The U.S. Senate plans to hold hearings on ratifying a new signed arms reduction deal with Russia in April-May, a leading U.S. senator has said.
A signed Russian-U.S. treaty has to be ratified by the two states” parliaments to go into effect.
“We intend to begin hearings between Easter [April 4] and Memorial Day [May 31] on the historical record of strategic arms control,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said in a statement.
START I, the cornerstone of a post-Cold War arms control setup, expired on December 5 2009.
Russia and the United States have been negotiating a strategic arms reduction pact since the two countries” presidents met in April last year, but the work on the document has dragged on, with U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe a particular sticking point.
U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the treaty on Wednesday morning with Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate”s Foreign Relations Committee. The two senators will play the key role in the document”s ratification.
“Once the treaty and its associated documents are completed and submitted to the Senate, Senator Lugar and I look forward to holding hearings and giving the treaty immediate and careful attention,” Kerry said.
