A presidential decree, issued by Russian president Vladimir Putin, now sees Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport appointed as the sole agency authorized to export military items, says a Ria-Novosti report, citing the Kremlin press service. According to the decree, Russian companies that have so far operated on the world arms market on their own will now be allowed to see their current contracts through, but it bans them from signing any new contracts in the future.
According to the report, such a privilege may only be granted at the discretion of the Russian president.
The decree also provides for special measures to secure funding for programs to develop state-of-the-art arms and military equipment.