Russia - WikiLeaks
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Basic Political Developments
• RIA: Iran behaves 'irresponsibly' regarding nuclear program – Medvedev - "Iran so far does not show proper understanding and behaves irresponsibly enough. This is all sad of course. Therefore, if this situation continues we exclude nothing and sanctions as well," Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) before his official visit to Denmark on Tuesday.
• Press TV: Iran, Russia develop telecom ties - The contract and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed on Monday in Moscow between Iran's Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) and Russian firm Telecom, in the presence of Iran's Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour and his Russian counterpart Igor Shchegolev.
NY Times: Russia: American Seeks Denial of Visas to 60 Russian Officials
• RIA: U.S. senator urges Clinton to ban travel for Russian officials to USA over lawyer's death
• Bne: Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission Calls for Visa Sanctions Against 60 Russian Officials for Corruption and the Persecution of Sergei Magnitsky
• RUVR: Russia gives Japan a list of new joint investment programmes
• Moscow Times: Russia-Japan Grain Deal - Japanese trading company Marubeni said Monday that it had made an agreement with grain companies in Russia to increase shipments.
• Itar-Tass: Medvedev to go to Denmark to resuscitate political dialogue - Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass that the Russian-Danish relations have been marked by intensive development in recent years and a political dialogue is being given a new breath. “A state visit – the highest grade of diplomatic protocol – is evident of the level of inter-state relations,” Prikhodko said.
• Moscow Times: Medvedev Discusses Arctic Drilling, Telecoms With Norway - On Tuesday, the countries are expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements, including a document to provide easy border crossing for 40,000 Russians and 9,000 Norwegians living within 30 kilometers from the 200-kilometer border. Other deals to be signed include agreements on energy efficiency, environment protection, education and cooperation between law enforcement agencies, Prikhodko said.
• BarentsObserver: Medvedev met by Kola nuclear protest
• RIA: Medvedev says Russia interested in NATO proposals on anti-missile defense
• Kremlin.ru: Interview with Steffen Kretz, Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s Senior International Editor and Anchor of TV News and Current Affairs Programme
• Reuters: UPDATE 2-To speed WTO bid, Russia ditches customs union idea - Top official says Russia now needs to join first; Russian WTO entry could be model for Kazakhstan, Belarus; Moscow floats idea of Obama-Medvedev summit on WTO bid
• RUSSIA-UKRAINE
o RIA: Russian paratroopers head for Kiev to mark WWII Victory Day - As the Ukrainian opposition fought against a deal extending Russia's use of a naval base in Crimea, 75 Russian paratroopers headed for Kiev on Tuesday to take part in Ukraine's Victory Day celebrations.
o RIA: Russian State Duma ratifies agreement extending Russia's lease on naval base in Ukraine - A total of 410 deputies voted for the ratification.
o Russia Today: Putin in Ukraine to seal the deal on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea - Meanwhile, Prime Minister Putin told the media on Tuesday that he was surprised to see this form of response from Ukraine’s former leaders. “It is a little bit unexpected to me because we discussed the matter with the previous government in previous years, and then no one was opposed to the extension of the Russian Black Sea fleet's presence," Putin stated.
o Earthtimes: Protests in Kiev as Ukraine parliament approves Russia fleet treaty
o RBC: Mass rally against the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet is held in Kyiv
o Russia Today: Brawl, smoke bombs fail to stop Ukrainian MPs
o Ukraine parliament fight, smoke bomb thrown: AFP
o BBC: Smoke fills Ukrainian parliament
o AP: Ukraine ratitifes Russian naval lease
o RBC: Rada ratified the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet
o Prime-Tass: Yulia Tymoshenko promises to denounce the agreement with Russia to extend Black Sea Fleet of Russia in the Crimea
o Itar-Tass: 15,000 people expected to gather for rally in front of Ukraine Rada
o Russia Today: Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to remain in Sevastopol
o Bloomberg: Ukraine’s Opposition Seeks to Block Russian Lease Ratification
o RIA: Ukrainian opposition prepares to block naval base deal ratification
o Financial Times: Russia offers Kiev nuclear power deal
o Bloomberg: Russia Proposes Merging Nuclear Energy With Ukraine (Update1)
o RIA: Russia still to consider modernization of Ukraine gas transportation system - Putin
o RIA: Russia proposes Ukraine forming united nuclear energy holding - PM Putin
o RIA: Russia wants to offer Ukraine cooperation in leading economic sector - Putin
o Official Wire: Kiev Lobbies For Gas Pipeline Upgrades
• RIA: Russia's Cosmos-3M space carrier orbits military satellite
• Itar-Tass: ”Cosmos-3M” rocket carrier to put military satellite in orbit
• RUVR: Progress freighterto be dumped into the Pacific
• News.az: Turkey to raise Karabakh issue with Russian president
• News.am: PACE President to visit Armenia, Russia and Georgia
• Turkmenistan.ru: Turkmenistan and St. Petersburg prepare agreement on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation
• KYRGYZSTAN
o Itar-Tass: Kyrgyz ex-president charged with organizing mass killings
o Itar-Tass: Rare animals found at Bakiyev family residence
o Interfax: Kyrgyz rights activists accuse Bakiyev of polygamy
o RIA: Ex Kyrgyz interior minister arrested on charges of power abuse
o RUVR: Kyrgyz interim government dismisses Bakiyev as president
o 24.kg: Kyrgyzstan affect upon international security index
o 24.kg: Interim government borrows diesel fuel from Gazprom Neft Asia
• Moscow Times: First-Ever Jury Trial for Chechnya
• Expert Club: Another armed clash occurred in Dagestan - On April 26th police officers attempted to stop car "VAZ-2108" for inspection, but the driver disobeyed the policemen. This happened near the village of Mutsalaul of Khasavyurt district in Dagestan.
