MARIA:  WELCOME BACK.
MARIA:  WELCOME BACK.
THE NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL OUT WITH AN
EXCLUSIVE REPORT SAYING THAT
SAUDI ARABIA HAS EXPANDED ITS
NUCLEAR PROGRAM WITH THE HELP OF
CHINA.
A NEW FACILITY IN THE COUNTRY’S
NORTHWEST REGION IS RAISING
FLAGS, IT’S REPORTEDLY BEING
USED TO HARVEST YELLOW CAKE
URANIUM.
JOINING ME NOW IS AMBASSADOR
MARSHALL BILLINGSLY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
CAN YOU GIVE US THE STATUS CHECK
OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN TERMS OF
THE NEW FACILITY IN SAUDI ARABIA
AND THE NUCLEAR AMBITIONS THERE?
>> WELL, IT’S GREAT TO BE WITH
YOU THIS MORNING, MARIA.
AND LET ME START BY
CONGRATULATING YOU FOR THE
25th ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR
REPORTING ON THE NEW YORK STOCK
EXCHANGE.
THAT’S JUST AN INCREDIBLE
TRAILBLAZING ON YOUR PART.
AS A FATHER OF TWO YOUNG
DAUGHTERS, I HOPE THEY CAN IN
DUE COURSE BLAZE THEIR OWN
TRAILS AS YOU HAVE.
I SAW THE PRESS REPORTING.
MARIA:  THANK YOU SO MUCH, I
APPRECIATE THAT.
>>  ABSOLUTELY.
THE PRESS REPORTING HIGHLIGHTS
AN ISSUE ACTUALLY THAT I WAS
ASKED ABOUT IN A SENATE HEARING
TWO WEEKS AGO AND WHAT I WOULD
SAY IS THAT IT’S GOING TO BE
CRUCIAL THAT THE SAUDIS COMMIT
AND I’M SURE THEY WILL TO FULL
SAFEGUARDS UNDER THE IAEA, THE
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY
AGENCY.
I SAID I THINK WITH REGARD TO
U.S. NUCLEAR COOPERATION, THIS
IS FOR CIVIL NUCLEAR PURPOSES,
POWER GENERATION, WE SHOULD
NEGOTIATE AND I’M SURE WE WILL A
SET OF AGREEMENTS THAT FOREGO
ENRICHMENT AND REPROCESSING
WHICH ARE THE TWO KINDS OF
TECHNOLOGIES THAT WOULD BE MOST
CONCERNING IN TERMS OF PIVOTING
FROM A CIVIL PROGRAM TO A
WEAPONS PROGRAM.
BUT WHAT’S KEY HERE, MARIA, IS
TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE COMPANIES
THAT THE SAUDIS ARE DOING
BUSINESS WITH IN CHINA ARE
STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES AND
THOSE VERY COMPANIES ARE THE
SAME ONES INVOLVED IN CHINA’S
MASSIVE NUCLEAR BUILDUP, IT’S
NUCLEAR WEAPONS CRASH PROGRAM
AND THAT’S I THINK OF GREAT
CONCERN.
MARIA:  AND I KNOW THAT CHINA IS
ALSO PARTNERING WITH IRAN ON
CERTAIN THINGS, ECONOMIC THINGS.
THERE WAS A REPORT IN FORBES
MAGAZINE THE OTHER DAY, THERE’S
A $400 BILLION DEAL BEING TALKED
ABOUT BETWEEN IRAN AND CHINA.
IS THAT CONCERNING TO YOU?
WE KNOW THAT IRAN HAS THE
AMBITIONS TO GET THEIR OWN
NUCLEAR WEAPONS, RIGHT?
>> RIGHT.
I MEAN, THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN
VERY CLEAR THAT THE JCPOA, THE
AGREEMENT THAT WAS CUT UNDER THE
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WAS A BAD
DEAL FOR THE UNITED STATES,
BECAUSE IT DID NOTHING TO CHECK
THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR AMBITIONS.
AND THEIR DOING BUSINESS WITH
THE CHINESE SHOULD RING ALL KIND
OF ALARM BELLS.
