Trump on Putin Proposal: 'Sounds Like a Good Idea to Me'

The Kremlin on Monday welcomed President Trump's comments about Russia's offer to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the US, saying it raises hope for keeping the pact alive after it expires in February. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his readiness to adhere to nuclear arms limits under the 2010 New START arms reduction treaty for one more year, and he urged Washington to follow suit. When asked about the proposal, Trump said Sunday it "sounds like a good idea to me," per the AP. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed Trump's statement, noting that "it gives grounds for optimism that the United States will support President Putin's initiative."

While offering to extend the New START agreement, Putin said its expiration would be destabilizing and could fuel proliferation of nuclear weapons. He also argued that maintaining limits on nuclear weapons could also be an important step in "creating an atmosphere conducive to substantive strategic dialogue with the US." The Russian leader reaffirmed the offer Thursday, noting that Russia and the US could use the one-year extension to work on a possible successor pact. Such an agreement will involve complex talks that could deal with battlefield nuclear weapons and prospective strategic weapons systems that Russia has developed, Putin said.

"We haven't forgotten about anything that we have planned, the work is ongoing and it will produce results," he declared at a forum of international foreign policy experts. He mentioned the longtime US push for including China in any prospective nuclear arms control pact but emphasized that it's up to Washington to try to persuade Beijing to do so. China has rejected the idea, arguing that its nuclear arsenals are far smaller than those of the US and Russia. Putin also argued that the nuclear arsenals of NATO members Britain and France should be included in a prospective agreement. He noted at the forum that some in the US oppose New START's extension, and "if they don't need it, we don't need it, either. We feel confident about our nuclear shield."