• Interfax: Ingushetia and North Ossetia will look for missing people during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict
• Defpro: Russian Reforms Mean Major Defense Modernization
• Reuters: Deadly New Russian Weapon Hides In Shipping Container
• Bne: Driving new roads - Russias first major PPP deal - Russias first major PPP project was officially signed yesterday, as the North-West Concession Company agreed with the Federal Road Agency on construction of a 43 km section of the Moscow - St Petersburg Expressway.
• Russia Today: 27 April, 2010 in Russian Newspapers
o Gazeta: Jurors tried their way to Chechnya
o Rossiyskaya Gazeta: The priorities of modernization
o Nezavisimaya: Lukashenko uses CSTO membership to blackmail Russia
• Moscow Times: Today in Vedomosti
o 2011 Budget in Trouble
o Editorial: Luzhkov Still Popular Despite Genplan Controversy
o RTS Index Tapped for Growth
• Voice of Russia: Press review
• Russia Profile: Counting Connections - Social Networking in Russia Is Growing Rapidly, but Which Sites Will Eventually Dominate the Market Is Still Unclear
National Economic Trends
• Bloomberg: Ruble Gains May Force Russia to Protect Industry (Update1)
• RUVR: Russia will pay off deficit in the budget at the expense of reserves, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
• Alfa: Russias 2011 budget deficit may exceed RUB1.9 trln target by RUB0.5 trln
• Itar-Tass: Russia’s official unemployment rate decreases over week – ministry
• Russia Today: S&P warns on government spending
• Alfa: Russian banks continue to waive fees for issuing retail loans
• AgriMarket: Russia provided spring sowing campaign throughout 5.1 mln ha
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
• Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on April 27
• Bloomberg: Norilsk Nickel, Razgulay and TNK-BP: Russian Equity Preview
• RenCap: Sberbank to redeem CBR subordinated debt early
• Reuters: Russia's Inter RAO places shares at 0.04 roubles/shr
• St. Petersburg Times: O’Key Owner in IPO
• Reuters: BRIEF-Russia's Protek raies around $400 million in IPO
• Reuters: Avtovaz eyes recovery after $1.3 bln 2009 loss
• Wall Street Journal: Dunkin' Donuts Heads Back to Russia
• Troika: Acron to pay $0.86 in dividends per share
• VTB Capital: Uralkali loses appeal over USD 27mn tax bill
• Moscow Times: For the Record
o Supermarket chain Okay is planning to raise $400 million to $500 million from an initial public offering in London in fall 2010 or spring 2011, a source close to the company said Monday. (Reuters)
o The government is prepared to discuss compensation for airlines’ losses caused by flight disruptions after ash from a volcano in Iceland closed large swathes of European air space, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said, Interfax reported. (Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
• Oil and Gas Eurasia: Russia Waiting For Statoil to Come to Pechora Sea
• Official Wire: Syria Lauds Tatneft Oil Operations
• Dow Jones: TNK-BP International 1Q GAAP Net Profit $1.27 Billion
• EasyBourse: TNK-BP International 1Q GAAP Net Profit $1.27 Billion
• Telegraph: Russian attitude thaws to TNK-BP's license for the Kovykta gas field
• OilVoice: TNK-BP Subsidiary Varyoganneftegaz Will Drill 100 New Wells in 2010
• Moscow Times: Sistema’s Price for Russneft
• Moscow Times: Hungary Ends Surgut Probe
• Portfolio.hu: Surgut saga sewn up, no voting right at Hungarian MOL's AGM
Gazprom
• RIA: Gazprom, Eni to give each 10% of South Stream shares to French EDF - Putin
• Upstreamonline: EDF to get South Stream stake - Russian and Italy will each give a 10% stake in the South Stream pipeline to France's EDF , Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today.
• Interfax: Gazprom, Eni to give 10% stake in South Stream to EDF each
• Official Wire: Exxon Staggers At Russia's Sakhalin
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Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
RIA: Iran behaves 'irresponsibly' regarding nuclear program – Medvedev
06:1127/04/2010
Iran behaves irresponsibly regarding concerns of the international society over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, the Russian president said.
The United States and other Western countries suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program and are seeking new sanctions following Iran's move to enrich uranium to 20%.
"Iran so far does not show proper understanding and behaves irresponsibly enough. This is all sad of course. Therefore, if this situation continues we exclude nothing and sanctions as well," Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) before his official visit to Denmark on Tuesday.
"Sanctions of course are bad in their nature as they seldom yield results. But why not as all other means of influence are exhausted," he said.
The Iran Six (France, Britain, Germany, the United States, Russia and China) began on April 19 discussing the text of a draft resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
Russia and China insist on resolving Iran's nuclear issue peacefully, but the United States, Britain, France and Germany are pushing for harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Press TV: Iran, Russia develop telecom ties
Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:02:03 GMT
Iran and Russia have signed a contract as well as an MoU to develop mutual telecommunication and communication relations between the two neighbors.
The contract and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) were signed on Monday in Moscow between Iran's Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) and Russian firm Telecom, in the presence of Iran's Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour and his Russian counterpart Igor Shchegolev.
Iran and Russia can play an effective role in creating telecom networks and communication routes," Shchegolev said.
Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media, Igor Shchegolev, in a meeting with Taqipour called for Iran-Russia cooperation in the field of telecommunications in Moscow on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iran's IT minister said the two countries have considerable potential for strengthening cooperation in telecommunications.
According to Taqipour, Iran has a special geopolitical place through which Russia can have communications with the European states.
