Trump put call with Putin on hold to ask his aides to explain our nuclear arms treaty

[Aegon]

Trump denounced arms-reduction treaty in Putin call: report

In his January call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump condemned a 2010 nuclear arms-reduction treaty as a bad deal for the U.S., Reuters reported Thursday.

Asked by Putin about the possibility of extending the treaty capping U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads — known as New START — Trump reportedly paused to ask his aides what the treaty was, two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official briefed on the call told Reuters.

He then told Putin it was one of a number of bad deals negotiated by former President Barack Obama and that it favored Russia, before launching into a conversation about his own popularity, according to the sources.

The official White House summary of the Jan. 28 call does not mention any discussion of the agreement.

The treaty gives both countries until 2018 to cut their strategic nuclear missile launchers to 1,550 — the lowest number in decades — and limits numbers of land- and submarine-launched missiles and heavy bombers.

Trump on the campaign trail had denounced the treaty, which he referred to as the “START Up” treaty. He claimed incorrectly that the Obama-era deal had allowed Russia to expand its nuclear capabilities while the U.S. could not. 
 
“They expanded and we didn't, 1,800 nuclear warheads,” he incorrectly argued during the final presidential debate in October. 
 
“Let me tell you, Putin has outsmarted ... Obama at every single step of the way. Take a look at the ‘START Up’ that they signed. The Russians have said, according to many, many reports, I can't believe they allowed us to do this. They create warheads, and we can't.”
 
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during his confirmation hearings that he supported the deal, and that it was important for the U.S. to “hold them accountable to commitments made under the New START and also ensure our accountability as well.”
 
The deal, which expires in 2021, can be extended by mutual agreement for another five years, but absent an extension or a new agreement, both countries will be free to expand their arsenals. 
 
Trump in December sparked fears that he would touch off a new arms race between the two nations, when he tweeted that “the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”
 
The next day, he reportedly told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he was open to engaging in an “arms race” with other countries, vowing to “outlast” them.
 
The reported details from his call with Putin also stoke fears that Trump is inadequately prepared to discuss policy with heads of state, with Reuters reporting he did not receive the kind of briefing normally given to presidents prior to his call with Putin.
 
It is unknown if Trump received a briefing from national security adviser Michael Flynn. He did not receive a briefing from either Russia experts with the National Security Council or intelligence agencies, according to two of the sources.

Good to hear!