Russia's Medvedev says expiry of New START should alarm the world

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that if the New START treaty expired with no replacement then the world should be alarmed that the biggest nuclear powers had no limits for probably the first time since the early 1970s.

"I don't want to say that this immediately means a catastrophe and a nuclear war will begin, but it should still alarm everyone," Medvedev told Reuters, TASS and the WarGonzo Russian war blogger in an interview at his residence outside Moscow.

Arms control treaties, Medvedev said, played a crucial role not just in limiting the number of warheads but also as a way to verify intentions and to ensure some element of trust between major nuclear powers.