The United States met with a Russian delegation in Geneva on Monday and is scheduled to sit down with Chinese officials Tuesday as discussions begin over the possibility of a broader, multilateral nuclear arms control agreement, according to a senior State Department official.
Washington has been pushing for a new framework that would include both Moscow and Beijing, following the expiration of New START, the treaty that had capped U.S. and Russian deployed strategic missiles and warheads.
The limitations under New START are no longer in force, leaving the world’s two largest nuclear powers without binding deployment caps. U.S. officials have argued that any future agreement must also address China’s expanding nuclear arsenal. It remains unclear whether Tuesday’s meeting will amount to structured negotiations or preliminary discussions.