MVZ/TG/HRF
NY Times: Russia: American Seeks Denial of Visas to 60 Russian Officials
By ELLEN BARRY
Published: April 26, 2010
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, asked the State Department on Monday to deny visas to 60 Russian officials who he said were involved in prosecuting and detaining Sergei L. Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer who died in a Moscow jail after having requested medical care. Mr. Magnitsky was held in a tax evasion case against the Hermitage Fund, whose American-born owner had clashed bitterly with Russian officials. The sanctions would apply to senior officials in Russian law-enforcement agencies and their family members. The proposal is based on a 2004 presidential proclamation denying visas to people engaged in corruption.
RIA: U.S. senator urges Clinton to ban travel for Russian officials to USA over lawyer's death
10:4527/04/2010
A U.S. senator has urged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to impose a ban on visas for 60 Russian officials and other individuals in a $230 million corruption case that lead to the death of a Moscow anti-corruption lawyer, the U.S. Helsinki Commission website said.
Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, 37, who was awaiting trial on tax evasion charges for 358 days, died in a Moscow pretrial detention center in November 2009. The Russian Prosecutor General's office said Magnitsky died of a heart attack.
"I am writing to request the immediate cancellation of U.S. visas held by a number of Russian officials and others who are involved in significant corruption in that country and who are responsible for last year's torture and death in prison of the Russian anti-corruption lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who testified against them," Senator Benjamin Cardin, the Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) wrote in his letter to Clinton.
"I urge you to immediately cancel and permanently withdraw the U.S visa privileges of all those involved in this crime, along with their dependents and family members," he continued.
"The visa sanctions will send an important message to corrupt officials in Russia and elsewhere that the U.S. is serious about combating foreign corruption and the harm it does. It will also help to protect U.S. companies operating in Russia who risk falling prey to similar schemes in the future," Cardin said.
Russian English-language newspaper the Moscow Times said last week human rights activists had called on authorities to open a murder inquiry into the death of Magnitsky.
"Magnitsky died of systematic torture and not of negligence," Valery Borshchyov, of the Moscow Helsinki Group said.
The Moscow Times cited Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, as saying that the evidence suggested that the abuse was initiated by the same Interior Ministry officials whom Magnitsky had accused of embezzling $230 million of government funds.
Maj. Gen. Anatoly Mikhalkin, head of the tax crimes department in the Interior Ministry's Moscow branch, reported by Russian media to be linked to Magnitsky's death, had been dismissed a month after Magnitsky died.
Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service has admitted its partial guilt in the death of the lawyer.
It was Mikhailkin's department that started proceedings against the lawyer.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a probe into the lawyer's death. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called it a "tragedy."
Investigators earlier said that Magnitsky had conspired with Hermitage Capital head Bill Browder, who has reportedly been banned from entering Russia, to establish dummy firms to illegally buy and sell Russian energy giant Gazprom's stock.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Bne: Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission Calls for Visa Sanctions Against 60 Russian Officials for Corruption and the Persecution of Sergei Magnitsky
Press release
April 26, 2010
Today the Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, called for immediate and permanent visa sanctions against 60 Russian officials who were involved in a $230 million corruption case discovered and exposed by the late Russian anti-corruption lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky and who authorised Magnitsky's arrest on false charges and orchestrated his torture and murder in custody. In a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Cardin demanded that the State Department "immediately cancel and permanently withdraw the U.S visa privileges of all those involved in this crime, along with their dependents and family members."(See )
Senator Cardin further wrote to Secretary Clinton: "I am writing to request the immediate cancelation of U.S. visas held by a number of Russian officials and others who are involved in significant corruption in that country and who are responsible for last year's torture and death in prison of the Russian anti-corruption lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who testified against them."
High-ranking officials from the Russian Interior Ministry, Federal Security Service (FSB), General Prosecutor's Office, Federal Tax Service, Federal Prison Service and judges in the Russian court system are named in the visa ban list. These officials include:
- Alexei Anichin, Head of the Investigative Committee of the Interior Ministry, responsible for the cover-up of Sergei Magnitsky's testimony about the role of Interior Ministry officers in the $230 million tax rebate fraud. Anichin also directed the repressive criminal case based on false charges against Magnitsky;
- Victor Grin, Deputy General Prosecutor of Russia, responsible for absolving from criminal prosecution the officials implicated by Sergei Magnitsky in the $230 million tax rebate fraud and instead solely charging a sawmill employee for the entire fraud;
- Victor Voronin, Deputy Head of Economic Security Division of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who authorised a criminal case based on false charges that was used to perpetrate a corrupt scheme to steal $230 million from the Russian Treasury, through the theft of the Hermitage Fund's Russian companies, via the illegal seizure of their original statutory documents without a warrant.
Senator Cardin stated: "We can take the concrete action to ensure those public officials and others who share responsibility for this crime should be denied entry visas to the United States. As you know, the United States has the policy of prohibiting individuals involved in corruption from visiting our country, and the State Department is mandated by the President to achieve this aim."
The visa sanctions target complicit Russian officials, their dependents and family members and are based on U.S. Presidential Proclamation 7750, enacted in 2004. This Presidential Proclamation prohibits corrupt foreign officials and their family members from gaining entry to the United States (See Proclamation 7750 "To Suspend Entry as Immigrants or Nonimmigrants of Persons Engaged in or Benefiting From Corruption" ).
The U.S. visa sanctions involve Russian officials who organised and approved the $230 million corrupt scheme, released from responsibility officials implicated by Sergei Magnitsky and pursued repressive criminal cases on false grounds to silence and intimidate Hermitage executives and lawyers who had reported corrupt officials to the authorities.
