WASHINGTON — Despite near gridlock in the Senate, Republicans were expected to swing behind a new arms control treaty with Russia that President Barack Obama said they will like, even though some are reserving judgment until Obama can assure them the pact won't set back U.S. defenses against other potential foes such as North Korea and Iran.
Obama called the pact signed Thursday a fresh beginning with Russia and predicted the Senate will ratify the agreement by the end of the year.
"This ceremony is a testament to the truth that old adversaries can forge new partnerships," Obama said in Prague, where he stood grinning with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev following the signing of a treaty that would shrink the one-time rivals' arsenals to their lowest levels since the frightening arms race of the 1960s.
Obama returns to Washington on Friday.
The warheads covered by the treaty are lethal relics of the Cold War, and even with the planned reductions there will be enough firepower on each side to devastate the world many times over. Of more immediate concern are attempts by terrorist groups like al-Qaida and nations such as Iran and North Korea to acquire or use nuclear weapons.
The treaty requires approval by two-thirds of the Senate to take effect.
History is on Obama's side, even if numbers in the Senate are not. He will need 67 votes in a chamber where Democrats control 59 seats in a sour political climate that could tempt Republicans to set aside the nonpartisan deference often given to national security treaties.
"There is a strong history of bipartisanship when it comes to the evaluation of international treaties, particularly arms control treaties," Obama said.
Republicans, however, did not rush to either praise or criticize the treaty.
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