Trump’s call to dump nukes ‘draws attention away’ from arms control deals he ditches

Trump’s suggestion that the world powers “have to get rid” of nuclear weapons can’t be taken seriously as this is a mere distraction from crucial arms control accords the US is keen to dismantle, analysts told RT.

The US President said that not only “we want to get rid of the nuclear weapons,” but “we have to,” citing Russia and China among the states which should ditch their respective arsenals. It comes on the heels of reports that White House officials are allegedly preparing options for a grand nuclear deal between Washington, Moscow and Beijing. But one should not set high hopes for the proposal.

“It is a political declaration, which, I think, has not much in common with reality,” commented Vasily Kashin, a senior research fellow at Russia’s Higher School of Economics.

All in all, “everyone understands there will be no steps in this direction” and there’s “quite a distrust” between Washington and Beijing, let alone Washington and Moscow.

“The US is not agreement capable,” former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT. “Any agreement we make is simply not going to be honored by the US side.”

“I don’t see how anybody in Moscow or Beijing would listen to this and say ‘oh sure, look at what happened with the nuclear agreement. Look what happened with INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty). Let’s go and sign this new agreement I’m sure the Americans will be very sincere about it.’”

That said, Trump’s call to abandon nuclear weapons may have another motive. Such statements “do not aim for a start of a dialogue,” they are made to legitimize “US efforts to increase arms and military presence in certain areas of the world,” Kashin explained.

It also serves to deflect attention from the role the Americans play in dismantling existing arms control system.

Trump has made his far-fetched proposal only two months after he announced the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, a move which was condemned by even Washington’s closest allies.

He also unilaterally pulled out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran which was only made possible by a joint diplomatic effort of five world powers plus Tehran itself.

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