In his letter, Senator Cardin pointed out that the repression and arrest of Sergei Magnitsky were orchestrated by the very same Interior Ministry officers whom he had exposed in the $230 million fraud:
"The crime, which involved a fraudulent $230 million tax refund paid to the criminal group, was exposed by Hermitage's lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky...One month after his testimony he was arrested... in his Moscow home by a team of Interior Ministry troopers reporting directly to the officers Mr. Magnitsky had accused."
Senator Cardin further stated that in custody Sergei Magnitsky was subjected to torture designed to force him to absolve the government officials from the crimes they had committed and to falsely testify against himself and his client, the Hermitage Fund:
"As highlighted in the 2009 State Department Country Report of Human Rights in Russia, Sergei Magnitsky was tortured in an attempt to force him to withdraw his testimony and to incriminate himself and his client. His detailed letters from prison attest to the inhuman conditions in which he was kept for nearly a year without a trial."
Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year old Russian lawyer for the Hermitage Fund, exposed the largest known tax rebate fraud in Russian history perpetrated by government officials. In 2008, he testified against senior Interior Ministry officers for abuse of office, theft of his client's (the Hermitage Fund) companies in order to steal the $230 million they had previously paid to the Russian government, and the fabrication of a false criminal case in order to perpetrate the corrupt scheme. A month after his testimony, Magnitsky was arrested by direct subordinates of the officers he testified against, kept in custody without a trial for a year and tortured to withdraw his statements. Magnitsky refused and instead on 13 October 2009 gave further detailed testimony implicating the Interior Ministry officials in a corrupt $230 million scheme and in orchestrating his repression in custody. A month later, on 16 November 2009 Sergei Magnitsky was found dead in a Moscow pre-trial detention center under circumstances described as "intentional death" and "murder" by Russian human rights defenders.
Senator Cardin added that five months after Sergei Magnitsky's death, none of the officials involved in the $230 million fraud and the persecution and death of Sergei Magnitsky have been brought to justice:
"Since the death, a number of prison officials have been fired, but no one has been prosecuted for his torture or death, nor for participating in the corruption he exposed."
In a separate development last week, the Moscow Helsinki Group, an independent Russian human rights organisation, called upon Russian authorities to immediately press charges against Russian Interior Ministry officers involved in Sergei Magnitsky's case for crimes under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code: "Conduct of criminal prosecution of a knowingly innocent man," "Unlawful arrest and detention"; "Forcing to give testimonies"; "Torture"; "Murder committed with special degree of brutality" and "Murder committed to conceal other crimes" (See Moscow Helsinki Group application: ).
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE commitments.
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin has a long-standing interest in foreign affairs and human rights. He has been a Member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the U.S. Helsinki Commission) since 1993, serving as Ranking Member from 2003-2006. In the 110th Congress, he was appointed Co-Chairman of the Commission, and is currently Vice President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly.
RUVR: Russia gives Japan a list of new joint investment programmes
Apr 27, 2010 10:12 Moscow Time
Russia has handed over to Japan a list of new joint investment programmes to the tune of some 7 billion dollars. This came in a statement for the Nikkei newspaper by the Russian Minister of Trade and Industry Victor Khristenko. He was speaking in the run-up to his visit to Japan. According to the periodical, the list of new investment programmes comprises modernization of seaports in the Khabarovsk region, re-equipment of airports around Vladivostok and Irkutsk, and launching the production of materials for a solar energy-generating facility in the Irkutsk region.
Moscow Times: Russia-Japan Grain Deal
27 April 2010
Japanese trading company Marubeni said Monday that it had made an agreement with grain companies in Russia to increase shipments.
The company has established an alliance with Khabarovsk-based grain collection company Amurzerno and Vladivostok-based export terminal operator Fetexim, Marubeni said. Through the tie-up, the Tokyo-based company plans to raise imports of Russian feed wheat to as much as 150,000 metric tons in the year to March 31, 2011, from 50,000 tons a year earlier, company spokesman Yo Nomura said.
(Bloomberg)
Itar-Tass: Medvedev to go to Denmark to resuscitate political dialogue
27.04.2010, 07.04
OSLO, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will arrive in Denmark from Norway for a two-day state visit on Tuesday as part of his Scandinavian tour.
Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told Itar-Tass that the Russian-Danish relations have been marked by intensive development in recent years and a political dialogue is being given a new breath. “A state visit – the highest grade of diplomatic protocol – is evident of the level of inter-state relations,” Prikhodko said.
The presidential aide said that the Danish colleagues were expected to raise human rights issues, the traditional subject, but not so aggressively as they did before.
“We are ready to continue dialogue on these issues if they are of reasonable nature,” Prikhodko told Itar-Tass.
He added that Moscow also had some questions to Denmark on the migration policy and the presence in Denmark of Russian nationals wanted for various crimes back home.
A state dinner will be the central event on Tuesday. Queen Margrethe II will give a royal reception in honour of Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana in the Fredensborg summer residence about forty kilometers away from the Danish capital.
A business part of the visit starts on Wednesday with a meeting with Danish businessmen. “The first Russian-Danish business forum is to contribute to more intensive contacts between the business circles in the two countries as well as to prompt removal of obstacles on the way to mutually beneficial cooperation,” Prikhodko said. On Tuesday afternoon, President Medvedev is scheduled to hold talks with the Danish prime minister. On Wednesday evening, a reception will be given on behalf of the Danish president and in honour of the Queen.
