sinus and we could soon see this process starting as soon as tomorrow even because in a day already this afternoon rush has received the documents from the us senate ratification documents they need to look over before the voting can begin they need to look over these to check the terms and conditions are as they were agreed upon the check there as they expect them to be and if they are which they assume they will be then they think that the voting could begin tomorrow that's what the state duma spokesman said today and as for the opportunity with the federal council they say they want to begin discussions tomorrow maybe even vote on it as well tomorrow if the voting by the lower chamber is done in time certainly get that voting done by the new year and so this is russia really pushing through this ratification process he wants to do this is fast as possible because all along russia and the u.s. is certainly have said that the ratification process is for both countries will be synchronized because they want to show that was the both countries are together on this and setting an example together now we're going to hear from the foreign minister russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov on this ratification process you

were just because you don't see as the president agreed ratification will be synchronized we have passed all the hearings of the committees of the state duma nationalisation council meets a foreign ministry has kept lawmakers informed on the senate plans for its ratification resolutions and this is very important because each text depends what wording our legislators will do in the russian ratification public and say i've been trying to stall it and some have opposed it saying that it could compromise the u.s. security and certainly compromise the u.s. missile defense program but they failed because in the end anough republicans thirteen to be precise voted against their party with the democrats to give a bomber that majority that he needed if he needed a majority of two thirds the end they got that long of about five or six votes and there's been a long time coming really all they part they passed the original expiration date of the previous treaty this time last year they passed that deadline they were worried that they wouldn't get signed in time and then the two. isn't it did they get their

signatures down to say that both. parliaments would have to ratify that was done in april but i say number of stumbling blocks but finally there has been signed by and ratified by the u.s. senate now is russia's turn and is being welcomed here in russia very much so nonetheless by constantine positive who heads the state duma's foreign affairs committee and he took part in a number of those regional negotiations and here he is saying how much of a significant step this medication is. the fact that the senate has been working on the treaty is ratification so long and so thorough we means that there is also the votes are relevant and can now be questioned by anyone the american right if occasion took place despite all the speculation surrounding the procedure which was based exclusively on the interests of domestic politics it's great that an absolute majority of the senate including a major group of republican senators decided to rise above party interests and act for what's best for the united states and in this case in global interests russia

and the us are the world's two biggest nuclear powers holding over ninety percent of the global nuclear stockpile and this new start treaty is significant because it not only can't say rascal's but it also sets an example to other nations to follow suit in trying to achieve overall long term aim of nonproliferation and for more on the details of all this treaty means we can now listen to my colleague on a cheetah can in washington d.c. . the vote. on this man on this resolution are seventy one days twenty six days two thirds the senate president having voted in the affirmative the resolution of ratification is agreed to. and with this approval russian the u.s. will start the new year with a treaty that has become a symbol of trust and cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers i am glad that democrats and republicans came together to approve my top national security

priority for this session of congress the new start treaty this is the most significant arms control agreement in nearly two decades and it will make us safer and reduce our nuclear arsenals along with russia. both states have some very significant reductions underway the countries will cut their nuclear arsenals by a third down to some fifteen hundred fifty deployed warheads on each side the deal also limits the number of delivery vehicles and launchers but even with those cuts both russia and the u.s. will still hold more than ninety percent of the world's nuclear weapons so many agree that the value of the new arms reduction treaty is not just in reductions but i think it's also important to say that the significance of the treaty is much larger than the implications for arms control it really does give a lot of momentum and boost to the broader u.s. russia reset and i think puts obama and medvedev on course to cooperate more closely on a whole host of issues and it may well be that this is seen as

a turning point in which the russia u.s. rivalry of the past is finally laid to rest for weeks and months the president of the united states all members of his administration the military all living former secretary of state and of defense were calling for senators not to ruin this reset opportunity for us who are sure relations and the message did resonate with many senators every senator knows when you're trying to get things done relationships matter and the relationship between the united states and russia has been critical since we fought together in world war two and will be contin and will continue to be so this is an on parallelled opportunity to enhance that relationship and to say by signature and by ratification of this treaty that yes the united states of america wants to work with russia despite the huge

support the treaty had received on many levels a number of republican senators in the early sabotage that their actions provoked an avalanche of criticism from the country's top security experts. feared that the treaty could become a victim of political games on capitol hill the arguments the treaty adversaries brought up on the hearings ranged from there's no earthly way to do all of this within the time that we have to even more unsubstantial ones like we don't have to have this treaty if we don't have a nuclear treaty with the u.k. angle and we don't have one with france in the final days of debates on start some republican senators trying to rewrite the deal which would have actually killed it they wanted to take out the line in the preamble which makes the connection between offensive and defensive weapons stuart straitjackets the united states missile defense capabilities but all of those from the military who testified before the senate said the connection between offensive and defensive weapons is obvious they

