OREANDA-NEWS. Washington does not rule out the possibility of extending the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III) under three conditions.

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing a source in the US administration. The publication points out that, first of all, the American president Donald Trump wants to edit the agreement so that strict verification measures are mentioned. In addition, START III should regulate all nuclear warheads, and China should also participate in the treaty.

It is noted that the United States may draw up a new agreement either as a project that should be approved by Congress, or as commitment of all parties without legal obligations to fulfill.

According to The Wall Street Journal, during the Russian–American negotiations on strategic stability and arms control held in Vienna on June 22, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the US Department of the Treasury, Marshall Billingslea, tried to convince Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Ryabkov, of the need to connect Beijing to START III, and urged put pressure on China to attract it to the negotiations.