Russia’s lower parliament house could ratify the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) on nuclear weapons with the United States by year’s end and possibly as early as today, leading Kremlin-allied lawmakers said yesterday.
State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said the lower chamber could vote to ratify the treaty by today if the US Senate’s resolution on ratification “did not affect the text of the agreement”, state-run news agency RIA reported.
The US Senate voted 71-26 on Wednesday to approve the treaty, the linchpin of efforts to “reset” long-strained relations between Moscow and Washington and a boost for efforts to curb nuclear proliferation worldwide.
The treaty will reduce long-range, strategic nuclear weapons deployed by Russia and the United States to no more than 1,550 on each side within seven years and establish monitoring rules to keep tabs on the world’s largest nuclear arsenals.
In addition to the US Senate, the pact must be ratified by both houses of the Russian parliament to enter into force.
The Kremlin-backed United Russia party dominates both houses, so approval is certain as long as President Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Vladimir Putin support it.
Mr Medvedev welcomed the US Senate’s approval and “expressed hope that the Duma and federation council will be ready to examine this issue and also ratify the document”, spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said. But she added that lawmakers would need time to study the US ratification papers before making a decision.
Russian lawmakers have said they will examine the US Senate’s resolution on ratification closely, suggesting that any substantive change in the terms set by the pact would mean delay or rejection.
“There is information that the resolution has a series of conditions attached,” RIA quoted Mr Gryzlov as saying. “If these conditions do not affect the text of the agreement, then we could ratify the treaty tomorrow.”
Duma international affairs committee chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said it would be possible for the lower house to ratify the treaty today if lawmakers decide no changes are needed in the Russian resolution.
British foreign secretary William Hague said the new treaty would “contribute to increased trust and security for all” and marked an important step towards the UK’s long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons.