START Treaty Needs New Start - Putin Outlines His Concern With Implementation of Agreement

President Putin: "We're discussing New START with our American partners. Now all of the sudden, and to be honest, it's within the treaty's limits, that they wish for a part of the carriers, airplanes and submarines, to be re-equipped with new shafts. For the shafts to be replaced with those that can't support nuclear weapons.

 

Formally, the treaty does allow this. But it also states that it's possible only when the other side, in our case Russia, verifies such changes. And ensures that there's no turn-back potential. That there's no way to return these shafts and the corresponding equipment on the carrier airplanes to be used for nuclear weapons. So far, we have no such proof. Currently, it's causing certain concerns, but we're in a dialog, and hopefully, it will be positive".