Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is holding negotiations with Washington regarding a pivotal nuclear arms pact.

Putin said the U.S. plans to re-equip some of the nuclear capable aircraft and submarines to carry conventional weapons has drawn Russian concerns.

He noted Thursday that while the U.S. plans don’t contradict the 2010 U.S.-Russian New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Moscow is entitled to monitor the modifications to make sure there is no chance for a rollback to nuclear capability in the future.

Speaking at a meeting with Russian newspaper editors, Putin said “a dialogue is going on, and I hope it will be positive.”

The New START allows U.S. and Russia to have no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads each. It expires in 2021, but can be extended.

(AP)