New U.S.-Russia arms pact nears Senate approval (Update 1)

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The new strategic arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia is nearing approval by the U.S. Senate, with the final vote due to take place on Wednesday.

The new strategic arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia is nearing approval by the U.S. Senate, with the final vote due to take place on Wednesday.

The new START treaty secured enough votes in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to close out debate and move to the final approval stages. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats to vote 67-28 to end debate on the issue. Senators also rejected a few last-minute amendments.

"We are on the brink of writing the next chapter in the 40-year history of wrestling with the threat of nuclear weapons," Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, a Democrat, said following the vote. Kerry said he expects 70 senators to eventually back the agreement.

Russian and U.S. presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama signed the treaty, which restricts both nations to a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200, in April. It needs a two-thirds majority in the Senate for ratification.

The deal is an important part of the efforts to "reset" relations between Russia and the United States and Obama, who has delayed his vacation for the cause, has been trying to convince senators that the new nuclear deal is in the interest of the United States. Many Republicans claim the treaty could stand in the way of the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

The agreement will come into force after ratification by both houses of the Russian parliament and the U.S. Senate. Medvedev has made it clear that Russia will not ratify the treaty until the pact is finally approved by the U.S. Senate.

The ratification of the new arms cuts treaty would be Obama's third major victory in Congress in less than a week, the other two being a tax deal with Republicans and the repeal of a ban on gays openly serving in the armed forces.

 

WASHINGTON, December 22 (RIA Novosti)

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