The historic agreement started on 17 June 1992 with the signing of a joint understanding by both presidents. The official signing of the treaty by the presidents took place on 3 January 1993. It was ratified by the US Senate on 26 January 1996 with a vote of 87–4. However, Russian ratification was stalled in the State Duma for many years. It was postponed a number of times to protest American military actions in Iraq and in Kosovo and to oppose the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe.