Asked whether Russia and the United States could join forces to persuade China to participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations, Lavrov said Russia would never form an alliance aimed at other countries.

In late September, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to US President Donald Trump to extend the only existing arms control agreement between the two countries and the new Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Weapons for another year.

The treaty was originally scheduled to expire on February 5, 2026, and Trump called the proposal "a good idea," but the White House has not taken any specific action since then. Previously, Trump had repeatedly requested that China be included in the US-Russia nuclear arms control negotiations.

During this week¡¯s interview with the newspaper, Asked if Moscow would cooperate with Washington,Pressuring China to join the negotiating table, Lavrov responded by saying: "It is unimaginable that Russia will not form an alliance with any country against other countries, especially against China."

He added that the two countries have signed a series of bilateral treaties, ¡°these treaties clearly define the position of our relations, the core of which is to support each other and help each other to consolidate economic strength, national defense capabilities and positions on the international stage.¡±

"For many years, the United States has been pushing for China to join nuclear disarmament negotiations, but China has its own position, and we respect this.

China said that it is not yet ready, that its strategic forces have not yet reached the appropriate stage of development, and that it is far from achieving equality with the US and Russia in nuclear power, and we respect this position,¡± Lavrov stressed.

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has the world's largest nuclear arsenal with 5,459 nuclear warheads, followed by the United States with 5,177 and China currently has about 600 nuclear warheads, but the Institute noted that China's nuclear arsenal expands faster than other nuclear powers.

Last month, China welcomed Putin's proposal to extend the New Start Arms Reduction Treaty.

China Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at the time: "As countries with the world's largest nuclear arsenals, the United States and Russia should earnestly fulfill their special and priority responsibilities for nuclear disarmament."

Lavrov's statement clearly delineated the boundary of cooperation between Russia and the United States in nuclear disarmament negotiations. He not only refused to join hands with the United States to exert pressure on China, but also reiterated his respect for China's nuclear position.

At present, despite the preliminary consensus on the extension of the arms control treaty, the United States is determined to pull China into office, still making it difficult for the three-party nuclear dialogue to advance.

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