Flexing your nuclear muscles. There will be an important meeting between China and the US on Tuesday
Reuters reported, citing a US State Department spokesman, that “US representatives met with the Russian delegation in Geneva to begin negotiations on a potential multilateral nuclear arms control treaty.”
When will the US and China meet on nuclear arms control?
What was the topic of the meeting between the US delegation and Russia?
Why has China refused to talk about arms control so far?
What were the concerns about the expiration of the New START treaty?
A meeting on the same matter is planned on Tuesday with representatives of the authorities in Beijing. The US has repeatedly called on China to enter into arms control talks, but Beijing has so far consistently refused. In February, the Trump administration officially announced that China secretly tested a nuclear weapon in 2020.
Reuters emphasized that the United States “had previously held successful bilateral talks with two other members of the UN Security Council – Britain and France.” The agency emphasizes that raising the level of the talks to the level of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council is the “next logical step” in these discussions.
Donald Trump rejects Vladimir Putin's proposal
Last year, US President Donald Trump rejected Russian leader Vladimir Putin's formal offer to voluntarily adhere to the limits set out in the New START treaty for another year.
Instead of extending the New START nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, experts should develop a new and modernized agreement, said US President Donald Trump in early February.
The treaty's expiration has raised fears of a three-way arms race involving Russia, the United States and China, which has far fewer warheads than the other two countries but is rapidly arming itself. However, some analysts claim that Russia wants to avoid the costs of such a race at a time when its budget is suffering the severe effects of the war against Ukraine, Reuters emphasized.
