Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the ratification of the New START arms reduction treaty will increase international stability and promote Russian-U.S. cooperation.

"The principles of equality, parity, equal and undivided security lay a solid foundation for the modern Russian-American cooperation in various spheres," Lavrov said at the global security conference in Munich on Saturday.

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the exchange the instruments of ratification for the New START arms reduction treaty on Saturday with her Russian counterpart Lavrov.

Clinton said the treaty is an example of a "clear-eyed cooperation that is in everyone's interests."

The new deal, replacing START 1, which expired in December 2009, was signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in Prague in April 2010. The document slashes the Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear arsenals to a maximum of 1,550 warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200.

MUNICH, February 5 (RIA Novosti)