A Russian delegation accompanying President Medvedev comprises Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Minister for Mass Communications Igor Shchogolev, Chief Prosecutor Yuri Chaika, as well as Andrei Krayniy, the head of the state-run fishery agency, Rosrybolovstvo, Arthur Chilingarov, the Russian president’s special envoy for cooperation in the Arctic and the Antarctic, the heads of the Republic of Tatarstan and the governors of the Kaluga and Pskov regions.
In the meantime, on Tuesday evening President Medvedev is to meet Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Bilateral documents are expected to be signed. After that the Russian president and the Norwegian prime minister will tell about the talks outcome at a news conference.
Inter-governmental agreements in the field of energy efficiency, renewable sources of energy, ecology, education and science as well as cooperation in the law enforcement are to be signed.
The results of talks in Oslo will be fixed in a joint statement, according to presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko. He said that key topics for discussion would include cooperation in energy, fisheries, and environmental protection, nuclear and radiological security.
“Strategic partnership is being formed. The key project in a short-term perspective will be the development of the Shtokman gas deposit in the Barents Sea with participation of Gazprom, Norwegian Statoil and the French Total. Statoil is also showing interest in the development of gas fields on the Yamal peninsula and cooperation with LUKOIL in the markets of third countries,” Prikhodko went on to say.
Fisheries cooperation is also developing. “Progress has been made in working out measures to regulate the fish stocks in the Barents and Norwegian seas. For the first time in thirty years the sides have managed to agree on the technical parameters of fish catches on the basis of common methods,” Prikhodko said.
He emphasized that the Russian side highly appreciated Norway’s participation in projects on nuclear and radiological security in the North West of Russia and some other Russian regions, including the Baltic Sea.
International topics will also feature high during talks in Oslo. They include European security in the context of Russia’s initiative the European Security Treaty, the development of Russia’s relations with NATO, disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change, humanitarian aspects of international cooperation, regional problems and struggle against terrorism and extremism.
Moscow Times: Medvedev Discusses Arctic Drilling, Telecoms With Norway
27 April 2010
By Alex Anishyuk
President Dmitry Medvedev invited Norway's Statoil to explore the Prirazlomnoye oil field during a two-day state visit Monday, as Russia seeks to harness foreign expertise for drilling in the Arctic.
"We will together explore the Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea and [carry out] a number of other projects," he said Monday during a meeting with Norwegian businessmen in Oslo.
The announcement came as a surprise because the last time Gazprom mentioned a chance of joining forces with a foreign partner at the field was in 2008. Prirazlomnoye, long hoped to be a testing ground for developing Russia's own Arctic-proof technology, is estimated to contain 46.4 million metric tons of extractable oil resources.
Gazprom, whose 100 percent subsidiary Sevmorneftegaz fully owns the field, has already done some preparatory work since announcing plans to produce oil there in 2001. It's been building some onshore facilities and commissioned a giant drilling rig that is expected to sail to the site next year.
Sevmorneftegaz is the same company that holds the license for the Shtokman gas field in the nearby Barents Sea, which Gazprom and partners — Statoil and France's Total plan to tap together. They earlier this year pushed back the start of production by three years to 2016.
After Medvedev's announcement, Statoil looks set to have another challenging project to tackle in Russia in the meantime, depriving Russia of the chance to fully boast homegrown Arctic development technology.
Russia needs the foreign participation as it lacks expertise in drilling in Arctic projects, said Alexei Kokin, senior oil analyst at Metropol.
"Russia has drilled on the far eastern shelf, for example, but never extracted oil fr om the Arctic sea shelf like that one," he said. "So it will appreciate Norwegian knowledge and experience in the project."
The project could cost roughly $10 billion, he said, and Russia may likely give up to 50 percent minus one share participation in the project to motivate Norway.
"The logistics of the project have not been calculated, so it is still a question as to whether Norway will agree to it," he said.
Statoil chief executive Helge Lund reacted positively to the invitation. “This is a project we’ve discussed for many years, so I think this was a positive signal,” Lund said, Bloomberg reported. “We will certainly review it and discuss it with our colleagues in Russia.”
Calls to Gazprom press service went unanswered Monday evening.
Medvedev is slated to discuss a bevy of other bilateral issues, presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said Sunday. "Among the key issues is cooperation in energy, fishing, environment protection, nuclear and radiation security. The delimitation of sea territories in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean will be given special attention."
Near the top of the list may be cooperation on nuclear security, which the Norwegian side sees as the key issue in bilateral relations. Norway has assisted Russia in dismantling five decommissioned nuclear submarines and replacing highly radioactive strontium batteries with solar panels in 180 lighthouses in northwestern Russia. Oslo also provided training and safety equipment to nuclear power plants in the Kola Peninsula and Leningrad region, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement April 23.
Since 1995, Norway's parliament has allocated about 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($254 million) for nuclear safety cooperation with Russia.
Another key issue will be Russia's border with Norway in the resource-rich Barents Sea, a topic Russia is especially concerned with, Prikhodko told journalists Sunday.
The two countries have been in talks for about 30 years on divvying up the Barents Sea territory, which is located on the oil- and gas-rich Arctic shelf. A number of Russian fishing vessels have been detained by the Norwegian coast guard over the years for various violations, raising tensions between Moscow and Oslo. In 2006, Russia temporarily banned the imports of fish from four Norwegian enterprises in what was largely seen as a political move.
Russia and Norway can find a “reasonable compromise” to the dispute, Medvedev said in an interview with Norway's Aftenposten, which was posted on the Kremlin web site.
The border issue will be an important discussion point during Medvedev's visit, but there is not likely to be any agreement signed this time, said Indra Overland, head of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, as the negotiations are complex and still ongoing.
A more pressing concern for the Norwegian business community will be discussions about Russia's investment climate, Overland said.
