GENEVA: The United States is holding meetings in Geneva with Russian and Chinese delegations about nuclear weapons, after the final treaty restricting Washington and Moscow’s nuclear deployment expired, a US official said Monday.
“Today, I met with the Russian delegation. Tomorrow, we’ll meet with the Chinese delegation, among others,” a senior State Department official told reporters in Geneva, asking not to be identified.
The United States had held “preparatory” meetings with Russia and with China in Washington after the New START treaty lapsed earlier this month and the meetings in Geneva were “a little bit more substantive,” the official said.
Washington had also spoken with nuclear powers Britain and France “on multiple occasions” in recent weeks, the official added.
New START, the only remaining treaty between the United States and Russia that limited deployment of nuclear warheads, expired on February 5 as US President Donald Trump called for a new agreement that also includes Beijing.
