No basis for trilateral arms talks, China says

There is no basis for China to participate in trilateral arms control negotiations with the United States and Russia at present, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

At a regular news conference, Geng called on Russia and the US to continue drastically reducing their nuclear weapons in a verifiable, irreversible and legally binding manner, which he said would create conditions for realizing final and full nuclear disarmament.

Representatives from Russia and the US were to meet in Geneva on Wednesday to explore a new accord to limit nuclear arms that could eventually include China, according to Reuters, which cited senior US officials who requested anonymity.