Putin aims to add other nations to negotiate for nuclear disarmament
Moscow, Oct 22 (Prensa Latina) Russia's President Vladimir Putin spoke out on Thursday on including other countries in the negotiations for nuclear disarmament, given the demand by the US to involve China in that process.
Our proposal is simple: extend the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III) Treaty for one year, in which a new document can be discussed that could include issues left out of that commitment in 2010, Putin stated.
When speaking at the Valdai International Discussion Club, the president pointed out that there were two variants: maintaining the validity of the deal and with it some mechanism to control nuclear disarmament or leaving Russia and the world without this mechanism, Putin deemed.
For Russia, the elimination of START III Treaty in no way foresees an increase in the threat to its defense, since we have modern weapons capable of guaranteeing our security, but the lack of control over disarmament could have negative aftermaths, he warned.
The United States demands that we involve China in the negotiation process, the president noted.
We are not against the participation of China, which is a great nation but it possesses a nuclear arsenal twice less than that of Russia and the United States. Beijing is rightly wondering whether it should freeze its own drawback, he pointed out.