The Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Friday approved in a first reading an historic nuclear weapons reduction pact with the United States, an AFP correspondent reported.
The parliament voted overwhelmingly with 350 in favour and 58 against for the ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama in April.
However, lawmakers have made clear that the treaty will needed to be voted on in two additional readings next year before ratification, after the US Senate made non-binding additions that sparked concern in Moscow.
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