Russia says it held 'in-depth' talks with China on missile defence and nuclear issues

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and China held talks in Moscow this week on missile defence and strategic stability and agreed to strengthen cooperation in those areas, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

It revealed no details of the discussions, which took place against the background of concern in both countries about U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to build a "Golden Dome" missile shield and his stated intention to resume nuclear weapons testing after a break of more than 30 years.

"An in-depth discussion... took place, including a joint analysis of relevant destabilising factors creating strategic risks to global and regional security, as well as an exchange of views on ways to minimize them," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

"The parties expressed mutual satisfaction with the level and quality of bilateral dialogue and interaction in these areas and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening them."

Trump has said he wants to pursue "denuclearisation" with both Russia and China but Beijing has repeatedly rebuffed efforts by Washington to draw it into dialogue on nuclear arms.

China is rapidly building up its nuclear weapons stockpiles but has expressed little interest in negotiating with Russia and the U.S., whose current arsenals are far larger.

The last remaining treaty between Russia and the United States that limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads on both sides is due to expire in February. Trump has yet to respond formally to a proposal by Moscow to extend the limits by one year in order to allow for negotiations on a replacement, which have yet to begin.

(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Mark Trevelyan;Editing by Alison Williams and Andrew Heavens)