America and Russia Engage in Nuclear Talks... Pressure to Include China, France, and Britain

SadaNews - The United States and Russia have expressed their readiness to engage in talks following the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), amid insistence from U.S. President Donald Trump on involving China to set new restrictions that prevent entering a dangerous phase of the nuclear arms race, in exchange for Russian calls that have not received favorable responses to include France and Britain in any new agreement.

Trump stated on his social media platform "Truth Social" that, "Instead of extending the (New START) treaty - which is poorly negotiated by the United States, is blatantly violated, and everything else - our nuclear experts should work on a new, improved, modern treaty that lasts long into the future." He did not mention any talks, but emphasized that they should include China.

Trump also wrote that "the United States is the strongest country in the world," adding that he "rebuilt its military completely during my first term, including new and upgraded nuclear weapons." He noted how he was able to enhance the military, including by adding warships and establishing a Space Force. He said: "I prevented nuclear wars around the world between Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel, Russia and Ukraine."

The New START treaty, the last to limit nuclear arms between the United States and Russia, expired as both nations were developing new generations of weapons, noting that China is testing new ways to deliver nuclear warheads. U.S.-Russia talks about a new treaty have stalled due to the war in Ukraine, after the 2010 New START treaty specified that the number of strategic warheads each could possess was limited to 1550, with 700 launch platforms each.

Addressing Flaws

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Thomas DiNanno, reflected President Trump's desire for any new treaty at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, stating that the New START treaty suffers from "fundamental flaws." He said, "Repeated Russian violations, increasing global nuclear stockpiles, and flaws in the design and implementation of the (New START) treaty... give the United States an urgent need to call for a new architecture that addresses today’s threats, not threats of a bygone era." He added, "While we sit here today, China’s entire nuclear arsenal is unconstrained, with no transparency, no announcements, and no controls." He affirmed that "the next era of arms control can, and must, continue with a clear focus, but it will require more than just Russia at the negotiating table."

He also accused Beijing of conducting secret nuclear tests. He said, "I can reveal that the U.S. government is aware that China has conducted nuclear explosion tests, including preparations for specific yield tests in the hundreds of tons." He added that the Chinese military "has sought to hide the tests by obscuring the nuclear explosions; it knows these tests violate nuclear test ban commitments."

Russian Desires

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last year his willingness to adhere to the treaty limits for another year if Washington follows suit. However, Trump did not respond to this Russian desire. Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov announced on Thursday that President Putin discussed the treaty's expiration with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their talks on Wednesday, affirming that Moscow "will act in a balanced and responsible manner based on a careful analysis of the security situation."

The Russian Foreign Ministry also announced in a statement that "under the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the (New START) treaty are no longer bound by any commitments or similar declarations in the context of the treaty, including its basic provisions, and that they are completely free to choose their next steps."

In a new step, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that Russian and U.S. negotiators discussed arms control on the sidelines of the recent Russia-Ukraine talks. He said: "There is an understanding, and it was touched upon in Abu Dhabi, that both sides should take responsible positions, and both recognize the need to start talks on this issue as soon as possible."

When Peskov was asked to comment on a report discussing a potential unofficial agreement to stick to the treaty limits for at least six months, he replied that "it is clear that its provisions can only be extended formally. It is hard to imagine any unofficial extension in this area," reiterating that Moscow regrets the treaty's expiration on Thursday, viewing it "negatively."

Chinese Rejection

Meanwhile, Chinese representative Shen Jian publicly rejected responding to U.S. desires for his country to join disarmament negotiations, noting that China’s arsenal is much smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia, despite the rapid growth of the Chinese arsenal. He insisted at the conference that "Chinese nuclear capabilities in no way approach the level of U.S. or Russian capabilities." He added, "China will not participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage."

Russian representative Gennady Gatilov insisted that any new nuclear talks must include other nuclear-armed countries, such as France and Britain. He said: "Russia will participate in this process if the UK and France are involved, as they are military allies of the U.S. in NATO, which has declared itself a nuclear alliance."

However, European leaders discussed establishing independent nuclear forces from the United States, which has long provided a U.S. nuclear umbrella for allied European states. Japan, South Korea, and Turkey are among other non-nuclear-armed countries discussing a shift in path.

There are other countries with declared nuclear weapons, namely India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Israel is widely believed to also possess a significant nuclear arsenal.