MOSCOW. July 30 (Interfax-AVN) - The agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the extension of the lease of Baikonur space center to Russia for 50 more years will be signed this year, a senior official from the Russian Aviation and Space Agency told Interfax on Wednesday.
"By the end of the year, we will be able to approach the actual terms of the agreement. The document has already been drafted. Russia has checked its own wording of the draft agreement, which prolongs the lease by 50 years, and sent it to Kazakhstan," according to the official responsible for drafting documents for the agreement.
Russia and Kazakh authorities are now working on coordinating their versions of the agreement. "There are no fundamental differences on the matter with Kazakhstan, and I think that the agreement will be signed by the end of the year," the official said.
He added that the acting lease agreement will remain in effect until 2013.
In his opinion, the implementation of Russian-Kazakh projects has advanced significantly.
At the end of 2002, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia instructed their governments to negotiate the prolongation of the lease.
Russia has been leasing Baikonur since 1994 under a 20-year agreement. The annual rent amounts to USD115m. The Kazakh parliament sees no reason to obstruct an extension.
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Russia plans to continue using Baikonur for military purposes.