Duma Buries SOR Treaty, Upper House for Debates

The State Duma, the Russian parliament's lower house, has refused to ratify the SOR (Strategic Offensive Reductions) Treaty. The Federation Council, upper house, will debate the issue at its nearest Council session, March 25.

The Duma has removed the matter from its agenda. The situation alarms the Federation Council committee for international affairs, Mikhail Margelov, committee head, said to the media.

The Russo-US treaty came as a diplomatic triumph of the Russian top, and it's a bad error to tie it in with the Iraqi developments, he warned.

Next Tuesday's session will also analyse the situation around Iraq, added the senator.