China is unlikely to join any arms control agreement initiated by Russia and the United States to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in the next three years due to timing and trust issues, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and former Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), told Sputnik.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2022) China is unlikely to join any arms control agreement initiated by Russia and the United States to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in the next three years due to timing and trust issues, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and former Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), told Sputnik.
"I think engaging China in serious strategic stability discussions is key for the United States. I don't think that there is an illusion that you could get them on board of an agreement within three years. I think that is simply not realistic," Greminger said on the sidelines of the 8th Primakov Readings forum in Moscow.
The former OSCE chief described the matter as "very complex," explaining that trust between Russia and the United States at the moment is "extremely low," which makes the process of reaching a new agreement in time "extremely challenging." This makes the need for launching discussions all the more urgent, he said.
"The idea that was promoted by (former NATO Deputy Secretary General) Rose Gottemoeller in our session that there would be discussions on a moratorium of medium range nuclear weapons not only in Europe but also in Asia. I think that could be a starting point to engage China," Greminger added.
A meeting to discuss the implementation of the New START Treaty was scheduled to take place from November 29-December 6 in Cairo, Egypt. Last week, Russia and the US put off the new round of talks on the arms treaty, which would have been the first such negotiation since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine on February 24.
In September, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia and the United States were discussing resuming inspections under New START and planned to hold an in-person bilateral meeting of consultative commission soon.
In February 2021, Moscow and Washington extended the only remaining nuclear arms treaty for five more years without any renegotiation of its terms. New START is now set to expire on February 5, 2026.
