Moscow respects Beijing's "well-known position" of not participating in any Russia-U.S.-China trilateral arms control negotiations, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Tuesday.
Ryabkov confirmed that Russia-U.S. consultations on arms control and strategic stability will be held in Vienna on June 22, and he and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea will attend the talks.
As Billingslea tweeted on Monday that China is also invited to the negotiations, Ryabkov said he was surprised by the mention of China.
"We do not know of China's readiness for such a contact," Ryabkov added.
China has repeatedly reiterated that it has no intention to join the so-called China-U.S.-Russia trilateral arms control negotiations.
"China will not take part in the trilateral negotiations does not mean that China will not participate in international nuclear disarmament efforts," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters in March.
China is ready to coordinate with all parties within the framework of existing multilateral mechanisms including that among the five nuclear powers and discuss a wide range of issues concerning global strategic stability, he added.
