President Dmitry Medvedev has asked the State Duma to ratify the New START arms control treaty with the United States, but warned deputies to do it no earlier than the U.S. Senate does.
"The treaty is the product of joint actions, a combination of our political efforts and shared will, and we must ensure that it passes through parliaments practically at the same time, helping bolster mutual trust," Medvedev said Friday at a meeting with activists of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, which dominates the Duma.
"There have been cases in history of our country … when we have been cheated," Medvedev added without elaboration. "We can't tolerate that anymore."
Medvedev said Duma deputies should synchronize their moves with the U.S. Senate and ratify the pact "no sooner and no later" than it does.
The treaty needs 67 votes in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats control 59 votes.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held an opening hearing on the treaty earlier this month. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told senators that the pact would help strengthen relations with Russia while putting pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Democrats and at least one senior Republican, Senator Richard Lugar, have signaled that they will support it. But some Republicans have voiced concerns that the deal would inhibit the development of a U.S. missile shield.
Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama signed the New START last month in the Czech capital, Prague.
The deal would limit each country's stockpile of nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current level of 2,200 — bringing the arsenals to a level last seen in the 1950s. It replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expired in December.
The New START does not prevent the United States from building new missile defense systems, but Russia has made clear that it could withdraw from the treaty if it feels threatened by such a system in the future.
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