MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted Wednesday a protocol to a document that facilitates large-scale cooperation between the United States and Russia on nuclear nonproliferation for ratification by the lower house of parliament.

An umbrella agreement on the safe and secure transportation, storage, and destruction of weapons and the prevention of weapons proliferation, the agreement implementing the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (CTR), was signed by the presidents of the United States and Russia on June 17, 1992.

The CTR, also known as the Nunn-Lugar program, was the first large-scale program for U.S.-Russian cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation, and became the basis for collaborative nonproliferation efforts on chemical and biological weapons as well.

Because the 1992 CTR Agreement was signed in compliance with the former Russian legislation, it came into effect immediately on signing without ratification by the State Duma.

When the CTR Agreement expired in June 1999, a protocol was signed to extend it for 7 years, and the agreement is used on a temporary basis at present.

President Putin issued orders last year to initiate a procedure to prepare for ratification of both the CTR Agreement and the Protocol.