Leonid Kogan, a spokesman for the State Duma committee that drafted the bill, stated Friday he had been informed by a "reliable source" of the signing. But the presidential press office waited until Monday to officially announce the bill's passage into law. Yeltsin, who had until the end of the day Friday to reach a decision, signed the law in the southern town of Kislovodsk, where he was vacationing.
The law, the first version of which required negative test results for all travelers entering the country, was originally vetoed last fall when Yeltsin gave in to complaints that the bill would affect Russia's tourist industry. The revised version, which obliges only long-term incoming visitors to present test results before receiving visas, is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 1.
The law, which has been criticized by AIDS activists and many medical professionals as a violation of human rights, may prove a setback in Russian foreign relations. In addition to long-term foreign visitors, the law will require mandatory testing of refugees, prison inmates and Russian employees of certain businesses, which have yet to be specified.
James Paver, a British Embassy spokesman, said the embassy intended to participate in the revisions at European Union level.
"We will also be preparing legal advice for resident nationals on the implications of the law," he said. "We regret that the legislature has been approved. It's not the approach that the U.K. and the EU have used to deal with the problem."
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