The Kremlin confirmed on Thursday it is ready to simultaneously ratify a new arms reduction treaty with the U.S.
Earlier in the day, U.S. President Barack Obama informed his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that the treaty had been forwarded for ratification to the U.S. Senate.
The new START treaty, signed on April 8 in Prague, replaces the 1991 pact that expired in December 2009.
The new treaty on strategic arms cuts stipulates that the number of nuclear warheads be reduced to 1,550 on each side over seven years, while the number of delivery vehicles, both deployed and non-deployed, must not exceed 800.
The pact must be approved by both houses of the Russian parliament and by the U.S. Senate to come into force.
MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti)