also maintained it's not start that would make the us weaker the treaty itself explicitly says either side can pull out of it if at some point they deem it threatens their national security for russians this new start is about balance and equality and they will be in it as long as the us respects that balance if the conditions in the ratification resolution don't change the text of the treaty we should be able to approve it as soon as tomorrow or in russia the outcome of the vote in the u.s. senate has been well come from many in moscow it's a signal that the u.s. and russia can now opening a new page of cooperation russian lawmakers made it clear they had no objections to the treaty and would pass it as soon as the u.s. did advocates of the treaty see the outcome of the vote not so much as obama's victory but a victory for the whole world which on the one hand is going to have considerably fewer weapons of mass destruction and on the other hand two nuclear superpowers

former adversaries actually trusting each other and looking toward ending hands to provide their security get a check on our team washington d.c. . from the arms control association says the new start treaty is just the beginning of more fruitful cooperation between moscow and washington. u.s. and russian cooperation is essential to reducing nuclear dangers all across the board the spread of nuclear weapons the iranian nuclear weapons program the possible acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorists us russian cooperation is key and the new start treaty is key to that cooperation so both sides ratified the us as ratified now we just need russian ratification the treaty can then go into force . it's a great boon for us russian cooperation and hopefully will lead to further negotiations on deeper cuts in nuclear arsenals addressing tactical short range nuclear weapons

as well and other things so i think this is just the beginning. of a much more fruitful relationship between both sides comment too from british opposition labor m.p. jeremy corbett who's a long time anti nuclear campaign says the russia us treaty is a signal for other nations now there's a spend their atomic activities it's such a huge step and it was one that was predicted to end in failure and so the fact that president obama and president medvedev come to the agreement and got it through both of their parliamentary systems is a huge step forward and that's got to be a spy so surely the next thing is for all nations to agree not to renew their nuclear weapon systems because most are preparing some kind of upgrade or some kind of renewal and then move on to a nuclear weapons convention that can include all nations in the world including those that are not signatories to nuclear nonproliferation treaty particularly israel india pakistan north korea. well the signing of the start treaty has been

labeled by president obama as being the most significant document in decades on friday russian president dmitri medvedev will give his thoughts on this and the years of the key moments it with the annual meeting between president medvedev or the heads of russia's leading t.v. channels and we will be covering that of course for you on friday and will be available anytime on a web site at our home and if you had them there's also plenty to take in as well as a quick look at what we've got on line if you want a brand new look site r.t. dot com chris wow and truly coming to moscow there we are fifty sciences around the world hitting the capital for a gift giving spree if you tell me your feelings what's the seasonal spirit couple . other story we brought yesterday from the shop and moving from being a world renowned sex spy to a leading role in russia's next generation politics details about that when. people call.

now the story of a lot of movement today north korea says it's ready to use its nuclear deterrent in what it calls a sacred war against the south the north defense minister a statement was reported by state media there the minister accused soul of deliberately stoking tension by staging successive joint military drills with the us next to the north territory he said the latest exercise one of the largest in the south history it was an outright preparation for an attack against pyongyang the maneuvers involved heavily heavy military machinery fighter jets missile launchers numbers of troops and it was hell just thirty kilometers from north korea the series of war games comes in the wake of the recent cross border artillery exchange that killed four south koreans let's get some reaction to this now from steve cohen says that a foreign policy analyst joining us on the line from a lot of our candidates tonight thanks of the taking the time and to be with r.t.

mr gallons and this is just the latest isn't it of the north many was the first one to say it raging statements i guess how serious do you think their pyongyang is this time around about what it's saying. i think that peeling. has very few options you must recognize that north korea is a military pipsqueak in relation to south korea whose military budget is many times larger than north koreans and south korea is integrated with the preeminent military power in the world today the united states. so the options available to young yang are very limited. the best they can do is to develop what deterrence it can but it's clearly being provoked and it has been provoked for some time ever since the current south korean president lee myung bak has come to office he's come to office with

a mandate of confronting north korea which is sharply different from the mandate of two previous administrations which have sought to taunt and of work toward a confederation leaves policy is to confront north korea to seek its collapse and to absorb it into this. is that really what it wants after all it would be absolutely bombarded by millions of people coming from the north is it is that really what's on the cards i would have thought that so in the south partially dreads is that what's behind what it seems to be now provoking the north by these games. absolutely i mean when the north says it's being provoked it obviously is. the will take for example the life fire exercises south korea has conducted forty seven live fire exercises this year alone. there was a forty eighth ones that has been carried out yesterday. that was initially