"The recent resolution of the Telenor and Alfa Group dispute is a good achievement, but the Norwegian side wants to know how predictable Russia's business climate will be in the future," Overland said.
Norwegian Telenor and Altimo, a telecoms subsidiary of Russia's Alfa Group, both shareholders of a Russian mobile operator VimpelCom, agreed to end a five-year disagreement last October by settling up a joint venture Vimpelcom Ltd. Critics say Alfa used the Russian court system to punish Telenor for not allowing VimpelCom to expand into Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the countries are expected to sign a number of bilateral agreements, including a document to provide easy border crossing for 40,000 Russians and 9,000 Norwegians living within 30 kilometers from the 200-kilometer border. Other deals to be signed include agreements on energy efficiency, environment protection, education and cooperation between law enforcement agencies, Prikhodko said.
Medvedev, accompanied by his wife Svetlana, arrived in Gardermoen Airport in Oslo Monday morning, wh ere they were received by King Harald and Dag Terje Andersen, president of the Norwegian parliament.
Medvedev paid homage to Norwegian war veterans at the National Defense Museum. Later in the afternoon, the first couple, accompanied by King Harald and Queen Sonja, visited a monument erected in memory of fallen Soviet soldiers.
BarentsObserver: Medvedev met by Kola nuclear protest
2010-04-27
“Close Kola nuclear power plant” was the message on the banner when Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev drove up the road to the Royal Castle in Oslo.
Some 30 members of the organisation Nature and Youth were sitting by the entrance road to the Royal Castle. Since the Russian President arrived on his first State Visit to Norway on April 26th, the environmentalists remained that this was also the anniversary day of the Chernobyl reactor disaster in Ukraine back in 1986.
The protesters from Nature and Youth want the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to bring up the closure of Kola nuclear power plant in his political talks with the visiting Russian President. Jens Stoltenberg will receive Dmitri Medvedev at the Prime Minister’s office downtown Oslo later on Thursday.
Safety concerns regarding the two oldest reactors at Kola nuclear power plant have been highlighted by the Norwegian government by many occasions. Last Friday the Government presented a White Paper to the Parliament saying the ultimate goal is to see the closure of the oldest reactors. The report also says about the importance for Norway to keep a good dialog with Russia in the sphere of nuclear safety and continue to cooperate on safety projects.
Nature and Youth, together with the tow other Norwegian enviro-groups Bellona and Friends of the Earth, ask Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to discuss a realistic decommissioning for the Kola nuclear power plant with President Dmitri Medvedev.
Such decommissioning plan is a direct safety measure for people, nature and environment in the Barents Region, the statement from the green groups says. They claim radiation from an accident at Kola nuclear power plant can reach Norway within hours since the plant is located just some 200 kilometres from the border.
Norway has granted some NOK 200 million (€ 25 million) to safety projects at Kola nuclear power plant over the last 15 years. The Norwegian funded projects have mainly been devoted to reduce the risk of human-errors, while the construction of the reactors themselves makes it impossible to bring them up to western safety standards, according to the statement posted by the three environmental groups.
Another concern highlighted by the Norwegian environmentalists is the accumulation of radioactive waste in Russia.
All the three Norwegian environmental groups signing the statement about the Kola nuclear power plant are cooperating with environmental groups in the Russian part of the Barents Region.
RIA: Medvedev says Russia interested in NATO proposals on anti-missile defense
07:0027/04/2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow is interested in cooperation with NATO concerning issues of anti-missile defense in Europe.
NATO foreign ministers agreed at their informal meeting in Estonia last week to begin a dialogue with Russia on cooperation in the sphere of anti-missile defense.
Medvedev said in an interview with the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) that Moscow has been long "speaking that the system of global missile defense must be protecting not only a definite country or a group of countries, but function in the interests of all responsible participants of the international society."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stressed last week in Estonia the importance of cooperation on missile defense that would protect the European and Russian populations against "a real missile threat."
Asked whether Russia would say 'yes' to the proposal from the NATO chief, Medvedev said "yes, Russia would do that if the proposal is serious."
He said Russia stands against formation of air defense systems by distinct countries because it eventually "damages the current balanced system between the main nuclear powers."
"It is either we are together, or, do not be offended, we [Russia] have to react somehow," he said.
In February, Romania and Bulgaria said they were in talks with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration on deploying elements of the U.S. missile shield on their territories from 2015.
The move came after Obama scrapped last September plans by the Bush administration to deploy missile-defense elements in the Czech Republic and Poland due to a reassessment of the threat from Iran. Russia fiercely opposed the plans as a threat to its national security.
On the whole, Medvedev said Russia wants to occupy a deserving place in the world.
"Russia simply wants good relations with other countries - both large and small ones. We believe that our country is an organic part of the modern world and wants to be developing along with the rest of the world," he said.
The Russian president added that "the face of modern Russia is a smiling face... But other countries must smile back at us."
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Kremlin.ru: Interview with Steffen Kretz, Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s Senior International Editor and Anchor of TV News and Current Affairs Programme
April 22, 2010
STEFFEN KRETZ: Thank you very much for allowing us to meet with you to conduct this interview. We are looking forward to your visit to Denmark next week.
Recently, Denmark approved the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. What does this Danish approval of the pipeline’s construction mean for Russia?
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: It is a reflection of the good relations and partnership that exist between our two countries. I should note that Denmark was the first to give us permission to lay the pipeline in its territorial waters. And it seems to me that this was a wise decision. Why so? Because the pipeline is not a project that only serves the Russian Federation or, for example, certain European countries that will receive gas directly from it. This is our common project and a profitable one for all of us. And, as I see it, your country really was the first to weigh the pros and cons of making such a decision and then make it. After that, various decisions were made by other countries, the five countries involved in the development of Nord Stream. So it seems to me that the Danish decision was a key factor in breathing life into the Nord Stream project.
