Putin signs law on ratification of additional protocol with IAEA

Moscow, Oct 3 (UNI) Russian President Vladimir Putin on today signed the law on the ratification of an additional protocol between Russia and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to a Soviet-era agreement on guarantees in Russia.

The law was approved by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on September 14 and adopted by the Federation Council, the upper house, on September 19, the Kremlin press service reported.

Russia had signed the document on March 22, 2000.

The document stipulates a set of additional organisational and technical measures to control civilian nuclear activity among Non-Proliferation Treaty member-states.

In particular, Russia must provide information to the IAEA on its nuclear exports to non-nuclear powers and data on its cooperation with them.

States possessing nuclear weapons are given the right to select control measures from those proposed in the protocol, which they deem possible to use on their territory.

''This protocol confirms Russia's leading role in strengthening the global nuclear non-proliferation regime,'' Nikolai Spassky, deputy head of the Russian Nuclear Power Agency (Rosatom) said.

''The protocol's adoption would not harm Russia's security, as it is based on the principle of voluntariness,'' Spassky added.

UNI