Trump to Putin and Xi: Let’s Agree to Halve Military Spending and Halt Nuclear Weapons Production /  The Resistance in Gaza Imposes Its Will, Returning to the Agreement on Its Terms and Revealing the Balance of Power

 February 14, 2025

The political editor wrote

One of the most surprising, sensible, and hopeful developments for humanity may have been the statement made yesterday by the American President Donald Trump. Speaking on the sidelines of signing executive orders focused on tariffs, Trump addressed the war in Ukraine and his agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to pursue a negotiated settlement. He declared that spending on nuclear weapons is a wasteful endeavor with no real benefit and argued that nations could make a significant difference in their citizens’ lives if they redirected the vast sums allocated for military armament toward ensuring a better future. Trump then called on Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to cut defense and military budgets by half and to halt nuclear weapons production.

Experts in strategic affairs and international relations noted that if the U.S. commits to this approach, Russia and China are likely to reciprocate, given past arms reduction agreements that the U.S. later abandoned, seeking military superiority while also aiming to drain Russian and Chinese economic resources. Analysts pointed out that if Trump remains steadfast in this stance, he could effectively address America’s economic decline by freeing up enormous financial resources for strategic economic projects without fueling inflation or increasing debt. Additionally, such a shift could ease global tensions and pave the way for competition in development and reconstruction rather than arms races and wars.

In the region, ceasefire negotiations mediated by intermediaries concluded with an agreement to resume implementing the ceasefire terms and reciprocal commitments. This includes allowing heavy machinery and pre-fabricated housing into Gaza while releasing three Israeli prisoners under the same exchange framework used in the initial phase of the agreement.

Sources following the negotiations noted that the crisis provided the resistance with an opportunity to expose a reality that had been obscured by propaganda at the time of the agreement’s formation – namely, the false notion that U.S. pressure under President Trump was the decisive factor in securing the deal. It has now become evident that the resistance emerged from the war with the upper hand. The claim that the occupying entity could have resumed military operations were it not for U.S. intervention has been utterly discredited. Trump’s threats of “hell” for Gaza unless all Israeli prisoners were released should have provided the occupation with a golden opportunity to reignite hostilities, if it had the capability. Instead, its return to the agreement on the resistance’s terms, releasing only the agreed-upon number of prisoners, serves as undeniable proof that the agreement was shaped not by external pressure but by the resistance’s military steadfastness and the political resilience of its people.

In Lebanon, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri addressed the ceasefire agreement and Israeli withdrawal following his meeting with General Jasper Jeevers, head of the ceasefire monitoring committee, in the presence of U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson. Berri stated, “The Americans have informed me that the Israeli occupation will withdraw from the remaining villages on February 18 but intends to maintain a presence in five points. I have made it clear, in my name and on behalf of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, that we categorically reject this”.

He further emphasised, “I refused to discuss any extension of the withdrawal timeline. It is the Americans’ responsibility to ensure that the full withdrawal takes place as agreed – otherwise, they will have caused a major setback for the Lebanese government”. Berri warned, “If the occupation remains, time will tell. This is the responsibility of the Lebanese state, and the army is fulfilling its duty south of the Litani. As for the area north of the Litani, that is a matter for the Lebanese people and a national dialogue on a defense strategy”.

Concluding his remarks, Berri added, “God willing, the funerals of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine will proceed peacefully and without disturbances”.