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European security depending on START nuclear weapons deal

“If the START treaty is not ratified, it would be a real setback for European security,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen. “We urge and hope that the U.S. Congress will be able to ratify the START treaty as soon as possible.”

Obama, Medvedev urge Senate to ratify START | Reuters, By Ross Colvin, LISBON | Sat Nov 20, 2010 – President Barack Obama used the international stage Saturday to press his Republican opponents in Congress to ratify a new nuclear arms deal with Russia.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also urged U.S. lawmakers to approve the START treaty swiftly and six European foreign ministers echoed the appeal in a joint appearance at a NATO summit in Lisbon.

The treaty, signed by Obama and Medvedev in April, commits the United States and Russia to cutting deployed nuclear weapons by about 30 percent — to no more than 1,550 — within seven years. It also includes verification measures.

Obama says the treaty is vital because it allows U.S. inspectors to gather accurate intelligence about the state of Russia’s nuclear stockpile……..

 

The treaty must be approved by the U.S. Senate and the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, before it goes into force. Medvedev has urged the Duma not to ratify it until Senate approval is certain.

The foreign ministers of four former Eastern Bloc countries, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary, along with Denmark and Norway, appeared together at the NATO summit to urge the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty.

“If the START treaty is not ratified, it would be a real setback for European security,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen. “We urge and hope that the U.S. Congress will be able to ratify the START treaty as soon as possible.”

(Additional reporting by Alexei Aninshchuk and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Jon Boyle and John O’Callaghan)

Obama, Medvedev urge Senate to ratify START | Reuters

November 21, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons