US poised to ratify nuclear treaty with Russia

A landmark treaty on nuclear arms that will bind the United States and Russia is set for ratification Wednesday after an arduous Senate battle, handing President Barack Obama a major diplomatic triumph."We are on the brink of writing the next chapter in the 40-year history of wrestling with the threat of nuclear weapons," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair John Kerry after lawmakers Tuesday moved 67-28 to end debate on the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), paving a way to a final vote.

A landmark nuclear arms control treaty binding the United States and Russia sailed over a last US Senate procedural hurdle Tuesday, setting the stage for ratification a day later.Lawmakers voted 67-28 to end debate on the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), rallying the margin necessary to hand President Barack Obama a major diplomatic triumph in a final ballot expected Wednesday.

The US Senate on Wednesday ratified a landmark nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, handing President Barack Obama a signal diplomatic and political victory after a months-long battle.Lawmakers voted 71-26 in favor of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), easily clearing the two-thirds majority needed to approve the pact, which Obama had made a lynchpin of efforts to "reset" relations with Moscow.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday called for the US Senate to vote now on a landmark nuclear arms treaty with Russia as Republicans threaten to block ratification efforts."We can and we must go forward," Clinton said as she made a rare visit to Congress to push for the pact to be approved by US lawmakers."This treaty is ready to be voted on by the United States Senate," she said.Republican foes have threatened to block any effort to ratify the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in the year-end "lame duck" session.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched a landmark nuclear arms reduction pact with Russia on Saturday, a showpiece of Washington's "reset" of ties with its former Cold War enemy.The new START nuclear arms reduction treaty officially came into force when Clinton and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov exchanged ratification documents at a security conference in the German city of Munich."Today we exchange the instruments of ratification for a treaty that lessens the nuclear danger facing the Russian and American people and the world," Clinton said.

Democrats pressed for a final Senate vote on a nuclear arms control pact with Russia, confident of success on one of President Barack Obama's top priorities despite Republican opposition.Leading Democrats said they believed they had enough votes to ratify the treaty, which would restrict Russia and the United States to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads, a cut of about 30 percent from a previous limit set in 2002.

The US Senate voted by a wide margin Wednesday to open debate on a landmark nuclear arms control treaty with Russia, in a strong show of support for one of President Barack Obama's top priorities.Lawmakers voted 66-32 to take up the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which Obama has made a lynchpin of his efforts to "reset" relations with Russia amid Republican charges it will cripple US missile defense plans.