Asia

Home page

Asia

China has no intention of engaging in arms control talks, says Foreign Ministry

15 May 2020 20:59 (UTC +04:00)

Beijing has no intention of engaging in multilateral arms control talks, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday, commenting on a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who had said that the issue of China’s accession to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was contrived, APA reports citing TASS.

"New START remains an important nuclear treaty between Russia and the US and requires great attention. It is the foundation of strategic stability for the two countries, as well as the basis of global strategic stability. China has no intention of engaging in any trilateral talks on strategic arms control," the Chinese diplomat pointed out.

Zhao Lijian added that Russia and the United States "possess the largest nuclear arsenals" and should have a special responsibility for reducing them and creating conditions for other countries to join multilateral arms control deals.

Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow considered the issue of China’s accession to New START to be completely contrived. She emphasized that Russia was ready to support any multilateral schemes that would contribute to ensuring global security and stability, provided they were implemented on a voluntary basis and the interests and concerns of all potential participants were taken into account.