President Trump on Thursday said the ultimate deal he could reach with Russian President Vladimir Putin would center around the end of nuclear weapons programs worldwide.
Reuters reports that Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Brussels that a positive relationship between the U.S. and Russia could have a global effect.
“What would be the ultimate? Let’s see. No more nuclear weapons anywhere in the world, no more wars, no more problems, no more conflicts. … That would be my ultimate,” Trump said.
{mosads}
The remark comes days before the president is expected to meet with Putin in Helsinki, where the two will host a bilateral summit amid growing tensions between the two countries over election meddling and other issues.
Experts told Reuters that the most likely outcome of next week’s talks is the resumption of “strategic stability” talks between the two governments, a topic which encompasses most issues related to nuclear weapons.
“The most likely outcome is the restarting of the strategic stability talks between the U.S. and Russia,” said former Assistant Secretary of State Frank Rose in an interview with Reuters.
Trump has pledged to bring up allegations of Russia’s involvement in spreading misinformation during the 2016 presidential election, as well as the country’s support for the government of Bashar Assad in Syria at his meeting with Putin.
“I think we go into that meeting not looking for so much. We want to find out about Syria. We will, of course, ask your favorite question about meddling. I will be asking that question again,” he told reporters Thursday.