On September 16, 2010, a major step was accomplished on the START ratification. After five months of intense negotiations, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved the US-Russia agreement on strategic nuclear weapons reduction with a large bipartisan majority (14 – 4). The main concerns expressed during the Committee hearings were the relation between the START Treaty and the US missile defense system in Europe; the Obama Administration financial commitment to modernize the national military nuclear infrastructure and the question of Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

Yesterday’s success doesn’t mean that the Senate final vote will be easy. In fact, a new battle starts to win the support of a least seven Republican senators to ratify the Treaty. Concessions will be done to ensure rallying the opposition and amendments are still expected even from the three senators who joined their Democrat colleagues yesterday.
In addition, this debate is partly disrupted by the US mid-term elections in November after which Democrats could probably lose their majority in the Senate.

A defeat will mean that the Obama Administration will have to give more guarantees to the Republicans for their final agreement on START. At the same time, the Russian Senate is waiting for the US vote to ratify the text.