Russian parliament ratifies arms pact with U.S.

A general view of Russia's lower parliament chamber during a session in Moscow on Tuesday. Photo: AP.

Russia’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday ratified a landmark nuclear arms pact with the United States that was earlier been approved by the U.S. Senate.

The State Duma voted 350-96 with one abstention to pass a ratification bill of the New START treaty. The treaty will now go to the upper house for final approval.

The New START would limit each country to 1,550 strategic warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200 and also re-establish a system for monitoring that ended with the expiration of a previous arms control pact.

The treaty’s passage has never been in doubt in the Kremlin-controlled parliament, but Russian lawmakers wanted to counter a U.S. Senate resolution that accompanied its December’s ratification with a similar motion.

Just like the U.S. Senate resolution that raised some Republican concerns about the pact without directly affecting it, the Russian ratification bill wouldn’t interfere with the deal.

While the Senate resolution said the treaty shouldn’t restrict U.S. plans to develop a missile defence system, the Duma ratification bill stated that the treaty can only be fulfilled if emerging missile defences don’t erode the Russian nuclear deterrent.

The Russian draft bill also mimicked the Senate resolution that mentioned increased funding for the U.S. nuclear arsenal by emphasizing the need to modernize Russia’s nuclear forces.

Neither the Senate, nor the Duma resolution would affect the text of the treaty, which is a centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” ties with Russia.