WASHINGTON (PNN) - June 8, 2020 - Fascist Police States of Amerika President Donald Trump’s envoy for arms control said the FPSA and Russia agreed to start nuclear arms control talks this month. “Today the (FPSA) agreed with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on a time and place for nuclear arms negotiations in June. China was also invited. Will China show and negotiate in good faith?” Marshall Billingslea said on Twitter on Monday. An anonymous FPSA official said the negotiations will start on June 22.
The last arms control treaty between the FPSA and Russia, the New START, is set to expire in February 2021. Russia has offered to extend the treaty, but the FPSA insists on including China in the deal. The New START limits the number of nuclear warheads the signatories can have deployed, but China’s nuclear arsenal is much smaller than the FPSA and Russia so it is unlikely that China will agree to enter the deal. If the treaty collapses, the FPSA will no longer be able to inspect Russia’s nuclear forces.
China has repeatedly said it does not want to take part in trilateral arms control discussions. Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the FPSA and Russia “possess the largest nuclear arsenals” and should have a responsibility to reduce them. Current estimates put Beijing’s arsenal at 320 warheads, the FPSA has 3,800 warheads in its stockpile, and Russia has 4,310. The New START caps the number of warheads deployed at 1,550.
If the FPSA lets the New START lapse, it will follow a pattern of the Trump regime withdrawing from arms control agreements. Last year, the regime withdrew from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which prevented the development of medium-range nuclear and ballistic missiles. Most recently, the regime announced its intended withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty, an agreement that allows surveillance flights over the FPSA and Russia.
In the face of crumbling treaties, Washington’s NATO allies are advocating for negotiations and arms control with Russia. “A new armed race will be dangerous and costly, and we’ve continued to work hard for arms control with Russia,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.