As talks over extending the last remaining strategic arms control agreement between the U.S. and Russia remain deadlocked, the Trump administration has reportedly asked the military to assess how quickly it could pull nukes out of storage and load them onto bombers and submarines if the treaty expires in February.
The request was part of a strategy to heap pressure on Russia in renegotiating the New START agreement ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, Politico reported Monday, citing three people familiar with discussions on the issue.
The Trump White House, which sees Moscow as dragging out the talks, reportedly hopes to underscore that it is serious about letting the treaty expire if Russia fails to meet U.S. demands.