TODAY MARKS THE 75th AN
ANNIVERSARY OF HIROSHIMA WHICH
USHERED IN THE NUCLEAR AREA.
TODAY I THINK IT’S APPROPRIATE
TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THE PRESIDENT
HAS BEEN DOING TO DRIVE THE NEXT
GENERATION OF NUCLEAR ARMS
CONTROL AGREEMENTS.
IT’S ESSENTIAL THAT WE DO NOT
SEE A DESTABILIZING NUCLEAR ARMS
RACE EMERGE, PARTICULARLY IN
ASIA, AND UNFORTUNATELY THE
CHINESE ARE TAKING US THERE.
MARIA:  YEAH.
WELL, PRESIDENT TRUMP SPEAKING
WITH RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR
PUTIN OVER THE PHONE A FEW WEEKS
AGO, LOOKING TO RENEGOTIATE THE
NEW START PROGRAM, THE LAST
NUCLEAR ARMS TREATY BETWEEN THE
U.S. AND RUSSIA.
WE’RE WAITING ON DETAILS OF
THAT.
THEY’VE NOT BEEN RELEASED.
LAST WEEK THE PRESIDENT SAID
THIS OUTSIDE OF MARINE ONE, HE
SAID RIGHT NOW WE ARE THE GREAT
NUCLEAR POWER, WE UPGRADED
NUCLEAR TREMENDOUSLY SINCE.
WE HAVE THE MOST POWER, RUSSIA
IS SECOND, AND CHINA IS THIRD.
CHINA IS SURGING.
THERE WILL BE MORE AT SOME
POINT.
WE’LL WANT TO TALK ABOUT CHINA
EVENTUALLY ABOUT THIS.
MEANWHILE, CHINA IS DOING SIDE
DEALS AND THE ONE WITH IRAN TO
ME SEEMS MOST CONCERNING.
>>  WELL, IT IS.
BUT I WOULD ACTUALLY SUGGEST
THAT MOST CONCERNING IS WHAT
CHINA IS DOING ITSELF.
JUST LIKE WITH THE CORONAVIRUS,
CHINA IS THROWING UP A GREAT
WALL OF SECRECY TO THE WORLD
REGARDING ITS NUCLEAR BUILDUP.
IN THE LAST SEGMENT YOU
MENTIONED THE GLOBAL TIMES WHICH
IS THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY’S
MOUTHPIECE AND NOTHING IS
WRITTEN FROM AN EDITOR CALL
STANDPOINT IN THAT PAPER THAT
ISN’T SANCTIONED AT THE HIGHEST
LEVELS OF THE CHINESE
GOVERNMENT.
THAT NEWSPAPER CALLED FOR CHINA
TO HAVE 1,000 DEPLOYED NUCLEAR
WARHEADS.
FOR COMPARISON, THE UNITED
STATES AND RUSSIA, UNDER THE NEW
START TREATY HAVE LIMITED
THEMSELVES TO 1500 WARHEADS.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A REALLY
ALARMING AND SECRETIVE BUILDUP
BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY
UNDER CHAIRMAN XI.
MARIA:  WOW, THIS IS VERY
CONCERNING AND I KNOW THAT THE
GLOBAL TIMES IS AN ASSET OF THE
CCP BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY
REPORT THINGS.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC,
THE GLOBAL TIMES COMES OUT WITH
A REPORT SAYING MAYBE WE SHOULD
QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT CHINA
SHOULD EXPORT PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
IF THE UNITED STATES WANTS TO
KEEP POKING GENERAL XI ABOUT
TARIFFS.
SO PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE CCP
WANTS THE WORLD TO KNOW, THEY DO
IT THROUGH THE GLOBAL TIMES.
AND SO I’LL BE WATCHING TO SEE
WHAT THEY REPORT ON THE NUCLEAR
SITUATION AS WELL.
AMBASSADOR, THIS IS A VERY
IMPORTANT SUBJECT.
WE HOPE YOU’LL COME BACK AND
