The Russian Duma’s defense and international affairs committees met Tuesday to discuss the ratification of the U.S.-Russian Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry (see GSN, Dec. 12).  The committees agreed to a procedure aimed to aid cooperation between the executive and legislative branches of the Russian government to accelerate the treaty ratification process, the ministry said in a press release.

Members of the two committees supported ratifying the treaty as soon as early next year, the ministry said (see GSN, Dec. 16; Russian Foreign Ministry release, Dec. 18).

Meanwhile, members of the Russian Parliament are working to add language to the treaty ratification legislation that would give Russia a way to withdraw from the treaty in the event of “extraordinary circumstances,” ITAR-Tass reported yesterday. 

Such circumstances would include substantial U.S. violations of the treaty, the U.S. deployment of a national missile defense system, the buildup of nuclear weapons in countries not affiliated with the treaty and the deployment of nuclear weapons in NATO members, ITAR-Tass reported (Rudakova/Yurkin, ITAR-Tass, Dec. 18). 

For further information, see:

U.S.-Russia Nuclear Reduction Treaty Text (U.S. State Department)

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