U.S., Russia to meet for arms control talks this month, extend invite to China

The U.S. and Russia have agreed to meet for a round of arms control talks this month and have also invited China to attend the negotiations, the Trump administration’s presidential envoy for arms control said.

Last month, Marshall Billingslea, a veteran national official appointed to the State Department post in April, told The Washington Times that before Moscow begins to think about any kind of extension of the New START nuclear arms limitation treaty, Russia must “bring the Chinese to the negotiating table” as well.

“Today agreed with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov on time and place for nuclear arms negotiations in June,” Mr. Billingslea tweeted Monday.

The Russian government has proposed extending the New START between the U.S. and Russia for another five years, a move that could be made without congressional approval under the treaty.

“China also invited. Will China show and negotiate in good faith?” the envoy continued.

Chinese government officials have repeatedly said Beijing has no interest in joining three-way talks on an expanded New START deal — which is set to expire next year — because their arsenal is far smaller than those of the U.S. and Russia.

Critics of China joining a trilateral arms agreement have argued that Beijing has been engaged in an extensive expansion of strategic nuclear forces that remains cloaked in secrecy by the ruling Communist Party and the military.

The weapons include at least 10 types of missiles, from long-range to short-range ballistic and cruise missiles. China also is close to deploying ultra-high-speed hypersonic missiles capable of striking U.S. targets with maneuvering warheads in less than 30 minutes.