President Barack Obama has sealed an important foreign policy victory with the US Senate rallying to support a showpiece arms control treaty with Russia.
The ratification on Wednesday of the Start treaty, which Mr Obama personally negotiated with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, provides a boost for the US president, who had been on the backfoot after large Republican gains in Congressional elections last month.
“The importance of this goes well beyond the treaty,” said Cliff Kupchan, at the Eurasia Group, a US-based consultancy. “Despite his reverses in the midterm elections, Obama has shown he can deliver on foreign policy.”