Washington, Sept 29 (Sputnik) The US administration on Tuesday ordered an assessment on beefing up the US nuclear force as arms control talks with Russia are dragging out, The Politico reported citing three sources familiar with the discussions.
The request to US Strategic Command in Nebraska to assess how fast it could pull nuclear warheads out of reserve and load them onto bombers and submarines if the New START treaty with Moscow expires in February 2021 is designed to make Russia renegotiate the arms control treaty before the US presidential elections, the sources said.
The publication said the Donald Trump administration would like to stress that it may really allow the treaty to end should Russia fail to meet US demands. It said there were fears that Russia could be protracting the talks hoping that US Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden, who could possibly extend the New START under more favorable terms for Moscow, wins the elections.
The assessment was requested in the past two weeks by officials at the departments of State, Defense and Energy and the US National Security Council.