Obama's hope for Russian nuclear arms treaty fades

WASHINGTON - In a blow to President Barack Obama, chances faded yesterday for Senate approval of a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia this year, tripping up one of the administration's top foreign policy goals: improving relations with Moscow.

Obama has been pushing to get enough Republican support for a vote before the Democratic majority shrinks by six in January, and was optimistic just over the weekend about sealing perhaps his most significant foreign policy achievement.

Part of the task included winning over Sen. Jon Kyl, the leading Republican senator on the New START agreement, who has demanded more funds for the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a condition for approving the treaty. The White House proposed adding $4.1 billion to modernize the arsenal and officials traveled to Kyl's home state to sell the pact, according to a congressional aide. But the senator wasn't sufficiently impressed.

In a statement yesterday, Kyl said he didn't think the issue should be considered this year, citing a busy Senate agenda and the complexity of the treaty. Democrats are unlikely to be able to move forward without his support.

"When Majority Leader Harry Reid asked me if I thought the treaty could be considered in the lame-duck session, I replied I did not think so given the combination of other work Congress must do and the complex and unresolved issues related to START and modernization," Kyl said.

The administration reacted swiftly with Vice President Joe Biden warning that Senate failure to ratify the treaty would endanger the national security of the United States. Without ratification, Americans will have no way to verify Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal and cooperation would weaken between two nations that hold 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, he said.

Kyl's rejection of fast action is likely to set the treaty back at least for months because Republicans will probably demand new hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee so that newly elected lawmakers are briefed.