The US Senate has ratified the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
with Russia. 71 senators voted for and 26 against the document. 13
Republicans joined the 56 Democrats. Two independent candidates also
supported the treaty.
The results of the voting were announced by Vice-President Joe Biden.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, John Kerry,
said that ratification of the document will prevent nuclear threat.
President Barack Obama called START the most significant military
agreement in the last two decades.
Russia welcomed ratification of the treaty. Russian Minister of
Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said that time is still needed to study
the text approved by the Senate, due to some adjustments.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed satisfaction with the
ratification. He said that the Russian parliament will need some time
to study the conditions approved by the USA, the president’s
press-secretary Natalya Timakova said. She also said that the voting
result shows an improvement in ties between Moscow and Washington.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the ratification
of the treaty. He said that it will be a contribution to security, RIA
Novosti reports.
Rasmussen recalled that the NATO summit in Lisbon involved agreements
on development of territorial anti-missile defenses, a new step in
relations between Russia and NATO.
The two sides agreed that they are not a threat to each other and, on
the contrary, are striving for strategic partnership.
