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Scotland seeks to secede from UK

Independent Scotland will remain in NATO, British nuclear arms will be withdrawn from its territory

LONDON, November 26./ITAR-TASS/. If Scotland’s population will vote for sovereignty in the referendum scheduled for September 18, 2014, then the country will no longer be part of the United Kingdom, while remaining a NATO member. Those British nuclear arms which are currently located in Scotland will be moved, said Alex Salmond, Leader of the Scottish National Party. Together with Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister of Scotland, they’ve presented White Paper on Independence in Glasglow.

Nationalists have already set the date for declaring independence if the vote passes – March 24, 2016. The White Paper, drawn up by the regional government, answers 650 questions which voters may have. In essence, it’s a road map, proposed by Scottish nationalists, outlining the plan of action in case they manage to break away from Great Britain and if they win the 2016 parliamentary elections. Salmond’s part expects independent Scotland will still recognize the monarch as head of state, like Canada or Australia.
However, nationalists also promised that Scotland would no longer house Tridents – nuclear submarines – the changes should come within the first term of the nationalist government, 2016-2021. Alex Salmond said that he saw no sense in spending billions of pounds on weapons of mass destruction. However, this will leave Great Britain unsecure, as currently the country doesn’t have an alternative base to house its nuclear arsenal.

Nationalist leaders promised that Scotland will keep the British pound as currency; Salmond said that the country is even will to be responsible for part of Britain’s debt. The currency issue is a key one, as it determines economic stability of the country. Scottish authorities will have to be approved by Great Britain in order to use the pound if they want the Bank of England to become the lender of last resort in case of an economic crisis. In case this happens, British Ministry of Finance and Bank of England will dictate Scotland’s financial and budget policy.