Russia Approves Test Ban Treaty

Lawmakers Friday overwhelmingly approved the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which would oblige Russia to end all nuclear test explosions once the United States and other nuclear-capable nations comply.

Hailing the vote, lawmakers said it gave Russia a moral edge over the United States, which has not ratified the treaty. Moscow is very critical of Washington's stand on nuclear-arms reduction.

"The ratification gives Russia an excellent chance to seize the initiative in nuclear-arms talks," said Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Duma's committee on international affairs.

The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, ratified the treaty 298-74 after government officials urged lawmakers to back President Vladimir Putin's call for major cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals.

The vote came a week after the Duma broke a seven-year nuclear deadlock by ratifying the START II treaty under which Russia and the United States would scrap thousands of nuclear warheads, reports CBS News Moscow Correspondent David Hawkins.

"We think this is a very important step, primarily for the security of Russia, but also for international stability," said Igor Ivanov, Russia's foreign minister.

Putin, who won election last month, has made nuclear-arms reduction a key part of his foreign policy. The quick approval of two key treaties in a row underlines his strong authority and the dominance of the new centrist majority in the Duma.

The test ban treaty must be ratified by the upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council, where swift approval is expected. Russia has not exploded a nuclear device since 1990.

The Communists wanted to make Russian ratification of the test ban treaty dependent on the United States, China, India, Pakistan and India ratifying the measure. The Duma ignored the proposal and many hardline deputies voted for ratification.

"We shouldn't have done it before the Americans," complained Communist Deputy Yegor Ligachev after the vote.

Before the vote, Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov urged lawmakers during the closed-door session to ratify the treaty.

The treaty has been signed by more than 150 countries, but with Russia's approval just 52 countries have ratified it. The treaty will not go into effect unless it is ratified by all 44 countries considered to have some degree of nuclear capability.

The U.S. Senate rejected the treaty last year, with opponents arguing that it would undermine the country's weapons program and that compliance by other countries could not be ensured.

Besides the United States and China, other holdouts include Egypt, Pakistan, India and North Korea.

Russia strongly criticized the Senate's vote although it had not at that time ratified the pact. But under Putin, Russia appears to be trying to seize the initiative in pushing arms-contrl issues.

The ratification of START II, which was completed on Wednesday with approval by the upper house of the Russian parliament, ended years of Russian obstruction and bounced the issue back to the United States, where the Senate must approve amendments worked out by U.S. and Russian negotiators after the Senate ratified the pact in 1996.

START II ratification also cleared the way for talks to begin on further arms reductions under a proposed START III.

Ivanov is to leave for the United States Sunday for meetings on arms-control issues, including the tense disagreement between Washington and Moscow over the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty.

The Kremlin opposes the United States' proposal to amend the ABM treaty to allow construction of a limited missile-defense system. Conservatives in the U.S. Senate claim ABM became obsolete with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"This is an additional argument which will help put pressure on the United States so that they give up their plan to develop anti-missile defenses," said Rogozin, head of the international committee.

"If the Americans find themselves in isolation, they will have to blame themselves," he added.

Putin has warned the United States that he will abandon START II and all nuclear arms control treaties if Washington breaks with ABM.

The Duma's ratification of the test ban treaty is expected to give Moscow an edge in talks with U.S. officials.

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