Russia welcomes nuclear treaty deal

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed the US Senate’s decision to ratify a landmark US-Russian nuclear arms control treaty.

But Russian legislators said they need to study the Senate’s conditions for its ratification before following suit.

The treaty, signed by US President Barack 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 Kremlin-controlled parliament had said before the Senate landmark ruling that they would approve the treaty quickly after it was ratified in the US.

Lower house speaker Boris Gryzlov said today the Senate’s ratification resolution apparently contained some conditions and the legislators need to carefully study the text.

He added that the State Duma may ratify the pact on Friday if the text of the treaty itself remained unchanged.

Conservative Republicans said the pact would limit US options on missile defence, lacked sufficient procedures to verify Russia’s adherence and deserved more time for consideration.

Obama pressed strongly for the treaty’s approval before Congress, with a Republican majority, assumes power in January.

Republicans had tried to kill the treaty by forcing changes in its language that would have sent it back for negotiations with Moscow. Democrats sought to appease some Republican senators by letting them raise these issues in legislation accompanying the treaty that would not directly affect the pact.

Two such amendments, one on missile defence and one on funding for the US nuclear arsenal, passed with support from both parties.

Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, said that its decision would depend on the analysis of the amendments.