MOSCOW, January 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian president has issued a decree appointing Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport as the sole agency authorized to trade military-purpose products internationally, the Kremlin press service said Friday.
The decree allows other Russian companies that have until now operated on the world arms market to see their current contracts through, but they may not sign any new ones in the future.
"Such a privilege may only be granted at the discretion of the Russian president," the document says.
Vladimir Putin's decree also provides for special measures to secure funding for programs to develop state-of-the-art arms and military equipment.
