MOSCOW. Dec 18 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on ratification of the agreement between the Russian government and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) related to facilities of the International Monitoring System (IMS).
The Russian State Duma ratified the agreement on November 24, 2006, with the Federation Council granting its approval on December 8, 2006.
The agreement is a pillar of legal basis for Russian cooperation with the Preparatory Commission in the area of creating, modernizing, certifying and guaranteeing temporary exploitation of Russian facilities of the IMS, created in accord with the CTBT signed on September 10, 1996.
The agreement sets Preparatory Commission obligations on free assistance to Russia on the creation and modernization of IMS facilities located on Russian territory (the commission will spend approximately $15 million).
IMS facilities in Russia include 19 seismological, four infrasound, eight radionuclide stations and a radionuclide laboratory in line with CTBT's Annex 1.