Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Friday overwhelmingly approved the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the United States in a first reading, dpa reported. The vote in the assembly, dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, was 350 in favour against 58 opposing votes. The Duma's final approval will not come until a second and decisive third reading planned for mid-January, said the head of the body's foreign affairs committee, Konstantin Kossatchov. In addition, the upper-house Federation Council still has to approve the treaty, which calls for cuts in overall nuclear arms by the US and Russia while restoring monitoring requirements. The council has postponed its decision until next year.
