The United States are ready to participate in arms control talks with Moscow and Beijing, if they meet Washington’s criteria, a US Department of State spokesperson told TASS.
“The President has directed us to think more broadly than New START and include both China and Russia in our next steps. We stand ready to engage with both Russia and China on arms control negotiations that meet our criteria,” the US Department of State spokesperson said.
“The United States remains committed to effective arms control that advances U.S., Allied, and partner security, is verifiable and enforceable, and includes partners that comply responsibly with their obligations,” the spokesperson added.
“The Administration is evaluating the possibility of an extension of the New START Treaty, taking into account the threats we face today, the changing security environment, and Russia’s statement that it has no preconditions to extension,” the spokesperson said.
Another US Department of State spokesperson said that Washington earlier sent an official invitation to Beijing to engage in a strategic dialogue on security issues, while the latest round of consultations with Russia on the matter took place in January.
“The United States held the most recent meeting of the Strategic Security Dialogue in January 2020 with Russia. We proposed one to China, which has not yet accepted,” the spokesperson said.
All those statements were made in response to a request to comment on latest remarks by Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. In his op-ed for TASS, Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow had repeatedly called on extension of the New START treaty to 2021, but the American side “keeps coming up with new obstacles.” It seems that Washington is trying “to indulge in endless back-and-forth dialogue and torpedo the prolongation of this document, which is extremely important for maintaining strategic stability in the world,” Medvedev said.
In his opinion, “the position of the US Department of State on China’s hypothetical accession to New START and on applying the Treaty in its current form to the newest Russian weapons looks utterly unrealistic.