There are four main stumbling blocks in Russian-British relations. First, the British nuclear arsenal is included in the U.S. nuclear planning system. All four British nuclear submarines are equipped with American made Trident II ballistic missiles. London also does not participate in the Washington Treaty (1987) on intermediate- and shorter-range missiles. Theoretically, the United States can bypass the START treaty’s limits and resume the production of medium-range missiles in a joint program with Britain. Therefore, Moscow believes that Britain undermines the arms control regime between the United States and Russia. Second, the United States views direct contacts between Russia and Western Europe with suspicion. The United States is quite concerned about Russia’s “common European initiatives.” Washington fears that Moscow is trying to undermine the military framework of NATO and the American presence in Europe, and so the United States tasked its key ally, Britain, with torpedoing ...
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