BUSAN, South Korea (AP) – President Donald Trump said he would stand on “equal footing” with Russia and China, appearing to hint that the United States would resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in 30 years.
There was no indication that the United States would begin detonating warheads, but the president provided few details about what appeared to be a significant shift in U.S. policy.
he announced in the minutes on social media Before meeting with Chinese leaders Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday.
The US military already regularly tests missiles capable of launching nuclear warheads, but they have not detonated them since 1992 due to a ban on testing.
But the president suggested changes were necessary because other countries were testing weapons. It’s unclear what he was referring to, but it was reminiscent of the escalation of the Cold War.
“As other countries have testing programs, I have directed the Department of the Army to begin testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” he said in a post on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.”
The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking further details, and Trump sat across from Xi in Busan, ignoring questions from reporters about his duties during a meeting that was expected to focus on trade issues between the two countries.
Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to questions about President Trump’s announcement about nuclear missile tests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this week that Russia tested new nuclear power Nuclear-capable underwater drone and new Nuclear cruise missile. However, President Putin has made no announcement about Russia’s nuclear weapons tests, the last of which was in 1990.
Trump did not specifically mention Russia’s nuclear tests in his post, but alluded to the nuclear stockpiles controlled by both Xi and Putin, saying, “Russia is a distant second and China is a distant third, but within five years we’ll be on par.”
President Putin signed the bill in 2023 revoking Russia’s ratification of the global nuclear test banMoscow said was necessary to bring Russia on par with the United States.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, adopted in 1996 and banning all nuclear explosions worldwide, was signed by President Bill Clinton but never ratified by the Senate.
Russia in 2023 He said he would only resume nuclear weapons testing. If Washington did it first.
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Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Konstantin Tropin contributed to this report.
