Geneva: Officials from the United States and Russia held talks on Monday to explore the possibility of negotiating a multilateral nuclear arms control treaty following the expiry of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
A US State Department official said Washington would also meet a delegation from China later the same day, adding that the United States had already conducted bilateral discussions with United Kingdom and France — the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
He described engagement among all five permanent members as the “next logical step” toward a broader arms control framework.
The New START Treaty, regarded as the last major international agreement limiting the deployment of nuclear weapons between Washington and Moscow, expired on February 5 and was not extended.
The United States has indicated interest in negotiating a new arrangement that would also involve China.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said that if Washington was serious about including China in multilateral arms control discussions, then the United Kingdom and France — both NATO allies of the United States — should also participate fully in the process.
Diplomatic observers view the consultations as an initial step toward shaping a new global nuclear arms control mechanism following the lapse of existing treaty restrictions.