US doesn't want to be only country not conducting nuclear tests, says Trump
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said he had discussed nuclear arms reduction with Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, while also explaining the reasons behind the United States’ decision to resume nuclear testing, according to CBS News.
US President Donald Trump said the United States possesses more nuclear weapons than any other country and confirmed that Washington has been discussing nuclear arms reduction with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
"I think we should do something about denuclearization. And I did actually discuss that with both President Putin and President Xi. We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some,” Trump said.
According to him, the US is the only country not conducting nuclear tests.
"Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea's testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test, and I want to be - I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," Trump said in the interview.
The US president did not specify whether he was referring to warhead detonations.
Earlier, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that current nuclear testing plans do not include live warhead explosions.
"The tests we’re talking about now are system tests, what we call non-critical explosions," Wright explained.
US nuclear testing
On October 30, Trump announced that the United States is resuming nuclear testing, citing the fact that "all other countries are conducting nuclear tests." He emphasized that while the US holds the largest nuclear arsenal, its testing had been suspended for many years.
Later, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Washington’s decision to resume nuclear testing would make nuclear conflict less likely.
Russian nuclear missile
At the same time, Russia carried out a test of its "unlimited-range" Burevestnik cruise missile, with President Vladimir Putin present. Putin called the weapon a "unique product" and ordered the preparation of the necessary infrastructure for its deployment.
Back in 2020, the US Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea compared Russia’s Burevestnik to Chernobyl, describing it as a "doomsday system" because of the radioactive emissions it can generate during flight.
