US engages Russia and China on post-New START framework

The United States held talks with a Russian delegation in Geneva on Monday, February 23, and is set to meet Chinese representatives on Tuesday as part of efforts to explore the possibility of a new multilateral nuclear arms control agreement, a senior US State Department official told Reuters.

Washington has been advocating for a broader arms control framework that would include China alongside Russia following the expiration of the treaty limiting US and Russian missile and nuclear warhead deployments, known as New START.

The New START treaty — the last remaining international legal constraint on the deployment of nuclear weapons — expired on February 5 and was not extended due to the position of the United States. Washington has said it expects to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement that would also involve China.

Earlier this month, China’s ambassador for disarmament, Shen Jian, stated that Beijing was not prepared at this stage to participate in new nuclear arms control negotiations with Moscow and Washington. It remains unclear whether Tuesday’s meeting with Chinese representatives will amount to formal negotiations.

Earlier in February, the United States accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in June 2020, an allegation that Shen firmly denied.

The senior US official added that Washington has already held productive bilateral discussions with the United Kingdom and France, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

“Taking discussions to the five permanent members of the Security Council was the next logical step,” the official said, expressing optimism about the process.

By Tamilla Hasanova