Putin signs test ban treaty law

MOSCOW, MAY 28. The Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, has put the final touch to Russia's acceptance of the global nuclear test ban treaty, signing the law passed by Parliament last month and bringing it into force, Interfax news agency said today.

Interfax said the law had been signed yesterday though the Kremlin could not immediately confirm the report.

Russia has stolen a march on the U.S. in ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the U.S. Senate has yet to approve the document.

The pact builds on a 1963 partial test ban treaty outlawing nuclear blasts in the atmosphere, outer space or under water but needs to be ratified by all 44 nuclear-capable states before it can come into effect and ban testing in any environment.

To date, 41 countries have signed the CTBT and 28 have ratified. Of the 44 nations judged to have some form of nuclear capability, India, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed.

Among the five declared nuclear powers, France and Britain have ratified while China and the U.S. have signed but not ratified.

Ivanov reappointed

Mr. Putin has re-appointed Mr. Sergei Ivanov as the secretary of the National Security Council, the Kremlin announced.

E.U.-Russia summit

Meanwhile, the European Union tomorrow holds its first summit with Russia under Mr. Putin, keen to forge strong ties with Moscow despite continued friction over the Russian crackdown in Chechnya.

The March election of Mr. Putin (47), who has placed young reformers in key economic posts, is seen in European capitals as an opportunity to begin a new chapter in their relations with the ailing and prickly nuclear superpower.

The Russian leader will host a high-level delegation including the E.U. foreign policy head, Mr. Javier Solana, the Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. Antonio Guterres - which currently holds the Union's rotating presidency - and the European Commission President, Mr. Romano Prodi.

Ahead of the one-day summit in Moscow, the 15-nation bloc urged Russia to use its relationship with the E.U. as a counterweight to Washington's global dominance.

``If Russia had closer relations with the European Union, it would avoid the pitfalls of the dollarisation of the economy and attempts to introduce a us economic model,'' said the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Mr. Jaime Gama.

``The only real power which counteracts U.S. hegemony is not Russia with its nuclear potential but the European Union,'' Mr. Gama said in an interview with Russia's Kommersant daily.

- Reuters, PTI AFP

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Section  : International
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