Russian lawmakers on Wednesday approved agreements with the United States on U.S. assistance to Russia in dismantling its nuclear, chemical and other weapons, according to AP. The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, voted 336-9 with four abstensions to approve two protocols to the 1992 U.S.-Russian agreement on safe transportation, storage and disposal of weapons. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said that the U.S. aid to Russia under that agreement has totalled more than US$2 billion and Russia expects to receive another US$1 billion through 2013 to help dismantle its aging arsenals. «The agreement is in the interests of the Russian Federation,» Kislyak said. «It allows us to save significant budget funds.» The 1992 agreement was signed at a time when the cash-strapped Russian government desperately needed foreign aid to safely store and dispose of huge Soviet-era arsenals of nuclear and chemical weapons. While surging oil prices have reversed Russia's economic fortunes, Moscow has continued to receive aid from the U.S. and other Western nations for its weapons dismantling programs.
