks with Russia and China, reviving a topic he previously raised, as he also aims to resume stalled diplomacy with North Korea.

“I think the denuclearisation is a very — it’s a big aim, but Russia is willing to do it, and I think China is going to be willing to do it too. We can’t let nuclear weapons proliferate. We have to stop nuclear weapons. The power is too great,” he added.

At a separate event at the White House on Monday, Trump said he had raised the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he did not disclose when the conversation occurred.

“We’re talking about limiting nuclear weapons. We’ll get China into that,” Trump said.

Too much power

“China is way behind, but they’ll catch us in five years. We would like to denuclearise. It’s too much power, and we talked about that also,” he continued.

Trump’s comments come amid his expressed interest in meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un this year. Kim has so far ignored Trump’s repeated outreach since the Republican president returned to office in January, attempting to revive the direct engagement pursued during Trump’s first term (2017–2021), which ultimately failed to produce an agreement on halting North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Trump had first announced his intention to pursue nuclear arms control efforts in February, stating he wanted to begin talks with both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on capping their nuclear arsenals.

Initiating talks

Speaking from the Oval Office at the time, Trump said denuclearisation would be a key objective of his second term and that he hoped to initiate talks in the “not too distant future”.

This renewed push comes as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is due to expire on 5 February 2026. Signed in 2010, it remains the last active arms control agreement between the US and Russia, placing limits on the number of deployed strategic warheads and their delivery systems.

Earlier this year, Russia warned that the prospects of renewing the treaty were bleak. Under Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, the US urged China to join formal arms control discussions, but progress was limited.

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