“If it is stalled, then clearly it will harm the prospects for future negotiations that follow, that use this as a foundation for the next round. It will be impossible to have another round of arms control negotiations, as such. If that treaty comes up for ratification on the floor of the Senate, it will pass. The debate is when it comes up for votes.”
New START
Tussle over New START ratification intensifies
The fight over ratification of New START has intensified, after the key Republican Senator being courted by the Obama administration, Jon Kyl, indicated that he opposed a vote in the lame duck session of Congress. However the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, said the door is not yet closed. The New York Times reports on the treaty battle.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/senate-leader-deals-blow-t…
Democratic leaders urge adoption of New START this year
Following a severe defeat for the Democratic Party in the U.S. midterm elections, President Barack Obama led prominent Democrats today in calling for the ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia during the forthcoming ‘lame duck’ session of Congress.
What the US midterm elections mean for arms control
The impact of the election of Tea Party-backed Republicans in the November 2010 midterms on President Barack Obama's nuclear non-proliferation agenda.
Prominent Europeans call for change in NATO nuclear policies
Prominent European statespeople who form a sub-group of the European Leaders Network have released a letter calling on NATO to make “disarmament a core element of its approach to providing security.” In their letter, they encourage the Alliance to “review its entire nuclear policy and posture with a view to facilitating progress in arms control, in a manner consistent with effective burden sharing and alliance cohesion, effective deterrence and a demonstrable commitment to collective defence.”
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes to send New START to the full Senate
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed by a 14-4 vote to send the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to the full Senate for advice and consent to ratification.
The treaty requires support from two-thirds of the full Senate. It is uncertain whether this process will be completed by the end of the year. If the treaty is approved by both Russia and the United States, it will limit their arsenals to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads on each side.
For more information on the New START agreement and the U.S. Senate, see:
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee sends nuclear weapons treaty to full Senate
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee today voted to refer the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to the full Senate. If the treaty successfully goes through the ratification processes in the United States and Russia, the treaty will cap deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550 in both countries and establish a set of mutual inspections that have not had a formal framework since the first START treaty lapsed last December.
Update on New START in The Cable
Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has distributed a “discussion draft” of the New START Treaty Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification. An article in The Cable reviews reaction to the draft and related political developments in Washington.
To read the article, visit: