China Refuses to Join Talks on New Nuke Deal with Russia, US Proposed by Trump

TEHRAN (defapress)- Beijing will not become part of any talks on a new trilateral nuclear arrangement with Russia and the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

News ID: 77254

Date: 06 May 2019 - 16:39

"China opposes any incidents of anybody speaking on China's behalf and will not participate in any talks on a trilateral agreement on nuclear disarmament", Spokesman Geng Shuang stated, Sputnik reported.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he would soon launch bilateral talks with Russia on a new nuclear arms control deal that could see both sides reduce their arsenals, adding that the negotiations could eventually be expanded to include China.

In April, the US president indicated his intention to negotiate a major nuclear arms control deal with Russia and China, saying such a treaty should include "all the weapons, all the warheads, all the missiles" in the countries' respective arsenals.

The Kremlin welcomed Washington's move and asked to provide details about the proposal.

The tensions between Russia and the United States were exacerbated by Trump's February announcement that the US would be unilaterally withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, citing alleged violations by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations, pointing out that the US was the party actually violating the treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by then-leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and then-US President Ronald Reagan. The leaders agreed to destroy all cruise or ground-launched ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres (310 and 3,400 miles).

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously stated that the INF's collapse could cast a shadow over the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty's (New START) extension.

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