Europeans urge Russia to return to arms-control treaty

A group of European nations is urging Russia not to abandon a nuclear weapons treaty with the United States.

Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands are also calling for new arms control agreements to address the rising power of China and other nations.

The U.S. gave notice of its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty a month ago, citing Russian violations.

The European countries opened an arms control conference in Berlin on Friday urging Moscow “to return to complete and verifiable compliance” to save the treaty.

But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says it’s also time for broader treaties, as nuclear weapons proliferate to countries such as China, North Korea, India and Pakistan.

He says treaties also need to address new technologies, such as drones and cyberattacks.