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GENEVA: The United States urged three-way talks with Russia and China to set new limits on nuclear weapons on Friday while simultaneously accusing Beijing of conducting secret nuclear tests, marking a volatile phase in global arms control after US-Moscow nuclear treaty expiration.<\/p>\n
Thomas DiNanno, the undersecretary of state for arms control, told the UN Conference on Disa\u00adrma\u00adment that the New START treaty, which lap\u00adsed<\/a> on Thursday, had \u201cfundamental flaws\u201d. He insisted that any future agreement must include China.<\/p>\n \u201cSerial Russian violations, growth of more worldwide stockpiles and flaws in New START\u2019s design and implementation gives the United States a clear imperative to call for a new architecture that addresses the threats of today, not those of a bygone era,\u201d DiNanno said.<\/p>\n The expiration of New START, which limited the US and Russia to deploying 1,550 nuclear warheads each, marks the first time in decades the world lacks a treaty curbing the planet\u2019s most destructive weapons.<\/p>\n The void has sparked fears of a renewed arms race. President Donald Tr\u00adu\u00ad\u00admp rejected<\/a> a proposal from Russian President Vla\u00addimir Putin to extend the restrictions, calling ins\u00adt\u00ad\u00adead for a \u201cnew, imp\u00adroved and modernised treaty\u201d.<\/p>\n DiNanno argued that a bilateral agreement is insufficient, citing US projections that China will possess over 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030. \u201cAs we sit here today, China\u2019s entire nuclear arsenal has no limits, no transparency, no declarations, had no controls,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In a significant escalation, DiNanno accused Beijing of a \u201cyield-producing\u201d nuclear test on June 22, 2020.<\/p>\n