Pompeo Wants New START Treaty Due in 2021 To Include China

April 11, 2019 (EIRNS)—At a Senate hearing on April 10, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested the Trump Administration wants to include China in the new START treaty. The existing treaty, which is due to expire in 2021, caps the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads and reduces that of U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles. China is estimated to have only about 280 nuclear warheads, far fewer than the 1,550 cap imposed by the treaty, The Hill reported.

“We need to make sure we’ve got all of the parties that are relevant as a component of this as well,” Pompeo said.

“Other countries besides Russia and China. It may be that we can’t get there. It may be that we end up working with the Russians on this. But if we’re talking about a nuclear capacity, nuclear capability that presents risk to the United States, it’s very different today in the world than it was,”

he said, reported The Hill. Pompeo also told the Senators that Russia is largely in compliance with the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.

“Both the Russians and the United States have been compliant. We’re at the very beginning of conversations about renewing that. If we can get the deal right, if we can make sure it fits 2021 and beyond, President Trump has made very clear that if we can get a good solid arms control agreement, we ought to get on,”

Pompeo said.