http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12042584
New Start: Russia warns US Senate over nuclear treaty
Russia has warned US lawmakers that any change to the new nuclear arms
disarmament treaty between the two countries could destroy the pact.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the New Start treaty "cannot be reopened
, becoming the subject of new negotiations" according to remarks reported by
Interfax news agency.
Republicans in the US Senate have recently pushed to change its wording.
Two-thirds of the 100 US senators must back the treaty for it to be ratified.
The treaty would limit the number of deployed ballistic missiles or nuclear
bombers to 700 as well as establish a new mechanism for sending inspectors
to the other country's nuclear sites.
Since the previous Start treaty expired in December 2009, Russia and the US
have not been able to conduct inspections of each other's nuclear stockpiles
- leading to uncertainty about what the other side is doing.
