Trump says it would be 'great' if China, Russia would engage in denuclearization talks

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that it would be "great" if world powers would do away with their nuclear arsenals, saying he would like to engage with China and Russia to do so in coordination with the United States.

"It'd be great if everybody would get rid of their nuclear weapons," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "Russia and us have by far the most. China will have an equal amount within four or five years, and it would be great if we could all denuclearize, because the power of nuclear weapons is crazy. It's crazy."

Trump said that during his first term, he was "very close" to brokering a denuclearization deal with Russia, and said he also engaged in talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter.

• "I would very much like to start those talks," he said. "Denuclearization would be incredible."