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Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond speaks at the Scottish National Party annual conference on Oct. 20, in Perth, Scotland. The First Minister delivered his key note speech today after signing a deal with David Cameron earlier in the week for Scotland's referendum to take place in the autumn of 2014. (Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
If Scotland were to become a state independent from the U.K., it would not house nuclear-armed Trident missiles, First Minister Alex Salmond said.
In 2014, Scotland has the opportunity to vote in a referendum that could make it an independent state.
The U.K. government said that it would be costly to move the Trident weapons system out of Scotland, where it is currently housed. The expensive nuclear program is based out of Faslane Naval Base on Scotland’s western coast.
“The U.K. government has two choices—they either relocate Trident to another part of the rest of the U.K. or alternatively they could use nuclear facilities in America or France,” Salmond told the BBC in an interview.
Salmond, a proponent of Scottish independence, added: “If Scotland, by majority, doesn’t want nuclear weapons, the [Scottish National Party] proposition is to write that into the constitutions of the state. So, that would make the possession of nuclear weapons illegal.”
Last week, when Salmond and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron signed the accord to hold the referendum, Cameron said he believes Scotland would be better off in the U.K., and said he “will be making a very positive argument for our United Kingdom.”
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