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Russian Parliament Ratifies Arms Control Treaties April 27, 2000 On April 14, Russia's Duma approved the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty II, which cleared the way for scrapping thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads. Talks on a new START III arms control treaty between Russia and the United States have already begun. Russia's Duma didn't pass START II unconditionally. It authorized Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to abandon the treaty if the United States went ahead with deployment of a proposed National Missile Defense system, a decision that President Clinton could make this summer. The START II ratification was followed by on April 18 by the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that the United States Senate rejected last October. The vote in the Duma was 288 to 131 in favor of the treaty, which was struck in 1993. START II was passed by the U.S. Senate in 1996. However, the Duma attached an amendment to the treaty that would require the U.S. to adhere to a strict interpretation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The Russian move will require the U.S. Senate to re-ratify START II with the amendment, which is unlikely given current U.S. efforts to modify the ABM treaty. Ratification is seen as a victory for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, whose party joined with more moderate forces against communists opposed to the treaty. Putin unexpectedly showed up in the Duma to attend the debate over START II. He said in a speech that even with approval of the treaty, Russia still would have enough weapons to destroy America "several times over." Speaking to reporters after the vote, Putin said the decision would allow Russia to retain its nuclear shield while diverting scarce funds to conventional forces. "It preserves a powerful nuclear shield but also allows us to channel funds to the support of the conventional forces and allows us to make our army more combat ready," he said The measure now goes to Russia's Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, where swift approval is expected. Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, tried and failed for six years to push the treaty through the Communist-led Duma. START II would reduce the number of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads to about 3,000-3,500 each by the end of 2007. It also would allow both nations to step up efforts on START III, which includes even more cuts. Top U.S. arms negotiators said they are ready to kick off a new round of talks for strategic arms cuts when they meet their Russian counterparts in Geneva. Teams from both countries have already met at least five times since last summer to lay the groundwork for START III, but Moscow's long-delayed ratification of START II clears the way for a new beginning, said U.S. officials. Still, the negotiations likely will be overshadowed by U.S. demands to revise the 1972 ABM treaty, which limits the construction of national missile shields by either side. Putin warned that Russia would pull out of all nuclear and conventional arms control agreements if the United States does not adhere to the ABM treaty. Washington wants to amend the treaty so it can build a limited missile defense system to protect against possible missile attacks from what it calls "rogue nations" such as North Korea. The United States insists its proposed system would not pose a threat to Russia. But Russia says the move could trigger a new arms race. The Communists said ratification of SALT II is a threat to Russia's security. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said the approval "destroys those missiles that could have shielded our country for another 15 years."
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