MOSCOW, February 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin presented for ratification to the State Duma an agreement on organisation of actions of CIS air defence as they receive information about capture of an aircraft /hijacking/.
The State Duma’s Fist Deputy Head of the CIS and compatriots committee Dmitry Sablin told reporters the document had been signed in Dushanbe during the CIS summit in September of 2011.
Among other things, the agreement stipulates use of military aircraft and land-based weapons, naval air defence systems to eliminate the threat of a terrorist attack, Sablin said. He noted that, in accordance with the agreement, "weapons and military equipment for destruction of the vessel used for a terrorist attack will be used only on the condition that all other possible means and measures necessary for its landing have been exhausted." In the event of a hijacking threat, military command of air defence on duty will exchange information in the Russian language.
Ratification of the document “will favour improvement of fighting terrorism in the territory of the CIS, as if offers a clear system of measures to prevent and respond to hijacking attempts,” Sablin said.