Russian president Vladimir Putin (pictured) reportedly cleared a subsidiary of operator Rostelecom to buy out Nokia's stake in a software joint venture (JV), progressing the Finnish vendor's exit from the country. The Moscow Times reported Putin has signed a decree for the subsidiary, controlled by the government through various state development corporations and a state-owned bank, to acquire Nokia's 49 per cent stake in the venture, dubbed RTC – Network Technologies. Financial details of the deal were not revealed.