国际英语新闻：U.S. Senate to vote on arms treaty with Russia

Obama signed the treaty in April with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, which limits the deployed nuclear warheads in each state to no more than 1,550 over seven years, a cut of 30 percent over the current ceiling of 2,200 set in 2002, limits the number of deployed ballistic missiles and nuclear bombers to no more than 700 each, and sets up a mechanism for verification and inspection.

Since debate began last Wednesday, some Republicans have sought to make amendments to the treaty's preamble or text but were defeated by its proponents in Senate floor action. More than seventy Republican amendments have been filed to the chamber.

Any attempt to make changes and call for negotiations means killing of the accord, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Monday: "I can just emphasize that the treaty, in our view, is completely in line with the national interests of Russia and the U.S.. It cannot be reopened and become a subject of new negotiations."