Trump wants ‘new, improved’ nuclear treaty with Russia; says US to introduce battleships '100X better than those during WW 2'

US President Donald Trump called for a fresh nuclear treaty on Thursday (Feb 5) after the last agreement with Russia expired. The Trump administration has long time have pressurised to include China in the new treaty. Beijing, whose arsenal is growing but still significantly smaller than those of Russia and America, has publicly rejected the pressure of the American supremo. Taking his social media platform Truth Social, the American president wrote, "The United States is the most powerful country in the world. I completely rebuilt its military in my first term, including new and many refurbished nuclear weapons."

The POTUS added: “We are also adding battleships which are 100 times mre powerful than the ones that roamed the seas during World War II - the Iowa, Missouri, ALabama, and others.” He also claimed that he has "stopped nuclear wars" between multiple countries.

"Rather than extend ‘NEW START’ (A badly negotiated deal by the US that, aside from everything else, is being grossly violated), we should have our nuclear experts work on a new, improved, and modernised treaty that can last long into the future," he added.

Menawjile, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was asked if Washington and Moscow had agreed to stick to the terms of the expired START treaty while negotiations on a new accord are ongoing, she said, "Not to my knowledge."

Meanwhile, campaigners, as per AFP, have warned that the end of the New START treaty could trigger a global arms race. The end of New START "will reduce nuclear stability and predictability, threaten global security, and increase the risk of a new era of unconstrained nuclear competition," a group of former senior arms control officials from around the world, in a joint statement, said.

Meanwhile, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the nuclear treaties between the US and Russia, after more than half a century, were at a "grave moment."

"This dissolution of decades of achievement could not come at a worse time -- the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is the highest in decades," Guterres said.