Putin Signs Bill On Kyoto Protocol

5 November 2004 -- The Kremlin reports that President Vladimir Putin has given Russia's final stamp of approval to the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

Putin signed a bill late yesterday confirming parliament's ratification of the pact. The move will bring the agreement into force in early 2005.

The protocol aims to stem global warming by reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

The pact needed Russia's support to come into effect after the United States rejected it.

(Reuters/AP/ITAR-TASS)