NATO welcomes the arms talks between the US and Russia in Vienna and supports the extension of the START treaty, TASS reported referring to Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg also supported China’s involvement in the negotiation process.

Even if China does not join the talks on the treaty, he believes that its extension will be the right decision, the Secretary-General noted.

According to him, although the START treaty is a bilateral treaty between Russia and the US, and NATO states are not directly related to it, Washington is actively consulting with the alliance member states on issues related to this treaty and on arms control in general.

Russian-US consultations on strategic stability and arms control were held behind closed doors on Monday in Vienna. The Russian delegation was led by Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov, while Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Ambassador Marshall Billingslea was leading the US delegation.

The parties also discussed the extension of the START Treaty.

This agreement was signed by Russia and the US in 2010.