U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he wants to open denuclearization talks with Russia and China, revisiting an issue he had previously raised, while also seeking to restart stalled diplomacy with North Korea.
“One of the things we are trying to do with Russia and with China is denuclearization, and it’s very important,” Trump said ahead of his meeting Monday with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House, Reuters reports.
“I think denuclearization is a very big goal, but Russia is willing to do it, and I think China will be willing too. We cannot allow nuclear weapons to spread. We must stop nuclear weapons. The power is too great,” he added.
At another White House event on Monday, Trump said he had raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without giving specific details on the timing of the conversation.
“We are talking about limiting nuclear weapons. We will include China in this,” Trump declared.
His comments come as the president expressed a desire to meet this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim has ignored Trump’s repeated calls since he took office in January to revive direct diplomacy, which during his 2017–2021 term failed to produce any agreement to halt North Korea’s nuclear program.
Trump first expressed his intention for nuclear arms control in February, saying he wanted to begin discussions with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on placing limits on their arsenals.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office at the time, Trump stated that denuclearization would be one of the goals of his second term and hoped to begin “in the not too distant future.”
