Donald Trump told reporters that the United States wants to conclude an arms control agreement with Moscow, Beijing and, possibly, other countries. The American leader said this, commenting on the expiration of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III or SPD) in early 2021.

“We are now engaged in arms control. We are resolving this issue with both China and Russia, ”Trump magazine quotes Trump.

According to the head of the White House, Moscow and Beijing wish to reach an agreement with Washington.

“I think both of these countries (Russia and China. - RT ) would like this (to conclude a new agreement on arms control. - RT ), especially when it comes to nuclear weapons. Now we are striving for a major agreement in the field of arms control with Russia and China, as well as, possibly, with someone else, ”Trump said.

Recall that the American side has repeatedly taken initiatives to expand START III or create a new treaty.

So, in early August, the United States proposed to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, but on condition that it could be made multilateral. This was reported in a joint statement drawn up following Australian-American ministerial consultations.

“The heads of departments confirmed the need for a transition to a new era of arms control, which envisages expanding the circle of states and weapons systems that are subject to the agreements under discussion (START-III. - RT ), as well as strengthening efforts to reduce nuclear risks," the report says .

  • The White House - the official residence of the US President
  • globallookpress.com
  • © Keegan Barber

Earlier, the American media reported on the "active preparation" by the White House of a draft new nuclear arms control treaty with the participation of Russia and China. According to CNN, Trump is counting on a “grand nuclear deal,” supposedly capable of replacing an existing treaty.

With similar ideas in April, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke at a Senate hearing. Then he announced the need to connect China to the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty.

Trump has repeatedly criticized START III, which his predecessor, Barack Obama, concluded. According to the 45th president, this agreement is supposedly a failed unilateral deal for the United States.

New agreement "unlikely"

However, China did not appreciate the "efforts" of the American side to expand START III. In May, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang said at a briefing that the PRC would not participate in such negotiations. According to him, China’s nuclear arsenal is at the lowest level necessary to ensure national security.

  • Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang
  • © fmprc.gov.cn

Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Chinese colleagues, saying he agreed with Beijing’s argument. In his opinion, the reaction of the PRC looks "quite logical." He announced this at the beginning of September at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum.

Not only Washington’s partners, but also a number of representatives of US political circles doubt the possibility of implementing the initiative of the head of the White House.

Thus, US lawmakers and Democrats Eliot Engel and Robert Menendez said that the United States should make every effort to extend the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. They sent a letter with such an appeal to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“We urge the administration ... to make every effort to ensure that it extends over the 16 months remaining until the expiration of the current treaty (START-III.— RT ), thereby guaranteeing further strategic stability in relations between the US and Russia” , - said in a statement published on the website of the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee.

Politicians also said that, according to “witnesses from the administration” of the president, Trump asked the State Department to develop a broader arms control agreement that would include “China’s activities and the latest Russian strategic nuclear systems.”

“Unfortunately, the administration did not instill in us enough confidence that efforts are actively being made in this direction, or in any other direction,” the letter says.

At the same time, Engel and Menendez emphasized that it would hardly be possible for the White House to create a new treaty that would suit all parties.

  • American lawmakers and democrats Eliot Engel and Robert Menendez
  • Reuters

“It is highly unlikely that the administration will be able to agree on an important new arms control agreement that will take these complex issues into account before the expiration of START III in February 2021,” lawmakers said.

In addition to Engel and Menendez, the head of the US Strategic Command John Heiten also opposed the US withdrawal from this treaty. According to him, the American side “has no plan to use hypersonic weapons in ... nuclear deterrence forces,” while Russia and China speak of this type of weapons “as part of its future strategic deterrence force.”

"Trying to charge a high price"

The President of the United States intentionally “sets forth unrealizable conditions” for the agreement, said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.

“Trump always behaves like this - he tries as a business negotiator to set the highest price, and then proceed from the current situation. At the same time, the American leader does not give a definite answer on the extension of the START Treaty and continues to demand accession to the treaty of China, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

Bruter believes that the American leader is aware of the impracticability of his ideas, but continues to come up with such initiatives to “cover up the unwillingness to renew the START III”.

“At the same time, the political situation is changing for Trump - today he is under strong internal pressure. More and more Americans are in favor of impeaching the American president. And this cannot but affect the foreign policy decisions of the head of the White House. In this situation, he, of course, may not extend START III, but this will be associated with a great risk of losing his domestic political position, ”the expert noted.

Bruter also believes that the Chinese side’s refusal to participate in negotiations to expand the START Treaty is fully justified, and the US’s desire to attract China to them “is contrary to the essence of these agreements.”

“Beijing in its nuclear policy focuses solely on protecting its own territory - China does not have weapons that would be located outside the country. Why should they participate in negotiations on strategic offensive weapons, on the destruction mechanism, if they simply don’t have one? ”The analyst explained.

According to Andrei Sidorov, head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Moscow State University’s faculty of world politics, Trump “wants to compensate for what was lost,” rejecting any agreement on nuclear weapons.

“The United States later began modernizing the nuclear components of its armed forces. In addition, the head of the White House sends a signal to other countries that the abolition of the “bad” START will be followed by the creation of a new, “perfect” agreement. However, in fact this will never happen. Trump simply will not renew the contract, which is not beneficial to him, and will continue to pour in promises. Now he also feeds everyone breakfast, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

"The situation of mutual distrust"

In response to Donald Trump’s statement about Washington’s desire for a “major arms control agreement with Russia and China,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was important at this stage to focus on extending the START.

Moscow has repeatedly stated its readiness to discuss with the American side the extension of the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty.

“As for the fate of the START III treaty: we have repeatedly, including President Putin, advocated extending it for five years after it expires in February 2021. We’re still ready to discuss this issue with the Americans, ”said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference with his Chinese counterpart Wang I.

Later, in September, during a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin pointed out that the United States was “silent” in response to proposals from the Russian side to begin negotiations “to continue contacts in the field of disarmament and to curb the arms race.”

At the same time, last week the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow and Washington would not have time to work out a new “full-fledged document” before the START Treaty expired. This was stated by Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Vladimir Leontyev. According to him, the current leadership of Russia and the United States “had only two contacts” in the framework of the strategic dialogue - in the fall of 2017 in Helsinki and “relatively recently in Prague”.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a plenary meeting of the V Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok
  • RIA News
  • © Grigory Sysoev

According to Vladimir Bruter, Russia and the United States have the only option to maintain the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - to extend the agreement and only after that "open negotiations on its modification."

“These modifications would last some time. However, Trump, of course, does not want to take such a step, because he considers this measure a demonstration of weakness, ”the expert noted.

However, if the contract is not renewed, “a situation of mutual distrust will arise,” Bruter believes.

“Each of the parties will act in accordance with its own position - the world will become less secure. This may lead to a violation of the agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. In addition, the United States will be able to deploy a nuclear arsenal in Southeast Asia, provoking China, ”the analyst said.

Andrei Sidorov, in turn, added that if the START did not succeed in extending, the world was waiting for a new round of the arms race.

“The United States will begin with even greater intensity to modernize its nuclear triad - missiles, bombers and submarines,” the expert concluded.