Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin praised the New Start nuclear arms treaty with the United States today in his first remarks on the pact since the US Senate approved it last week.
Mr Putin lauded president Dmitry Medvedev for forging the treaty with president Barack Obama -- a clear signal of approval for the agreement from Russia's paramount leader, who also stands to benefit from the improvement in bilateral ties.
Analysts say Russia would not have agreed the treaty without Mr Putin's support and that the Kremlin-controlled parliament is all but certain to ratify it after the holidays.
It is the main product of Mr Obama's effort to "reset" long-strained ties between Washington and Moscow, a drive that Mr Medvedev has embraced enthusiastically.
Mr Putin has rarely commented on the New Start treaty and at one point during year-long negotiations made remarks that cast doubt on the chances for agreement.
Today Mr Putin suggested the treaty would bolster international security but also help Russia develop its economy by improving the investment climate.
"I would like to congratulate Dmitry Anatolyevich (Medvedev) on the completion of work on the Start treaty," he said at a government meeting attended by the president.
"This is a serious decision which will have an impact not only on issues related to international security," Mr Putin said.
"For us it is important because it creates favourable external conditions for realisation of social and economic initiatives inside this country."
Signed by Mr Medvedev and Mr Obama in April, the pact commits the United States and Russia to reducing their arsenals of deployed strategic nuclear weapons and establishes monitoring rules officials say will improve trust between the Cold War foes.
Analysts say Mr Medvedev was given a mandate to improve relations with the West, which deteriorated during Mr Putin's presidency and hit a low with Moscow's August 2008 war with pro-Western Georgia, in hopes of strengthening Russia's economy.
At the meeting today, Mr Medvedev lamented a lack of progress in attracting investment, saying "there is very little improvement" in the investment climate. "We need to work on it."
Mr Putin gave a cautious assessment of Russia's campaign for membership of the World Trade Organisation, which has gotten a boost from Mr Obama's public backing as part of the "reset".
"Many questions remain but there is some movement forward. There is no final result yet but we have agreed the main parameter with our main partners," Mr Putin said.
The European Union gave its formal backing to Russian membership of the WTO this month, and officials say Russia could join the trade-rules body next year.
Reuters