Trump and Putin Discuss Arms Race

The President of the United States and Russia also discussed the fight against the pandemic, nuclear weapons and economic issues. U.S. and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation on July 23, during which they discussed a number of issues, in particular, the arms race. According to the Special Assistant to the President of the United States, Deputy Speaker of the White House, Judd Deere, during the conversation they talked about ways to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospects for talks on a new agreement on the offensive arms control and global problems. “President Trump and President Putin discussed efforts to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and further restore the global economy. The two leaders also discussed critical bilateral and global issues,” he wrote on Twitter. He also noted that President Trump “expressed his hope that a trilateral arms race between China, Russia and the United States could be avoided,” and stressed that he hoped for progress in future arms control negotiations planned in Vienna. The Kremlin, in turn, reported that the presidents considered the problems of strategic stability and arms control, taking into account the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for maintaining international peace and security. “In this context, the urgency of bilateral consultations on these issues, including the topic of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, was confirmed. The also noted the great importance of the Russian initiative to hold a summit of the permanent members of the UN Security Council on a wide range of international security problems was highlighted,” the message reads. The situation around the Iranian nuclear program was also touched upon. “The two leaders expressed mutual interest in the development of Russian-American trade and economic cooperation, and praised joint efforts to contain the coronavirus spread,” the message reads. In addition, the Kremlin reported that the leaders of Russia and the United States exchanged congratulations on the 45th anniversary of the orbital flight within the framework of the joint Soyuz-Apollo program. Note that the previous conversation between Trump and Putin took place on June 1, during which the presidents discussed the fight against the pandemic, cooperation in the space sector, the G7 summit and the OPEC+ deal.