The law on ratification, passed last week by the lower and more powerful chamber, the State Duma, was approved by 139 of the chamber's 178 senators, well above the 91 votes for the required two-thirds majority.

Following his signature, which is regarded as only a formality, Putin will transmit Russia's ratification of the treaty to the United Nations.

The historic vote last Friday in the Duma virtually guaranteed that the UN global warming pact would come into force, despite a decision by US President George W. Bush to walk away from the agreement.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.