UN's Ban welcomes U.S ratification of nuclear arms reduction treaty signed with Russia

UN's Ban welcomes U.S ratification of nuclear arms reduction treaty signed with Russia

2010-12-23 15:53:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the vote by the U.S. Senate to support the ratification of the nuclear arms reduction treaty signed earlier this year by the leaders of Russia and the U.S.

Martin Nesirky, Ban's personal spokesperson, said the approval of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) sends a 'firm and clear' message in support of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. "[ban] reaffirms his full commitment to working toward achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," he added.

Ban said he hopes the two countries will build on the momentum of the approval and continue to engage in follow-on measures to achieve deeper reductions in their nuclear arsenals.

Also on Thursday, the Kremlin said Medvedev was 'pleased' to learn that the U.S. Senate had ratified the START Treaty. Medvedev also expressed hope that the State Duma and the Federation Council will be ready to consider this issue shortly and to ratify the document.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty on April 8 in Prague, pledging to slash their nuclear arsenals by a third.

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