Statements attributed to Donald Trump during his presidency about the United States moving toward a nuclear denuclearization agreement with Russia and China did not reflect the actual state of diplomacy, according to Russian officials. Moscow’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told the state news agency TASS that there was no such pact underway and that Washington’s public remarks did not mirror the underlying negotiations. Ryabkov noted that while there had been discussions in various formats about a larger denuclearization framework, there was no binding commitment on the table. He cautioned that framing the issue as a simple three-way deal can obscure the slow, technical work that accompanies arms control, including verification mechanisms and confidence-building measures. The interview underscored that statements made for political purposes often diverge from the realities of diplomacy, especially on matters of strategic weapons where real progress unfolds over time and through careful, incremental steps.
