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Russiaâ€™s State Duma ratifies US nuclear pact

25 January 2011 16:35 (UTC +04:00)

The State Duma voted 350-96 for the new START treaty in the third and final hearing before passing it on to the Federation Council upper house for a Wednesday debate.

The US Senate backed the first nuclear arms agreement since the Cold War era last month.

"We have discussed all the points of view," the Duma’s foreign affairs committee chief Konstantin Kosachev was quoted as saying by Interfax shortly before the vote.

"We have taken everything into account and are now taking a balanced -- and most importantly responsible -- decision," Kosachev said in explaining the ruling party’s vote in favour of the pact.

The chamber backed START after quickly rejecting a Communist Party proposal to bin a treaty that US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev signed in Prague on April 8, 2010.

"We have no trust in the United States," said populist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky before the vote. "It is dangerous to be signing agreements with them -- they hate us."

Russia’s procedure-laden approach has seen the final START votes pushed back until Obama’s annual State of the Union message -- a Tuesday speech he was expected to use to highlight his ability to engage Moscow.

The United States sees START -- which reduces old warhead ceilings by 30 percent and limits each side to 700 deployed long-range missiles and heavy bombers -- as a concession to Russia that opens up room for new round of talks.

It will allow Russia to take its ageing weapons out of commission while keeping parity with the United States for the decade that the treaty remains in effect.