After earlier this week, the US Senate ratified the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 2) between the USA and Russia, the lower house of the Russian parliament has followed suit.

The Russian Duma, which is dominated by the pro-Kremlin party "United Russia", approved START 2 on Friday at first reading, with 350 votes in favor and 58 against.

Yet, the ratification is far from final as a second and third readings have been schedule for January 2011, DPA reported. The upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, also needs to okay START 2 to complete its ratification.

The United States has met all requirements and that the Russian legislature can also sign off on the treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, while also criticizing a resolution passed at the same time by the US Senate that called for the continuation of a US missile defense program in Europe, which has been a matter of concern for Russia.

Thus, the Russian Duma is expected to respond with a resolution of its own before the vote on the second reading of START 2.

Obama allowed the US resolution language in exchange for support for the treaty from the conservative US Republican party, DPA points out.

Meanwhile, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised the treaty during a live television interview.

'This document is a cornerstone of security in the world and Europe for the coming decades,' he said.

The new START Treaty was signed in April 2010 by Obama and Medvedev

The new Russian-US pact obligates both nations to cap their fielded strategic nuclear weapons to 1 550 warheads, while the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on either side.