When he looks back at the actions of Russia over time and its dealings with the United States, the general said, “For me the most important thing we can really do is maintain a strong nuclear deterrent.”

The American approach toward Russia, he said, “has got to be some behavior that gets them to the table.”

General Weinstein is among those who have accused the Russians of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987. That pact was the first time the superpowers agreed to reduce their arsenals.

Russia has denied it is in violation of the accord, but the dispute constituted an additional irritant in the deteriorating relations with the Kremlin under Mr. Obama.

President Trump has sent mixed signals about his stance toward Russia and nuclear weapons. While he has expressed admiration for Mr. Putin — and has been fighting accusations by critics that Russia meddled in the American election to help him win — Mr. Trump has asserted that he wants to increase America’s nuclear might.

In December, Mr. Trump said in a Twitter post that the United States must “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.”

On Tuesday in Washington, Christopher Ford, the National Security Council’s senior director for weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation, offered some further insight into the views of the administration, saying it would re-examine the policy of nuclear disarmament.