START nuclear pact set to pass key vote in Senate

A landmark nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia had enough backers Tuesday to win ratification by the US Senate, media outlets reported late last night.

Nine of President Barack Obama's Republican adversaries have said in recent days that they will support the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), and no Democrat had broken with the pact, giving the accord the votes to pass.

Republican Senators Lamar Alexander, Johnny Isakson and Bob Bennett said Tuesday that they would support the agreement, and more publicly undecided lawmakers were expected to follow soon.

Ratification requires two-thirds of senators present to back the treaty, 67 if all 100 are there, and 66 if, as expected, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden will miss the ballot in the wake of prostate cancer surgery.

Democrats control 58 votes, and therefore needed nine Republicans to break ranks with their leaders in the year-end "lame duck" legislation session to hand Obama a signal diplomatic victory.

As of Tuesday, Republican Senators Richard Lugar, Susan Collins, Olympia Snow, Alexander, George Voinovich, Scott Brown, Bob Corker, Bennett and Isakson had publicly said they would vote for START.

"The question is not if it passes; the question is when," Corker told reporters.

A handful of others - Republican Senators John McCain, Mark Kirk, Judd Gregg and Lisa Murkowski - were thought to be leaning toward backing the accord.

AFP