Russia's lower house approves first reading of START treaty ratification

Russia's lower house approves first reading of START treaty ratification

2010-12-25 18:49:18 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- Russia's State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, on Friday approved the first reading of the ratification bill of the START treaty, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The State Duma passed the first of three ratification bill after 350 votes in favor and 58 votes against. The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was designed to reduce arms arsenals to a maximum of 1,550 warheads, a 30 percent cut on the limit set by the Moscow Treaty of 2,200 nuclear warheads.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed the arms reduction treaty after a 71-26 vote which was considered a major victory for President Barack Obama in the foreign policy field. Obama has expressed his intention to establish new relations with Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he was pleased with the positive ratification of the new START treaty. He also urged the State Duma and the Federation Council to ratify the bill as soon as possible.

However, the Russian State Duma delayed the final approval of the bill until January as it claims that the document needs three readings before being ratified. The lower house initially said that the final vote will be held on Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the country's security would be ensured under any conditions as the pact does not violate the European country's security. Lavrov said that he U.S. Senate resolution attempted to portrait Russia as an offender despite having always adhering to its obligations.

The new START treaty has received support from the international community. On Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the ratification of the document and said that it is a firm message in regards to achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

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

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