Trump to raise nuclear-arms cuts with Putin, Xi on Nov 19, White House says

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Trump to raise nuclear-arms cuts with Putin and Xi at China meeting, White House says Read more at straitstimes.com.

US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Shenzhen.

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump will raise nuclear-arms reduction at a meeting in China next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said on Nov 13.

“He will discuss the reduction of nuclear weapons in the world, whose proliferation President Trump believes is very dangerous,” Olivia Wales, a White House spokeswoman, said on a call with reporters. She added that the meeting would take place on Nov 19 in China.

Trump’s repeated insistence that the first-of-its-kind meeting of the three leaders focus on nuclear arms reductions has riled China, which is hosting a summit focused on trade and commerce. China has rebuffed attempts to talk about nuclear arms with Russia and the United States, which have the largest stockpiles of such weapons.

Putin, Xi and Trump are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Shenzhen. Trump is leaving on Nov 16 for a four-day trip to Asia that also includes a stop in the Philippines.

“We do not expect to get to any kind of agreement,” a senior Trump administration official said regarding the nuclear issue. “This is a difficult topic for China to address, but we do think it’s time for China to sort of step up, you know, to the adults’ table, if you will, and have adult conversations about adult things.”

The official added: “This is the beginning of hopefully a conversation that can be productive going forward.”

Beijing has for years resisted direct engagement with Washington about its nuclear programme, saying it is more appropriate for Russia and the US to speak directly because of their large arsenals.

Russia has the most stored nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and China, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

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