Beijing, December 17
Talks between US diplomats and China on President George W. Bush’s decision to abandon the Soviet-era Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty ended on Monday, with Beijing urging Washington to safeguard global stability.
Chinese officials “stressed the importance of safeguarding international military control and the disarmament system and the stability of global strategy in the current circumstances,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“We hope that the USA will earnestly take into account the opinion of the majority of the world’s nations,” it said.
ABM treaty: Russia not happy
Moscow: Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, gearing up for talks with NATO ministers, on Monday restated Moscow’s disapproval of US intentions to pull out of the ABM treaty, but pledged there would be no rash moves in response.
Ivanov’s comments, ahead of a meeting in Brussels of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council, appeared part of a new drive by Moscow to press the USA to conclude a new pact governing disarmament and missile defence systems.
Reuters