Just recently I was in Vyborg in the Leningrad Region near St Petersburg, and as a matter of fact we launched the Nord Stream there and begun to lay pipes. So this project is becoming a reality. It is positive in all respects. It seems to me that the project will create additional opportunities for delivering gas supplies to our European partners. Everyone wants to diversify supplies and everyone expects to see sufficiently many energy sources – this is the first advantage.
There is a second advantage too: among energy resources gas causes less damage to our atmosphere than, for example, coal. The conversion of a number of power plants and energy generating facilities to gas would be better for the environment. We are all very, very interested in this. And, incidentally, this is in line with the work that we and our Danish partners are engaged in and the issues we discussed at the conference in Copenhagen [on climate change].
STEFFEN KRETZ: Some people in Europe believe that if it receives gas from Russia it will become too dependent on Russia. Others say that, on the contrary, Russia will depend on our money. Who is right and who will be more dependent on whom?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: This is a very good question and one that has a very good answer. We will be interdependent. It will be the strongest dependency one can imagine. From Russia’s perspective it will be profitable and interesting to supply gas to Europe, and in this sense Russia will depend on Europe. But correspondingly, by receiving energy and gas from Russia, Europe will also be dependent on Russia. Who stands to gain more from this arrangement is a moot point because if treaties are signed and contractual obligations are fulfilled then it will be beneficial for both parties. And I’m absolutely sure of this.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Allow me to ask about Russia’s role on the international stage. A few decades ago there were two superpowers: the USSR and the US. What is Russia’s position in the world today?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: It is very good that we have moved beyond a bipolar model because it hampered the development of humankind. At that time, both sides were mainly engaged in increasing their military capabilities. Naturally, this did not contribute much to progress. This is the first point.
The second. Today, everyone agrees that the world should be multipolar, this position is supported by all major economic players, major political forces, and major countries that have nuclear weapons. This is also the position of the Russian Federation. We want to be an organic part of the planet. We aspire to occupy a worthy place in this world, both in terms of economy and security, a place that corresponds to Russia’s potential, history and role in, for example, the foundation of the United Nations. But ours is not an exclusive place. We must understand that we are all dependent on one another and that the world is truly global. We must do as much as we can to reduce the potential of current threats: military, terrorist and environmental. And finally, Russia simply wants good relations with other countries, both large and not so large ones. Therefore we believe that Russia is an integral part of the modern world and want to develop together with the rest of the world.
STEFFEN KRETZ: I would like to ask what face Russia should present to the outside world, as opposed to that of the Soviet Union? During the period of the oligarchs and the super-rich, this became the face of Russia. What face Russia should have today, do you think?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: The one that I have now: a smiling face. If this is the face of Russia, that of someone who smiles at other countries, I think that it’s the right one. But we must see smiles in response. We must not bare our teeth at anyone, get angry, sulk, or feel offended, pushed into things or into a corner, and react accordingly. This, of course, does not only depend on us, but I would nevertheless like to see Russia smiling and take the face of a young, modern person, in the sense that Russia is a rapidly developing economy. We are now engaged in the modernisation of our economy, establishing it’s so-called innovative potential, manufacturing high-tech products.
We are also trying to create a modern political system based, of course, on current political realities and our history. We created its foundations about 20 years ago by adopting the present Constitution and foundational documents. We are developing Russia’s political system, including its political parties.
We must improve our legislation. Over the past few years a lot of things have been done in this field. I think that we have managed to create the framework for a modern judicial system. We must further improve the courts. In this field there are still a number of things to do, and even though courts act on the basis of quite modern legislation, their concrete application of given laws naturally requires improvement. Often judicial skills require improvement as well. Judges must have the highest qualifications. But what I believe is most important in this regard, is that people trust the awards that courts make. That is another component of Russia’s new image.
And finally, and this is perhaps the most important thing, Russia should simply be a prosperous country where people benefit from all necessary conditions to develop and prosper; where there are adequate and, to the extent that it’s possible, high incomes and decent wages; and where people are able to organise not only their time at work but also their free time, and be able to vacation both at home and abroad.
I, for one, would want Russia to present such a face.
STEFFEN KRETZ: In relation to what you just said regarding cooperation between Russia and the world at large, I want to ask two specific things.
Last week NATO Secretary General [Anders Fogh Rasmussen] proposed cooperation between Russia and NATO concerning the establishment of a missile defence shield that would cover not only Europe, but Russia as well. Can you say ‘yes’ to this proposal?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: If it is a serious proposal, we can. We have long advocated that a system of global security or missile defence should protect not only one country or group of countries, but rather be in the interests of all responsible members of the international community. I would emphasise ‘responsible members’.
In this regard, when people say to us: ‘Now we’re going to create our own missile defence system’, we do not like it. Why? Because missile defence is linked to strategic nuclear forces. The more powerful missile defence is, the less relevant another’s nuclear strength will be. And so it disturbs the existing balance between the major nuclear powers, especially between Russia and the United States of America. But if this system has a global dimension, if it is designed to mitigate threats from countries that do not respect the international legal order, who violate international law in some way, who are independently developing, for example, nuclear weapons programmes, or otherwise not complying with principles required for amicable international interaction, those which are currently accepted worldwide, then in this case, of course such a system of protection could be established. But this issue is absolutely concrete: it’s inadmissible to offer something and then say: 'Well, you wait somewhere out of the way, we’ll eventually design something and offer it to you, but in the meantime we’re building up our missile defence system’. Therefore, either we act together or do not be aggrieved that we have to react to this.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Concerning Russia’s relations with the United States. President Obama said that he pressed the reset button to improve relations between your two countries. Relations between Russia and the US will probably be so strong that you could even agree to sanctions against Iran?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Pressing such a button requires efforts by not just one person, but at least two, because such a button cannot be pushed by one hand at one end. This restart process is possible only if both sides participate, this is the first thing.
