Putin backs Trump’s proposal for US, China and Russia to halve defence spending

Name: ‘This is not a celebration’: Ukraine marks third anniversary of Russian invasion
Uploaded: 2025-02-24T23:27:41.000Z
Duration: 3 min 21 s
Description: ‘This is not a celebration’: Ukraine marks third anniversary of Russian invasion

Russian president also offered the US the opportunity for joint exploration of rare earth metals deposits

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Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Sputnik via Reuters

Agence France-Presse

Published: 7:27am, 25 Feb 2025Updated: 9:32am, 25 Feb 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday backed a suggestion by US President Donald Trump for Russia, the United States and China to all cut their defence budgets in half.

“I think it’s a good idea. The US would cut by 50 per cent and we would cut by 50 per cent and then China would join if it wanted,” Putin said in a televised interview.

Trump earlier this month also floated the idea of a three-way meeting with the leaders of Russia and China.

“One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia,” Trump said on February 13. “And I want to say: ‘Let’s cut our military budget in half’. And we can do that. And I think we’ll be able to do it.”

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‘This is not a celebration’: Ukraine marks third anniversary of Russian invasion

The United States continues to be the largest military spender globally, with China second.

Russia has massively ramped up military spending since launching its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, boosting economic growth but also inflation.