[JURIST] Russian President Vladimir Putin [official profile] has signed a bill officially ratifying the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism [text, PDF], the Kremlin announced Tuesday. A Kremlin statement [text] described the convention as "the first universal treaty designed to prevent acts of terrorism with weapons of mass destruction" and said it provided for "a mechanism of cooperation between states to prevent acts of nuclear terrorism and also for exchanging information linked to uncovering, preventing and suppressing crimes stipulated in the Convention while ensuring that the confidentiality of such information can be protected."

The convention, proposed by Russia, was initially signed by Putin [JURIST report] on behalf of Russia in September 2005 after several years of negotiations between nuclear and non-nuclear nations. The Russian parliament passed the bill to ratify it earlier this month. Already 107 states have signed the treaty and six other countries have ratified it; it will enter into force after it is ratified by at least 22 countries. Interfax has more.