Ban welcomes Russia’s approval of nuclear arms reduction pact

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed today’s adoption by the Russian parliament of the law on ratification of the nuclear arms reduction treaty that signed last year with the United States, thereby enabling the pact to enter into force.

The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (known as the New START Treaty) was signed by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010. In it, they pledged to slash their nuclear arsenals by a third.

The action by Russian lawmakers follows a similar move by the US Senate last month to support the Treaty’s ratification.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the Russian Federation and the United States build upon this momentum and engage in follow-on efforts in order to achieve deeper reductions in all types of nuclear weapons,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement.