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Russia's State Duma, or lower house of parliament, ratified on Wednesday the Russian-US Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reduction.
After a closed-door debate, the Duma voted 294 in favor of the treaty while 134 voted against it.
The vote came on the same day when visiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell is holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to prepare for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W. Bush scheduled for June 1 in St. Petersburg.
During the meeting with Ivanov, Powell said that the ratification of the treaty shows Russia and the United States can work together to resolve major international issues, including those involving nuclear reduction, Interfax reported.
Ivanov said the ratification is a gift not only to Powell, but also to "our people," because "the purpose of this document is to ensure their security."
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the approval of the treaty "will help Russia's armed forces to develop and plan their strategic nuclear forces based on national interests."
The vote on the treaty was originally scheduled for March 21, but the State Duma decided on March 18 to postpone the procedure to protest against the then imminent US-led attack on Iraq, which Russia firmly opposed.
The treaty, signed last May by Putin and Bush, calls on both nations to cut the number of their deployed nuclear warheads to 1,700 and 2,000 respectively by 2012 -- down from about 6,000 in the United States and 5,500 in Russia.
Russia's Federation Council, or the upper house of parliament, could approve the accord, formally called the Moscow Treaty, in late May. The US Senate unanimously approved the treaty in March.
(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2003)
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