START replacement treaty – why did it take so long? | Top Russian news and analysis online | ‘RIA Novosti’ newswire: “Russia and the United States were supposed to sign a new strategic arms reduction treaty by the beginning of December. But it took four months longer to negotiate it. It was announced Friday that the treaty will be signed in Prague on April 8. Why did it take so long to finalize the deal? How serious is Russia’s concession to there being no binding clause that links missile defense and strategic nuclear weapons? Was the treaty worth the effort if it lowers the levels of strategic arms only minimally? These are the questions that the chief editor of RussiaProfile.org, Andrei Zolotov, Jr. discussed in the RIA Novosti studio with a Russian nuclear security expert Anton Khlopkov, director of the Center for Energy and Security Studies.”