US - Russia agree to negotiate new strategic arms reduction, China refuses dialogue

The United States and Russia have reached an agreement on the time and location for negotiations on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) this month, marking a concession by the US administration after repeatedly rejecting Russia's calls to extend the treaty.

However, it is unclear whether the only major remaining nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the US can be saved as the US still insists on forcing China to join - a condition that China has certainly rejected.

US President's Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea said that a new round of arms control negotiations between the two sides will be held in Vienna (Austria) on June 22.

The event was considered by analysts as a positive step forward, showing that the Trump administration may take a more flexible stance on the issue of extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). However, the worrying thing in these negotiations is that the US still refuses to give up its position on asking China to join the Treaty. Announcing on Twitter, Mr. Billingslea still affirmed that he is still waiting for a Chinese representative to attend the meeting in Vienna.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated his desire to build a new trilateral nuclear agreement between Russia, China and the US because, in Washington's view, the START-3 Treaty has a number of shortcomings and is "outdated". However, China has repeatedly rejected this proposal and in its latest statement yesterday, it also reaffirmed its stance of not participating in trilateral arms control negotiations with the US and Russia. China has previously criticized the US for withdrawing from arms control treaties and blaming other countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “The United States is the country that has conducted the most nuclear weapons tests. We urge the United States to shoulder its responsibilities, abide by its commitments, and safeguard the basic goals and purposes of the Treaty. The United States needs to do more to safeguard nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties.”

Russia, although supporting the New START Treaty negotiations, including China and many other countries, said yesterday (June 9) that it would not increase pressure on China to join the negotiations.

According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, Russia has no intention of using any tools to change this because it is a sovereign choice. The Russian official also said that the ball is in the US court and that the US insistence on China's participation in the negotiations could affect efforts to save the nuclear deal.

In fact, China's participation in the negotiations on a new START Treaty is something that not only Russia but also many international arms control experts support. With China's participation, the bilateral agreement would become trilateral, which, according to many experts, would have a positive impact on the world political-military situation. However, with the new START expiring next February, there will not be enough time to negotiate a new Agreement that includes China. Therefore, there are many opinions in favor of continuing to extend the current Treaty.

Understanding the difficulty in promoting a New START Treaty that includes China, there is currently much information that the US is considering a new strategy. Accordingly, the US may accept a short-term extension of this Treaty, possibly 6 months, to give the US more time to pursue a more ambitious Treaty with the participation of both China and Russia./.