Paris: A senior Russian law maker on
foreign policy is going to visit the US in order to
synchronize the ratification of a new treaty on strategic
armaments reduction.
Chairman of the foreign policy committee in the upper
house of Russian parliament, Mikhail Margelov, leaves for
Washington today.
In Washington, Margelov and his counterparts from the US
Congress will verify the steps on various aspects of the
ratification process.
"Our partners from the US Senate and we ourselves will do
preparatory work for a synchronized ratification of the
treaty," he said.
"One can say with a big degree of assuredness that
ratification in Russian parliament looks quite realistic,"
Margelov said.
"From the procedural point of view, we do these things
very fast, within about a month."
"As for the US Congress, intense and serious work is
ahead," he said.
He feels that the new Russian-American treaty on
strategic arms reduction will be signed before the end of the
first quarter of the year, as "the last technical efforts" are
being applied to the document now, he said in an interview.
In Paris, Margelov led the Russian delegation to an
international disarmament conference of the Global Zero
initiative. As he addressed the Paris forum, Margelov asked
its participants to voice support to the idea of ratification
of the new treaty.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 03, 2010, 18:33