“Trump’s comments may be more about seeking leverage in negotiations with China, Russia and other global powers than a firm policy shift,” FT stated. The newspaper also noted that during his second term as president, he emphasized “the importance of denuclearization talks with both China and Russia.” However, these statements “have triggered a frenzy of speculation” worldwide, while the White House has so far “done little to dispel the uncertainty about the administration’s intentions or rationale for the move,” the paper added, according to Russian TASS. 

“If Trump succeeds in doing this, he will be opening the door to a chain reaction of nuclear testing the likes of which we have not seen in a quarter-century,” FT quoted Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, as saying. He described the president’s stance as “incoherent, ill-informed and counter-productive.”

According to FT, during a US Senate hearing on Thursday, Vice Admiral Richard Correll, nominee for head of the US Strategic Command, said he “wouldn’t presume that the president’s words meant nuclear testing.” “Neither China or Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test. So I’m not reading anything into it or reading anything out,” Correll stated.

Former NATO deputy secretary general and former US arms control negotiator Rose Gottemoeller believes that Trump was “set off” by reports about the completion of tests of the Burevestnik unlimited-range cruise missile. She also suggested that the president might intensify smaller experiments with nuclear materials in special containers instead of large-scale underground explosions.

On October 29, the US president announced that he had instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing. He did not specify what kind of testing he was referring to or whether it would involve detonating nuclear warheads.

MA/PR