Rubio backs US-Russia-China talks on nuclear arms control, says it would be ‘positive’ for world

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday backed the idea of the United States, Russia and China holding talks on arms control at the leaders' level, saying such a dialogue would be a positive development for global peace and security, even as it remained unclear whether Beijing was willing to participate.

“I think if there's an opportunity, and the president has expressed an openness to it, for the United States, Russia, and China, at the leader level, to have a conversation about things like arms control, that would be a very positive thing for the world,” Rubio told reporters in Mumbai, as per ANI.

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Rubio said communication between the three most powerful nuclear-armed nations made sense despite their differences, adding that diplomacy required countries to engage with their adversaries.

“I don't know if China is willing to discuss it. I know what they've historically said: they'll talk about it when they catch up with everybody else,” he said, adding that US President Donald Trump's willingness to pursue such a conversation was a positive step.

His remarks came amid reports of a possible meeting between Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China.

Reuters reported on Monday, citing the Kremlin that the possibility of a three-way meeting had been raised in discussions, but no specific proposals or agreements had been put forward on the meeting or its agenda.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the three leaders could potentially attend the summit, while clarifying that no concrete arrangements had been made.

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The prospect of such a meeting comes as Washington continues its mediation efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Peskov said a final settlement would require Ukraine's participation, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha criticised the idea of a three-way summit.

Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on the terms of a possible peace deal, with the last US-mediated peace talks held in February before the US and Israel launched a war against Iran.