Trump Drops Demand for China to Join U.S -Russia Nuclear Talks – Reports

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has dropped its demand for China to join ongoing U.S-Russian nuclear talks.
This is with a view to securing a political agreement with Moscow first, Axios reported.
The report cited U.S. arms control envoy, Marshall Billingslea.
According to the news outlet, the U.S. intends to strike a political accord with Russia and then press China into joining talks and a treaty.
“There has been a shift” Billingslea confirmed.
Axios suggests that the change in tactics was driven partly by Trump’s multiple calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the former’s wish to hold a nuclear summit before the November election.
Billingslea, who led the U.S. delegation at August 17-18 arms control talks in Vienna, said he had informed Russia about Washington’s conditions for a deal, based on a “clear mandate” from Trump.
“The ball is in Russia’s court” the envoy added.
The U.S., at the same time, is still “ambivalent” about the extension of the 2011 New Start treaty, but is ready for that if Russia agrees to its ambitious framework for a future treaty, Billingslea said.
As for “a future world where the Chinese Communist Party is arms racing” a bipolar approach is “no longer applicable” he made clear.
Following the Vienna talks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Ryabkov, said the priorities of the two countries are “very different” at the moment.
According to the diplomat, the U.S. did not rule out extending New Start but declined to record this intention.
As for Russia, it is not ready to extend the treaty at any cost, Ryabkov noted.