The American side could lead to an impasse in the arms control negotiations with Russia, once again trying to involve China in them.
Speaking at a press conference at the White House, Donald Trump assessed the results of the consultations being held in Austria with the participation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and US President’s Special Representative Marshall Billingsley.
“Today we are discussing an agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons with Russia. I think this is an extremely important issue, said Trump. “The time will come when we will involve China in these negotiations, although everything is going positively with Russia.”
The head of the White House pointed out that China’s nuclear arsenal is “growing at a fairly rapid pace.” In the past, Washington has tried to get Beijing to conclude an arms control agreement. Trump spoke about this, in particular, after terminating the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles. However, the Chinese government refused to impose restrictions on its own military-industrial complex, and the concept of trilateral negotiations collapsed.
If Washington tries to involve Beijing in the Vienna talks, it could lead them to a dead end, jeopardizing all existing progress.