U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to get a nuclear arms agreement with Russia that both President Trump and President Vladimir Putin could sign before U.S. elections on Nov. 3, David Lawler reported for Axios on Oct. 9. The United States believes the prospective deal would be acceptable to Russian President Putin, and, both Presidents have discussed an arms control deal in a series of phone calls. The deal could be negotiated in as little as a week, a source familiar with their discussions told Axios. While the Russians have not openly voiced such optimism, or publicly indicated they are willing to engage in expedited negotiations, election pressure has given rise to some optimism.
The agreement, Lawler wrote, would involve freezes on both countries’ stockpiles of nuclear warheads, as well as a framework for a future multilateral arms control treaty.