MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's cabinet said it supported the Kyoto Protocol, Interfax reported, in the first concrete sign that Moscow would ratify the pact and enable the UN's global warming treaty to enter into force.
Russia's ratification is vital for transforming Kyoto from a draft 1997 agreement signed in the ancient Japanese city into a working international treaty, despite its rejection by Washington in 2001.
The State Duma lower house of parliament is expected to review the pact in three months, after the nation's ministries work out the technicalities of implementation.
The Duma is dominated by pro-Kremlin forces and usually quickly passes legislation wanted by President Vladimir Putin, and the cabinet is also obedient to the president's wishes.
Russia has for years hedged on whether it would approve the pact, named after the ancient Japanese city where it was agreed in 1997.
The protocol requires industrialized signatories to cut output of six "greenhouse" gases by 2008-2012 compared with their 1990 levels.