US Wants China and Russia to Be Part of New Nuclear Agreement
The United Nations/New York (ANTARA) - The United States wants Russia and China to be part of future arms control agreements, said Christopher Yeaw, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the US Department of State, on Friday (1/5).
“President Donald Trump has emphasised that future arms control agreements must be modernised by involving not just one, but two major nuclear powers, namely Russia and China,” Yeaw said at the Conference of the Parties to Review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
“We need these nuclear-armed states to demonstrate serious commitment to their Article 6 obligations. Once again, not just with words, but with actions,” Yeaw added.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between Russia and the United States, known as the New START Treaty, expires on 5 February 2026.
In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is ready to continue complying with the limitations in the treaty for one year and proposed that the United States do the same.
However, the US did not provide an official response, so the nuclear pact’s validity ended.
At the end of March, US Deputy Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Thomas DiNanno, said there is a possibility that the US, Russia, and China could jointly monitor global nuclear armaments in the future.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Andrey Belousov, head of the Russian delegation to the NPT review conference and Russia’s ambassador-at-large for special tasks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Russia will determine its next steps based on an analysis of Western military policy and the overall strategic situation after Washington rejected Moscow’s proposal following the end of the New START treaty.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and furthering disarmament.
Signed in 1968 and in force since 1970, the treaty serves as a foundation for global security with three main pillars. The three main pillars are: first, non-proliferation, which prevents non-nuclear-weapon states from producing or acquiring nuclear weapons; second, disarmament, under which nuclear-weapon states are obligated to reduce and ultimately eliminate their weapons; and third, peaceful use, which grants member states the right to develop nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes.
Nearly all countries in the world have signed the NPT, making it the nuclear weapons treaty with the largest number of members. The NPT recognises five countries (the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France) as official nuclear-weapon states, as they had detonated them before 1967.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is tasked with verifying that nuclear materials are not diverted from peaceful purposes to weapons programmes.
Source: Sputnik/RIA Novosti-OANA