U.S. Senate ratifies an arms control treaty with RussiaDecember 23, 2010 - 12:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Senate ratified an arms control treaty with Russia that reduces the limit for each country's stockpile of nuclear warheads, giving President Barack Obama a major foreign policy win in the last days of this session of Congress. At his year-end news conference, Obama praised the strong bipartisan vote for a treaty he described as the most significant arms control pact in nearly two decades. In addition to cutting nuclear weapons and launchers, Obama said the pact will allow U.S. inspectors to "be back on the ground" in Russia. He said the U.S. relationship with Russia was "essential to making progress on a whole host of challenges, from enforcing strong sanctions on Iran, to preventing nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists." The Obama administration has made arms control negotiations the centrepiece of "resetting" its relationship with Russia. The Senate's ratification of the treaty was Obama's top foreign policy priority of the postelection session of Congress, and a victory the administration ground out over the past few weeks by securing the votes of Republicans. Thirteen Republicans broke with their top two leaders and joined 56 Democrats and two independents in providing the necessary two-thirds vote to approve the treaty. The vote was 71-26. The accord, which still must be approved by Russia, would restart onsite weapons inspections as successors to President Ronald Reagan have embraced his edict of "trust, but verify." The New START(Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty, signed by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April, would limit each country's strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 down from the current ceiling of 2,200. It also would establish a system for monitoring and verification. US weapons inspections ended last year with the expiration of a 1991 treaty, AP reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Politico: Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Azerbaijan in 2018-2022 Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Armenia’s enemy even though both countries were supposedly allies in a defense pact. Armenia Security Council chief to attend Ukraine peace summit Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will take part in the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. Armenian govt. approves ratification of EAEU-Iran free trade deal At a meeting on Friday, June 14, the Armenian government approved the ratification of an EAEU free trade agreement with Iran. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State to arrive in Yerevan Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard R. Verma will travel to Yerevan, Armenia from June 17-19 to. |