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Senate nod for nuclear pact hailed by Russia
Source: Agencies |
December 24, 2010, Friday
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RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday welcomed the United States Senate's decision to ratify a landmark US-Russian nuclear arms control treaty, but Russian legislators said they need to study a resolution accompanying the document before following suit.
Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said that when Medvedev signed the New START treaty with US President Barack Obama, they agreed that the ratification process should be conducted simultaneously.
She said that Medvedev voiced hope that both houses of Russian parliament would ratify the pact, but added that they would need some time to analyze the US Senate's conditions for its ratification before making their decision.
The New START treaty, signed by Obama and Medvedev in April, would limit each country's strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current ceiling of 2,200.
It also would establish a system for monitoring and verification. US weapons inspections ended last year with the expiration of a previous arms control deal.
Legislators in the Russian parliament said before the Senate landmark ruling on Wednesday that they would approve the treaty quickly after it is ratified in the US.
Lower house speaker Boris Gryzlov, however, told reporters yesterday that the Senate's ratification resolution apparently contained some conditions and the legislators need to carefully study the text before making their decision.
He added the State Duma may ratify the pact today if the text of the treaty itself remained unchanged. "If these conditions don't change the text of the treaty, we may pass a ratification bill even tomorrow (today)," Gryzlov said.
Conservative Republicans said the pact would limit US options on missile defense, lacked sufficient procedures to verify Russia's adherence and deserved more time for consideration.
Obama called the treaty a national security imperative and pressed strongly for its approval before Congress, with a Republican majority, assumes power in January. In recent days, he telephoned a handful of wavering Republicans, eventually locking in their votes.
The Obama administration has argued that the US must show credibility in its improved relations with its former Cold War foe, and the treaty is critical to any rapprochement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow was still waiting for the official text of the resolution and refused to comment on issues raised by Republicans in the Senate resolution.
"The specific content of the Senate resolution will naturally determine the wording that our legislators will put in the Russian ratification bill," Lavrov said.
Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said that when Medvedev signed the New START treaty with US President Barack Obama, they agreed that the ratification process should be conducted simultaneously.
She said that Medvedev voiced hope that both houses of Russian parliament would ratify the pact, but added that they would need some time to analyze the US Senate's conditions for its ratification before making their decision.
The New START treaty, signed by Obama and Medvedev in April, would limit each country's strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current ceiling of 2,200.
It also would establish a system for monitoring and verification. US weapons inspections ended last year with the expiration of a previous arms control deal.
Legislators in the Russian parliament said before the Senate landmark ruling on Wednesday that they would approve the treaty quickly after it is ratified in the US.
Lower house speaker Boris Gryzlov, however, told reporters yesterday that the Senate's ratification resolution apparently contained some conditions and the legislators need to carefully study the text before making their decision.
He added the State Duma may ratify the pact today if the text of the treaty itself remained unchanged. "If these conditions don't change the text of the treaty, we may pass a ratification bill even tomorrow (today)," Gryzlov said.
Conservative Republicans said the pact would limit US options on missile defense, lacked sufficient procedures to verify Russia's adherence and deserved more time for consideration.
Obama called the treaty a national security imperative and pressed strongly for its approval before Congress, with a Republican majority, assumes power in January. In recent days, he telephoned a handful of wavering Republicans, eventually locking in their votes.
The Obama administration has argued that the US must show credibility in its improved relations with its former Cold War foe, and the treaty is critical to any rapprochement.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow was still waiting for the official text of the resolution and refused to comment on issues raised by Republicans in the Senate resolution.
"The specific content of the Senate resolution will naturally determine the wording that our legislators will put in the Russian ratification bill," Lavrov said.
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