MOSCOW, June 18 (Reuters) - Russia's anti-monopoly service has cleared mobile network Mobile TeleSystems to take over a sister company, fixed line carrier Comstar, a spokeswoman for service said on Thursday.
The parent company of both carriers, the conglomerate Sistema, has indicated a takeover is not likely to happen quickly and the mechanics have not been worked out yet.
MTS applied for permission to buy 100 percent of Comstar but Sistema's chief executive has said there was no decision on buying out minorities, though he said full control would be ideal.
A takeover would mirror MTS rival Vimpelcom's takeover of fixed line carrier Golden Telecom, also controlled by Vimpelcom's key shareholders. (Reporting by Anastasia Teterevleva; Writing by Melissa Akin; Editing by Dan Lalor)