WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2020) Russian and US delegations conducted what officials called valuable talks on arms control in Vienna this week but did not reach a breakthrough in extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) or resolving the issue over China's participation in negotiations.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and US Special Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billinglsea met in Vienna this week to discuss extending the New START pact that caps their nuclear weapon stocks.
NO AGREEMENT ON NEW START TREATY
Billinglsea at a presser after the talks characterized the meeting as valuable for both sides and said they covered a broad range of national security issues.
Meanwhile, Russia's envoy said the meeting also showed differences both sides still have on the issue of NEW START Treaty, which expires early next year.
"The negotiations took place with a deep immersion in the matter, the Russian-US negotiations provided an opportunity for a business-like and substantive conversation, the parties managed to avoid mentoring and concentrate on a pragmatic exchange of views. Nevertheless, the priorities of the US and Russia at this stage are very different," Ryabkov said, as quoted by Russian Permanent Representative in Vienna to International Organizations Mikhail Ulyanov on Twitter.
Ryabkov said Russia favors extending the New START treaty but is "not ready to pay any price for it."
Moscow urges the US to focus on bilateral negotiations on a future of the New START or a new agreement, as China, France and the UK are not yet ready to join the discussion, Ryabkov said.
Deputy Commander of US Strategic Command Lt. Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere noted that US military ready to perform duties regardless of decision on New START.
"We can perform our mission with or without the new START treaty," he told reporters. "We do believe, however, that it does provide increased international security."
Moscow and Washington did not solve the issue related to China's participation in the arms control talks.
"The United States insists that China joins the agreement on the reduction of strategic offensive arms, Russia in response believes that France and the UK should also do this. But in conditions when these countries are not ready for this, Moscow and Washington should concentrate on bilateral negotiations on this topic," Ryabkov said.
Billingslea has repeated the White House position that the United States will not allow China to derail the nuclear arms control engagement with Russia by refusing to join the negotiations.
"The United States and Russia are the great powers here. We're going to continue to talk to one another. We're not going to allow China to exercise a veto over our relationship," Billingslea said.
Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would meet if both sides reach an arms control deal, but the Kremlin and the White House have no preparations for such a meeting at present, Billingslea told reporters on Tuesday.
"The two presidents, I presume, would like to get together and if we do have a good deal here, that could be the focus of a meeting," he said.
At the same time, both delegations have enough of a mandate to make necessary decisions, he added.
The New START, the last major arms control deal between the two nuclear powers, will expire in February. The United States hopes to negotiate a successor deal that would include China, an ambition seen as unrealistic in both Moscow and Beijing.
