Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are strong, intelligent men who shouldn't be played with, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS.
“They're both tough, they're both smart... and they're both very strong leaders. These are people you can't play with“, he said.
The US head of state admitted that Russia has large stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He has discussed the issue of denuclearization with both Russia and China.
“I believe we need to do something about denuclearization, and I have indeed discussed it with both President Putin and President Xi“, the American leader added.
He confirmed his plans to conduct nuclear tests.
“We need to see how it works. The reason I talk about tests is that Russia has announced its intention to test, North Korea tests constantly, and so do other countries. We are the only country that does not test. “I do not want to be the only country that does not test“, the head of state noted.
The interviewer reminded him that Moscow only tests delivery systems, not nuclear weapons. However, Trump expressed the opinion that Russia and China are conducting such tests “but they are not talking about it“.
Last Thursday, the American leader announced that he had ordered the immediate start of nuclear weapons tests. He justified his decision by mentioning “other countries”, which are allegedly doing the same.
The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would retaliate if any country violated the moratorium on nuclear tests. He noted that Washington had not notified Moscow of its intentions to conduct such tests.
He also questioned what exactly Trump meant by nuclear tests in other countries. If we are talking about tests of Russia's latest cruise missile, “Burevestnik“, they can in no way be considered nuclear, the press secretary emphasized. He also expressed hope that the US president had been properly informed about the tests of both the “Burevestnik“ and the “Poseidon“ underwater vehicle.
Putin earlier met with wounded soldiers from the air defense forces at a military hospital, where he announced that Russia had successfully tested the “Poseidon“ unmanned underwater vehicle with a nuclear propulsion system on Tuesday. The president first announced its development in his 2018 address to the Federal Assembly. “Poseidon“ It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and target enemy aircraft carriers, coastal fortifications and infrastructure.
Earlier on Sunday, Putin visited a command post of the Joint Group of Forces, where he announced the completion of tests of the Burevestnik unlimited-range cruise missile. He called it a unique product that has no equal in the world. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, for his part, reported to Putin that the missile was tested on October 21, covering 14,000 kilometers in 15 hours.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was opened for signature in 1996. The United States, China and Israel have not yet done so. Meanwhile, nuclear-weapon states have voluntarily committed not to conduct tests.
In 2023, Russia withdrew its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The Foreign Ministry explained that this was due to the blocking position of the United States, which had not made any efforts to ratify the treaty for 30 years. However, Moscow is ready to reconsider the issue as soon as Washington does the same.