scheduled but one south korean officer said that when the head anyway because of the tensions on the korean peninsula which only makes sense if the intention is to escalate and aggravate those tensions south korea certainly seized on any opportunity it can to escalate tensions there is the sinking of the south korean corvette chain on then which was immediately blamed on north korea over north korea and denials and there are many in south korea who do not believe the official inquiry that says that north korea was responsible for that sinking then we have the artillery exchange that happened on november twenty third which has been blamed on north korea however the exchange was triggered by south korea and marine garrison on an island that lies very close to the north korean coast firing live artillery into waters that north korea claims its own. you consider that you

consider president leaves hostility toward north korea. it's his policy of confrontation the escalating war games and it's hard not to conclude that south korea is trying to precipitate a fight to pick a fight trying to provoke its northern neighbor and briefly does the u.s. have any role here in fanning the flames it all does of course pledging continued support to the south and the north. absolutely i mean the united states' policy for the last sixty years has been to see the collapse of the north korean state and its absorption into the south. the lead government is more closely aligned with u.s. foreign policy goals on the korean peninsula than say the government's president's role in president kim. in south korea. president lee is often times seen

as a puppet of the united states and the area around his office is called by many south koreans the news united state of south korea is there ever a danger do you think that the north would ever play the car that it's that it's brought out yet again talking about maybe using its nuclear deterrent if i have a bit of sacred war ever did break out there could that happen and which nations are likely to be drawn into the conflict. the north could use its deterrent you never know what's going to happen when there's a game of brinksmanship being played as the south koreans obviously are i don't believe the south koreans want to bring this to an open state of conflict and i don't believe they actually want the north koreans to retaliate but when you play this kind of dangerous game anything can happen i believe the vice chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff had mentioned that it's very important that the united states

control this escalation so that it doesn't get out of hand i don't believe that peeling yang wants to retaliate but if it's attacked it really has few options but to retaliate but at the same time recognizing that if it does will be pulverized. we can be almost certain to be probably rising by the united states by south korea which are far more formidable military powers than north korea is this this latest nuclear threat comes of course just as russian of the u.s. are imposing on president cut some atomic gosnell's is what's happening on the korean potential blow to the whole ideal of a nuclear free world that are going to affect that. i think what blow to the to the whole idea of a nuclear free world is the idea of threatening small powers with nuclear weapons as the united states does president obama speaks of the dream of having a nuclear free world but that's a nuclear free world which is free of nuclear weapons except in the united states

one of the principles of nonproliferation is that you don't provide smaller countries with a motivation to acquire their own nuclear deterrent the united states has targeted its strategic nuclear weapons on many north korean sites and it's because of that north korea's decided to acquire a deterrent it is also. because. it was named by the bush administration as one of the three axis of evil powers and it became clear to peeling yang that it could be next on the united states hit list and that is one of the reasons why it acquired a nuclear deterrence so if you want nonproliferation if you want to nuclear free world you have to stop threatening other countries with war and invasion and nuclear annihilation stephen go into foreign policy analyst on the line from

automotive thanks for your thoughts on the news channel. or you run the world over some of the other top stories this hour first off italy's interior minister and a kiss me on the two parcel bomb explosions of embassies in rome one device went off at the chilean embassy injuring the person who opened the package then a few hours earlier the swiss diplomats residence was targeted again it was the male handler who was wounded this time seriously the minister said the blast was similar to the mail bomb sent to fourteen embassies in africa last month. with mazen pictures here in romania's parliament take a look at this after a man threw himself from the chamber balcony very free was not seriously hurt the parliament to begin to me it was protesting against austerity cuts jumped as the government faced a confidence vote the ballot was abandoned the shocked opposition m.p.'s left the chamber and the ruling party chose not to cast votes. one time leprosy struck fear because it made a slow death but today it is both treatable and curable yet for russians diagnosed

with the disease there's another problem to overcome being isolated by society artie's examiner could show over reports next on those living with the condition and it's stigma. lost amid vast families russia's oldest lap of it which has no streets all in one but houses with its own fire brigade ambulance service and kindergarten it's a home for many people affected by leprosy away from the eyes of a public with little understanding of the disease when the first patients arrived fifteen or they were packed into just one house but now there is this building big enough to house two families given the patients more privacy and dignity valeri like the vast majority of people in tears kay has been he could believe but says it's not the ethics of the disease which makes him stay but people's reaction.

