Russia and United States to resume nuclear disarmament talks in Vienna this konth

Russia and the US confirmed that they will resume talks this month on extending a

major nuclear disarmament treaty but Washington's insistence China should be part of

the deal may hamper dialogue.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, and Marshall S. Billingslea, the US

Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control, will meet in Vienna on June 22 to

negotiate an extension to the New START treaty.

Both the US and Russia suspended their obligations last year under the

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which required them to

permanently eliminate nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise

missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometres.

The two countries accused each other of violating the treaty's obligations but

continued to adhere to New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), which limits

the number of nuclear warheads Moscow and Washington can have at any one time.

The treaty, however, expires in February 2021.

Ryabkov described the upcoming talks as "good news" in a videoconference with the

Council of Foreign Relations.

"We need to hear loudly and clearly what this [US] administration wants, how it

believes it would be possible to do something positive and not just dismantle one arms

control treaty or arrangement after another," he added.

The Russia senior official said however that he was "surprised" by the US' call that

China joins the meeting.

Billingslea said on Twitter that Beijing had been invited to the June 22 meeting,

adding: "Will China show and negotiate in good faith?"

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, however, the

country had no intention of participating.

"The US has been dragging China into the issue of the New START extension whenever

that issue is raised. This is just what the US does when it wants to deflect

responsibilities to others," they added.

Billingslea urged Beijing to reconsider.

"Achieving Great Power status requires behaving with Great Power responsibility. No

More Great Wall of Secrecy on its nuclear build-up," he said.

Ryabkov said Moscow "know about China's stance and treat it with respect" and

instead called on Britain and France to join the talks, arguing that "we cannot simply

ignore capabilities of some others".

Nine countries around the world have nuclear warhead inventories. Together, Russia

and the US own about 91% of all nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of

American Scientists (FAS).

Washington, Moscow and London are reducing their capabilities, while France and

Israel have kept relatively stable inventories, the FAS said in April. But China,

Pakistan, India, and North Korea, are all increasing their inventories.

Beijing is estimated to have over 300 nuclear warheads.

Steven Pifer, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institute who focuses on arms

control, welcomed the announcement of the June 22 meeting but advised it as "wise

to keep expectations modest".

He also expressed doubt that Billingslea's "attempt to Twitter-shame China will get

Beijing to (the) negotiating table".

Kingston Reif, Director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms

Control Association, also warned that the possibility of a breakthrough later this

month seems narrow.

"There's no chance of negotiating a new agreement before New START expires.

None," he wrote on Twitter.

He stressed however that "there's nothing incompatible" with "pursuing more

ambitious trilateral approach" that would include China.

Source: Euronews