Trump Says US Discusses Disarmament With Russia, China

President Donald Trump said in a Newsmax interview released October 15, 2026, that the United States is discussing denuclearization with Russia and China. "The whole thing is a shame, because I would like to see denuclearization if possible, but we are actually talking about it with Russia, and we are talking with China about denuclearization," he said. He added, "China is quite far behind, so they probably want to discuss it less, but we are discussing it a lot." Trump said China could catch up with the United States in nuclear-weapons capability within about five years; some reports put the figure at five to six years. He gave no details on the talks. Newsmax reported he had discussed denuclearization with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The remarks follow New START's expiration on February 5, 2026. The 2010 U.S.-Russia treaty was extended once for five years by Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin; Russia suspended participation in 2023. SIPRI holds that Russia has the largest stockpile of stored warheads while the United States has more deployed warheads. White House briefing materials from Xi's U.S. visit last month said Trump stressed the necessity of trilateral arms-control talks involving the U.S., China, and Russia; that point was omitted from China's announcement. An APEC summit is due in China next month, expected to draw Xi, Trump, and Putin. Whether talks produce any agreement remains unresolved.