Kremlin Says Russia-US Arms Control Talks Are Long Overdue
Moscow calls for a resumption of nuclear arms negotiations with Washington while noting China has refused to join Trump's proposed three-way talks.
MOSCOW, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that arms control talks between Russia and the United States were long overdue and that lengthy and careful negotiations would be needed when they did resume.
"This is such a complex issue that it requires very lengthy, painstaking expert negotiations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, who said such talks should have restarted "yesterday."
Russia has repeatedly said it would like to restore badly degraded ties with the US, but differences over the conflict in Ukraine have so far prevented a meaningful reset in relations.
Asked about US President Donald Trump's call for trilateral arms control negotiations between the US, Russia, and China, Peskov said China had repeatedly made clear that it would not participate and that its stance had not changed as far as Moscow knew.
Beijing says its nuclear arsenal is far smaller than those of Russia and the United States, something it says makes its participation in such talks unnecessary.
(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovWriting by Alessandra Prentice Editing by Andrew Osborn )
