Launch sanctions lifted

Russia has reacted positively to the U.S. administration's decision to lift quota restrictions on commercial launches of American satellites by Russian booster rockets as of January 1, 2001. A statement made by a Foreign Ministry spokesman says that Russia received the decision with satisfaction, Russia journal reports. "The step undoubtedly opens up new opportunities for deepening mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation in the peaceful exploration of space, in which a number of joint projects have been carried out. Efforts to build and run the International Space Station are the most striking example of that," the statement says. "In a broader sense, we regard the decision of the U.S. administration as another manifestation of the positive continuity in Russian-American ties meeting the interests of the two countries and nations," the ministry spokesman's statement says.