sometimes it's like a man in a snake you see a snake and get frightened but someone who knows the snake a snake catcher is not range but he knows which ones bite and which dying's and how they bite or snakes don't use wind out of the blue the same with letters if you hear this word you get scared once you know would swats program is different. most people's knowledge of the disease comes from ancient bible stories if you realise that they're most likely. all that after treatment for myself or is a no longer infectious in any case the condition is extremely rare it's that ignorance which stops many of the residents of tesco feel unwelcome in the outside world. most of us are killed two but where will we go there were many cases when people were discharged and they got on ok until the neighbors sort on downs about their disease and because we don't want to leave next door to be so and so's we've

got kids who sometimes cure leprosy patients have to move out to a laser where nobody knew. but a very vital no was among the first to receive multi drug therapy for leprosy and the you were ceasar in many ways she was lucky to be treated at all at a time when diagnosis was hard the telltale patch on her food was missed by most doctors. but i will look at my hands it's work they did this and they're worn all the time and bryant in the cool barbara found her curing tears should also found a has been and i wanted it offered her and many others the chance of a relatively normal existence you know it's hope centers like these will no longer be needed in the last decade they have been hardly any new cases of leprosy in russia however doctors say the reason need to keep institutions open even if they're virtually empty. if we don't leave any signs of how what where and why it

will be very difficult for men kind of to start combat in lebanon all over again it's possible that one day due to poor living conditions and things like that the pandemic will return to you for now those still living in terror scheme no longer needed medical care but a change in attitude in the outside world a society where people care and don't stare. what are all region. forces to cover about twenty minutes from now to tell you it's got more the departure of one of europe's top football managers the sense of even some alarm after all so more ahead but first let's go to the business creators say either even see you. don't know a bonus is a mouse a substantial investment in russia you know it's a lot of it was true would go first well a german company c.e.o. of an agreement to build sprinter vans up the gas factory new not good and prime minister porter was attempting now output will be around twenty five thousand vehicles annually the government says it will continue to support the industry with

further measures to stimulate demand and cheap loans. and if you are you know despite sustainable growth the government has plans to further support the auto industry in the near future a special reserve fund will be created to ensure demand returns. that's why in two thousand and eleven we will continue to stimulate demand with the federal budget earmarking over seventeen billion rubles. and to other stories there's been another twist in the battle for control of nordisk nickel which owns twenty five percent of russia's biggest miner has called for a normally go extraordinary general meeting to elect the new board alamy and produces says it has concerns about known eco plans to sell an eight percent stake in trough you grew up a multinational commodities brokerage. offered twelve billion dollars to buy back its twenty five percent stake in the miner the offer was promptly rejected but another major shareholder buzzword but has told the wall street journal he believes

that decision might change as the offer was quite generous predicts there will be a resolution. now a quick look at the markets u.s. stocks are flat out to report showed that consumers did not increase their spending in by as much as analysts predicted the dow jones was slightly off with the last day of trading before the christmas while the nasdaq is in the red top corner of the dow up over two percent while bank of america is losing shedding two percent. stocks in europe are mixed on thursday in the last full trading session before the holiday discount retailer metro games one of the year's busiest shopping days to travel is top earning london airlines clear their flight backlog after snow through chaos a chance an allied slump seventeen percent of the irish government prepares to nationalize the debt laden back. here in moscow both reality as it might be extended in the black about trade was extremely weak as many investors have already left for the

holiday season energy majors finished lower it was very bad bucked the trend though negative after its strong profit from next year m.t.s. was down for the second day outrage and losses from a suspension of its business in japan just down the hundreds of dollars. it's been a relatively quiet session with russian equities taking the lead from foreign markets john davis from where with asset management explains. the russian market itself is just trading kind of sideways i think it's down for actually on the day all global markets emerging markets or highly correlated so what happens in russia people spend the morning trying to see what's happening in shin zen in shanghai and they spend the afternoon looking to see what's going on in the futures markets in new york and i found i just stopped a foot you can always find most stores if you log on to our website r t dot com slash business or join me in last i want to offer one.

into the country. the invasion by means of. tradition the language. the first day beat the beat. and culture. are still

unaware of what's going on in the land still asking why do you. think i don't know anything about the. international. top stories tonight. moscow prepares to ratify the new strategic arms reduction treaty with washington already approved by the u.s. senate raised by both sides as proof of a new level of trust. says it's ready to unleash a sacred war on the south angered by sold massive military drills. and.

russians in a remote village feel that with the disease the stigma. poses a. look at iran's nuclear program the concerns surrounding. with me i have dr win in bergman a senior israeli military and intelligence analyst and author of the book the secret war with iran dr thank you very much for joining us here on r.t. most welcome so to cut to the chase is israel planning an attack on iran well i would put it i would put it this way israel wouldn't like to attack israeli leaders understand the possible horrendous results of such an attack the possible intervention of hizbullah and hamas possibly syria condemn nation from europe the list.