Kazakhstan has lifted its ban on Russian Proton rocket launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

The move clears the way for a commercial programme of twelve launches due this year, beginning with an Indonesian telecommunications satellite in a few days time.

Kazakhstan suspended Proton flights last October after a Proton-K booster crashed to earth, scattering debris and fuel over a wide area of central Kazakhstan and provoking protests from environmentalists and local residents.

The Kazakh authorities now say they are satisfied with the results of a Russian investigation into the crash, adding that Moscow has agreed to pay more than seven hundred thousand dollars in compensation. The BBC Central Asia correspondent says the Kazakhs had already accused Moscow of failing to keep up its rent payments on Baikonur, and the normally warm relations were soured by public accusations of Russian arrogance in handling the incident.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service