US convenes nuclear weapons meeting with China, France, Russia and UK

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) – The United States convened a meeting of working-level experts from China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom this month to discuss nuclear weapons issues, including strategic risk reduction, the State Department said. .

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the talks were part of “an ongoing and routine dialogue.”

The department said in a statement Friday that Washington arranged the June 13-14 meeting in Cairo between the five nuclear weapon states, describing it as “an ongoing exchange in the context of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).” “.

The experts came from the countries’ respective foreign and defense ministries, the department said. They “discussed strategic risk reduction as well as nuclear doctrines and policies,” it added.

The NPT, which entered into force in 1970, aims to stop the expansion of nuclear weapons manufacturing capacity and guarantee the right of members to develop nuclear energy by means of peace.

The treaty allowed the five nuclear weapon states, which are the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, to maintain their nuclear arsenals.

A State Department spokesman said expert representatives had also met in Dubai in February as part of the dialogue under the NPT, which is currently chaired by the United States.

“We found both multilateral talks to be professional and helpful,” the spokesman said in an emailed response that did not address the question of whether bilateral talks took place.

Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Simon Lewis; Edited by Caitlin Webber and Grant McCool

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