Brussels, 18 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on China to collaborate on arms control, addressing via video-link a conference of the Western defence alliance on the issue in Washington on Tuesday.

"As a global power, China has global responsibilities," Stoltenberg said.

"Beijing, too, would benefit from the increased transparency, predictability and security of arms control agreements," he added.

"China is rapidly growing its nuclear arsenal without any transparency about its capabilities," Stoltenberg said, estimating that Beijing will have 1,500 warheads by 2035.

Russia was the "most direct threat to our security," the NATO top official said, but developments in other countries including China, Iran and North Korea were also of concern.

"We need to remember that arms control agreements are not made between friends, they are made between adversaries," Stoltenberg said.

NATO stands at a crossroads, he noted.

"In one direction lies the collapse of the international arms control order and the unrestricted proliferation of weapons of mass destruction with profoundly dangerous consequences," he said.

Another option, according to the NATO official, was to work on arms control to reduce risks, build trust and increase security.

"It will not be easy and it will not be quick but it is vital that we do it," Stolteberg said.

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced the suspension of Russia's last major nuclear disarmament treaty with the United States, the New START treaty.

Photo: MIA archive