China flag row mars US-Russia nuclear arms talks in Vienna
- American envoy Marshall Billingslea posts photo of empty negotiating table to needle Beijing over ‘no-show’, prompting sharp response from Chinese official
- Experts say US insistence on involving China in talks is attempt to justify possible abandoning of New Start treaty
A row between the US and China has marred the first day of US-Russia disarmament talks, with the American delegation using a photo of Chinese flags to needle Beijing, prompting a sharp Chinese response.
The US has said that China, which possesses a growing nuclear arsenal, should be involved in the talks to replace the New Start treaty between the US and Russia which was agreed in 2010 and expires in February 2021. But China has always refused the prospect of tripartite negotiations.
As the negotiations got under way in Vienna on Monday the American envoy to the talks Marshall Billingslea tweeted that China was “a no-show”.
Beijing still hiding behind #GreatWallofSecrecy on its crash nuclear build-up, and so many other things,” he wrote.
The tweet was accompanied by a photo of the room where talks are taking place showing an empty negotiating table with Chinese flags on it.