OREANDA-NEWS. China will be “happy” to join the arms talks between Russia and the United States if Washington fulfills Beijing’s condition. This was stated by the head of the Arms Control Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Fu Cong. According to him, the United States needs to reduce its nuclear arsenals to the level that China has at its disposal.

Washington invited Beijing to take part in the arms control talks between Russia and the United States on June 22. The delegations were headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, and US Special Presidential Envoy, Marshall Billingslea. Bilateral consultations were positively assessed in Washington. The White House reported that the parties had reached an agreement on the second stage of negotiations.

In May, Billingslea claimed that Russia should persuade China to join talks on an extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The American politician called this the main condition for the prolongation of the agreement.