The agreement, which was ratified by the lower house of parliament, or Duma, May 23, and the upper house, or Federation Council, May 25, was first signed in 1995 and regulates the presence of foreign troops on Russian territory and guarantees the rights of Russian military personnel participating in joint military exercises within the framework of the Partnership for Peace program, among other provisions.
The parliamentary defense committee earlier backed ratification of the document, which has been signed by 41 countries, stating that the document meets Russia's interests by ensuring efficient cooperation between parties to the agreement in the event of joint military exercises, rescue operations, and relief efforts.
At the time, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, dismissed allegations that Russia had been forced to ratify the agreement on "discriminatory conditions."
"All cooperation conditions for parties to the agreement are equal," Kosachev said then, adding that ratification would provide a legal basis for effective joint efforts in dealing primarily with the consequences of natural disasters and industrial accidents.
He also said Russia planned to conduct about 200 joint exercises with other signatories to the agreement in 2008, and that none of them were related to military cooperation.
Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Azerbaijan are the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States that have signed the NATO SOFA agreement.
