Amid the political flux surrounding the fate of European ties with the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a somber yet fair assessment of the global nuclear order. Questioning the rationale of the nuclear arms race between the United States, Russia, and China, Trump reflected that “there is no reason for us [presumably meaning the three aforementioned states] to be building brand new nuclear weapons. We already have so many.” 

Indeed, as Trump acknowledged, these countries possess enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world multiple times. This fear of nuclear Armageddon, as Trump has repeatedly cautioned, prompted a statement from the White House indicating the U.S. desire to pursue nuclear arms control dialogues with Russia and China to achieve “denuclearization.”

While different presidents have pursued the lofty aims of denuclearization for decades, Trump’s announcement should by no means be taken lightly. For starters, Trump is hardly an advocate for arms control agreements – his first term witnessed the U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and Open Skies Agreement, as well as abrogation of the Iran nuclear deal. His combative approach to arms control meant that his administration prioritized imposing new demands........

© The Diplomat