Russia's OAO Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) said Friday it has applied to the country's Federal Antimonopoly Service for permission to buy a 100% stake in fixed-line telecoms operator OAO Comstar United TeleSystems (CMST.RS).

If it goes ahead, the deal would create an integrated telecommunications operator in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States and speed up the development of integrated and broadband communications services, MTS said in a statement.

Because a potential transaction would involve related parties, MTS's board of directors has set up a special committee of three independent directors to oversee the transaction, the company said in the statement.

A spokesperson for the company declined to give further details.

Web site: www.mts.ru

-By Lidia Kelly and William Bland, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 937 8445; lidia.kelly@dowjones.com