P5 TAKES STEP TO CREATE FOUNDATION FOR MULTI-LATERAL NUCLEAR TALKS

In a move recognized as a necessary preliminary step to multi-lateral talks on nuclear reductions, the five countries that possessed nuclear weapons when the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was signed said Friday that China would lead a working group on coming up with common definitions of nuclear terms. The P5, made up of the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom, would begin talks on the definitions this summer in an effort to “increase P5 mutual understanding and facilitate further P5 discussions on nuclear matters,” the countries said in a joint statement Friday. Administration officials have previously noted that the United States and Russia have a long history of arms control negotiations that has created a familiarity and comfort between the two sides, but no such history exists between the P5, and China in particular, which is the most secretive about its own nuclear stockpile. “It’s a very good step,” acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller told Reuters. “The fact that they are shouldering the responsibilities for this working group, I think, is a good sign of their interest of developing more mutual cooperation of this kind, leading to greater predictability and greater mutual confidence.”