Trump urges China, Russia arms control in Putin call

WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump urged "effective arms control" that includes China and Russia during a telephone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the White House said Thursday. "President Trump reaffirmed that the United States is committed to effective arms control that includes not only Russia, but also China, and looks forward to future discussions to avoid a costly arms race," according to spokesman Judd Deere. Trump also spoke about the coronavirus pandemic, and other regional and bilateral matters during a call to commemorate the Nazi defeat in Europe, Deere said. It was the second in as many days between Washington and Moscow after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a discussion that also addressed arms control. Trump has long-sought China's inclusion in a renewal of the New START nuclear arms treaty that expires in February 2021, but Beijing has steadfastly rejected calls for its inclusion in what is a bilateral pact between the US and Russia. The agreement limits the number of land and sea-based nuclear missile launchers that the US and Russia can deploy, and caps the number of nuclear warheads each nation can deploy to 1,550. Trump has also withdrawn the US from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 pact that was seen as a cornerstone of global security in the post-Cold War era. It prohibited the US and Russia from possessing and testing ground launched missiles with a range between 300-3,100 miles. Trump announced his intent withdraw in October 2018 because of allegations Russia was failing to comply with the agreement, following through on the warning the following August.