Nuclear Five Split Over Arms Control Talks at NPT
Russia says the nuclear five failed to reach a common line at the NPT conference as US arms control proposals exposed splits among key powers.
The five nuclear powers failed to show a common line on several key issues at the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, held in New York in April and May. The split became especially visible during discussions on a possible launch of arms control talks, said Andrey Belousov, ambassador-at-large at the Russian Foreign Ministry and head of the Russian delegation at the conference.
According to Belousov, there was no basis to speak of unity within the «nuclear five» — Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and the United States — on a number of matters directly affecting them as NPT participants. He said the discussions revealed a three-part configuration: Russia and China on one side, France and the United Kingdom on another, while the United States kept a separate position.
The diplomat said this alignment was most clearly seen during debate over a US initiative on the start of multilateral negotiations on strategic stability, arms control and nuclear disarmament.
Speaking at a PIR Center seminar, Belousov explained that Washington presented its proposal as the most promising track for further work. Several countries of the «collective West» actively backed the idea, promoted it at the conference and urged Russia and China to respond positively.
At the same time, the United States portrayed the initiative as though it was already moving to a new stage. The American delegation referred to an alleged response from Moscow and Beijing and suggested that the United Kingdom and France were supposedly ready to join such a format.
Belousov said it was during this discussion that the same «three-part» division inside the nuclear five became apparent. According to him, the French and British delegations in New York very cautiously confirmed information about their possible participation in multilateral talks on nuclear disarmament. They also pointed to their special status among nuclear states, stressing that their capabilities could not be compared with the arsenals of the United States, Russia and China.
The Russian delegation, Belousov noted, expressed serious doubts that the American proposal could be implemented in practice. Moscow also repeatedly drew attention to its own initiative, which it considers highly important — the proposal made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September 2025.
That initiative provides for Russia and the United States to continue observing the strategic arms ceilings set by New START for one year after the treaty expires.
Belousov said the move was intended to create more favorable conditions for a possible return to arms control negotiations and dialogue on strategic stability.