Russian State Duma ratifies START

Russia's State Duma ratified today the Russian-American treaty on
strategic offensive arms with 350 deputies for and 96 against,
Gazeta.ru reports.

The bill on ratification of the treaty in the second reading was
adopted on January 14. The same day, the State Duma approved amendment
providing additional six articles to the instrument of the
ratification of the START.

The articles provide the terms on which Russia can remain in the
treaty or withdraw from it. If the United States unilaterally deploys
the missile defense systems that violate the security of Russia,
Moscow will have a right to come out of the contract.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that Russia will reach the
level of weapons stated in the document by 2018.