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Exclusive - In call with Putin, Trump denounced Obama-era nuclear arms treaty: sources

webfact

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Exclusive - In call with Putin, Trump denounced Obama-era nuclear arms treaty: sources

By Jonathan Landay and David Rohde

REUTERS

 

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U.S. President Donald Trump sits during a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Intel Brian Krzanich in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., February 8, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call.

 

When Putin raised the possibility of extending the 2010 treaty, known as New START, Trump paused to ask his aides in an aside what the treaty was, these sources said.

 

Trump then told Putin the treaty was one of several bad deals negotiated by the Obama administration, saying that New START favoured Russia. Trump also talked about his own popularity, the sources said.

 

"The president's conversation with President Putin is a private call between the two of them, and I'm going to leave it at that," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said when asked about the accounts of the call.

 

It has not been previously reported that Trump had conveyed his doubt about New START to Putin in the hour-long call.

 

New START gives both countries until February 2018 to reduce their deployed strategic nuclear warheads to no more than 1,550, the lowest level in decades. It also limits deployed land- and submarine-based missiles and nuclear-capable bombers.

 

During a debate in the 2016 presidential election, Trump said Russia had "outsmarted" the United States with the treaty, which he called "START-Up." He asserted incorrectly then that it had allowed Russia to continue to produce nuclear warheads while the United States could not.

 

Two Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, senators Jeanne Shaheen and Edward J. Markey, criticized Trump for deriding what they called a key nuclear arms control accord.

 

“It’s impossible to overstate the negligence of the president of the United States not knowing basic facts about nuclear policy and arms control,” Shaheen said in a statement. "New START has unquestionably made our country safer, an opinion widely shared by national security experts on both sides of the aisle."

 

Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, said: "Unfortunately, Mr. Trump appears to be clueless about the value of this key nuclear risk reduction treaty and the unique dangers of nuclear weapons."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he supported the treaty during his Senate confirmation hearings.

 

During the hearings Tillerson said it was important for the United States to "stay engaged with Russia, hold them accountable to commitments made under the New START and also ensure our accountability as well."

 

Two of the people who described the conversation were briefed by current administration officials who read detailed notes taken during the call. One of the two was shown portions of the notes. A third source was also briefed on the call.

 

Reuters has not reviewed the notes taken of the call, which are classified.

 

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

CONCERNS OVER PHONE CALLS

 

The phone call with Putin has added to concerns that Trump is not adequately prepared for discussions with foreign leaders.

 

Typically, before a telephone call with a foreign leader, a president receives a written in-depth briefing paper drafted by National Security Council staff after consultations with the relevant agencies, including the State Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies, two former senior officials said.

 

Just before the call, the president also usually receives an oral "pre-briefing" from his national security adviser and top subject-matter aide, they said.

 

Trump did not receive a briefing from Russia experts with the NSC and intelligence agencies before the Putin call, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine if Trump received a briefing from his national security adviser Michael Flynn.

 

In the phone call, the Russian leader raised the possibility of reviving talks on a range of disputes and suggested extending New START, the sources said.

 

New START can be extended for another five years, beyond 2021, by mutual agreement. Unless they agree to do that or negotiate new cuts, the world's two biggest nuclear powers would be freed from the treaty's limits, potentially setting the stage for a new arms race.

 

New START was ratified by the U.S. Senate in December 2010 by a vote of 71 to 26. Thirteen Republican senators joined all of the Senate’s Democrats in voting for the treaty, although Republican opponents derided it as naive.

 

The call with Putin was one of several with foreign leaders where Trump has turned to denounce deals negotiated by previous administrations on trade, acceptance of refugees and arms control.

 

In a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump questioned an agreement reached by the Obama administration to accept 1,250 refugees now being held by Australia in offshore detention centres.

 

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammad and John Walcott; Editing by John Walcott, Kevin Krolicki and Ross Colvin)

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-10
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pookiki Silver Member

pookiki

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If Trump wants to dump START, he must like the concept of MAD much better!  Not only that, he's a poster boy for MAD!  Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers or one stupid person in the Oval Office.

Edited by pookiki
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blazes Gold Member

blazes

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Trump's asking an aide what is in an important (very recent) treaty reminds me of the madness in the war-room in Kubrick's great movie "Dr Strangelove" when the president (Peter Sellers) has to ask the General (George C. Scott, chewing gum) how long before a plane carrying the nuclear warhead would be out of range and impossible to call back.....

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Opl Gold Member

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6 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump did not receive a briefing from Russia experts with the NSC and intelligence agencies before the Putin call, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine if Trump received a briefing from his national security adviser Michael Flynn.

 

But ...But  " Trump reportedly called his national security adviser at 3 a.m. to ask if the US wanted a strong or weak dollar.. Flynn said he was not sure and Trump should ask an economist instead."

 

http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/trump-called-mike-flynn-about-us-dollar-at-3-am-2017-2/

 

"Stay tuned for next week, when Trump demands H.U.D. chief Ben Carson tell him the best place to test some nuclear missiles".

 

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/02/donald-trump-mike-flynn

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mtls2005 Diamond Member

mtls2005

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3 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

 

 

If the president had listened or attended security briefings he might know what START is 

 

This administration is looking more like the kids game of Simon Says

 

21 minutes into a security briefing earlier this week he was tweeting about the Nordstrom-Ivanka kerfuffle.

 

He likes one page only, and nine bullet points only.

 

And no, he doesn't wear a bathrobe when he wanders around the WH.  #can't-unsee-that

 

Time to get Rick Perry (Secretary of Energy and DWTS participant) involved - he has a degree in animal science, but got a "D" in one course called "Meat". He is responsible for our nuculeer arsenal.

Edited by mtls2005
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