Medvedev signs the ratification of the new START treaty between Russia and the United States

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday signed the ratification of the new treaty reducing strategic weapons with the United States.
Mr Medvedev told a meeting of the Security Council that the treaty was a very important event for the whole country, given the existing agreements between Russia and the United States.
"The Americans are at the end of their stay. We have also completed these procedures," Medvedev said, adding: "We have made some comments largely proportional to those made by the United States, even symmetrical, to resolve that our members have concerns about the interpretation of clauses of the treaty concerned. "
The treaty, known as the New START limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads, compared to 2200 present, and also restores a surveillance system that ended in December 2009 with the expiry of a previous agreement on weapons.
The treaty formally enters into force after the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exchanged the ratification documents, "said Medvedev.
The agreement "will set the parameters for the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons for the next ten years," said Medvedev. "In general, it determines the balance of strategic cooperation, a balance of power in the short term."
Moscow and Washington signed the new START treaty April 8, 2010 in Prague. The treaty is widely seen as an effort by Russia and the United States to "revitalize" their relationships. The U.S. Senate ratified the document on 22 December 2010.