Second, we really do have good relations with the new American administration, and I have a good personal relationship with President Obama. We are discussing a large range of issues. We recently agreed on a new system governing the balance of strategic nuclear forces and signed a new treaty on limiting strategic offensive arms. I think this is beneficial to everyone: Europe as well as, naturally, Russia and the US. And Iran is also a topic that we have long been discussing. As of yet Iran is not demonstrating the required restraint and is behaving quite irresponsibly. This, of course, is a sad fact. Therefore, if this situation continues, we cannot rule anything out, including sanctions. Of course, sanctions are a bad thing because they rarely produce results. But when all other means have been exhausted, why not?
STEFFEN KRETZ: Let me ask a few questions about the democratisation and modernisation of Russia.
Just recently, there were popular demonstrations in different locations in Russia, demands that local authorities and governors leave their posts, reclamations for more democracy. The Kremlin currently appoints governors and heads of regions, and it was said that this will continue for a hundred more years. Why can Russians in different parts of the country not choose their local leaders?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: First, about the demonstrations.
Demonstrations by people who are dissatisfied with authorities are absolutely normal in any democratic country. They happen in Russia, in Denmark, in other European countries, and sometimes even in the United States of America. But if we talk about the current situation in political terms, the current government is stable and a significant number of citizens support the policies of the current government. For me this is quite an optimistic situation, because I think it is only possible to work if you benefit from significant support from your people.
With regard to election procedures or vesting governors with power, you know that these procedures differ greatly in different countries. And in Russia, the process of electing the heads of regions lasted only a relatively short period. Neither previously nor today do we use direct elections to choose governors. By the way, that is the way that most European countries do it: there is nothing special about this.
But actually the question is not how these individuals are vested with authority, but how well they perform and how people perceive them. I would note that in Russia it is not the President that appoints governors unlike, for example, in Ukraine. Governors are elected by the legislative bodies of the entities of the Russian Federation, of our territories. That is, they are elected officials whose candidacies are submitted by the President based on the proposals of the respective party. In other words, these are indirect elections, as simple as that.
Why do we do it this way? I have repeatedly explained why. In my opinion there are several reasons, including the need for greater control over nationwide decisions. This is very important. In Russia (and this is my deep conviction) it is very unfortunate, but important institutions of municipal life remain underdeveloped.
I would also remind you of the fact that our country is a federation and a very complex one, which includes 83 regions that differ greatly regarding their sizes, ethnic composition of inhabitants, religious affiliation, and quality of life. And so it is important that decisions required on a national scale be consolidated. This was not always achievable with the previous procedures.
After all, there is a historical tradition to this effect. So I do not think that the rejection of the direct elections of governors is a betrayal of the cause of democracy. It’s simply a change in procedure.
Moreover, if in recent times our esteemed partners, including Denmark, are following political processes in Russia, they would know that I have dismissed almost 25 percent of governors. Some because their terms had come to an end, some before that point. Therefore, there is no case in which, for example, a given regional leader is in his position for a long time but the authorities (I mean the supreme authority, the central government, the federal government) are indifferent to this. The process of rotating managerial personnel will continue.
And, finally, the last thing about elections. In Russia municipal authorities were and remain elected and chosen as they are throughout the world, while this is not always the case for regional governors. Given procedures depend on wishes and historical traditions.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Russia is a young democracy. Recently, a senior Kremlin official said that the democratic experiment could potentially draw division lines within the country. Are you not afraid that full and mature democracy in Russia would result in separatism?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You know, first of all, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I will not comment on anyone else’s remarks. I have enough powers and capacities to make my own judgments.
You see, we must absolutely avoid getting ahead of ourselves. This is quite obvious. In this respect, I do not think that we have the very lowest level of democracy. But we do not yet have the kind of democracy which has matured for 150, 200, 300 years and so on. I am saying something banal, but it’s still obvious: Russian democracy is only 20 years old. The Soviet Union was no democracy and Russia under the Tsar wasn’t either. That is why our statehood is more than 1,000 years in the traditional sense, and 20 years old when measured by democracy. This is the first thing.
Second. We do not have to reinvent new democratic values for ourselves. In this sense, we are in the mainstream of global development.
But it is natural that those democratic principles, the very tenets of democracy that exist in the world, should have some kind of national inflection. This is true everywhere, even in what is obviously a very much unified Europe. Parliaments differ from one other as do governments: there are presidential republics, parliamentary republics, and political parties differ one from another too. In Russia it’s no different.
The last thing I want to say on this topic is that democracy is a function of the development of a society and its economic institutions. So if our democracy continues to evolve gradually, peacefully, it will pose no threat whatsoever to the country’s survival or our national integrity. But if we try to jump over various stages, to introduce institutions that have no relation to our practical historical traditions, then of course the situation could become unbalanced. I will not hide the fact that in the 1990s we had a problem with this when separatism was gaining momentum. The extreme forms of this separatism were in the Caucasus, but I hope and am absolutely sure that that phase is now over.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Let me ask another question, one that’s been asked many times, but is still of interest. You might stand as a candidate in the next presidential elections, and Mr Putin has also announced the possibility of his candidature. After all, who will be the candidate for the presidency in the upcoming elections?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Well, two citizens have already declared that they will stand as candidates, and I’m sure that there will be others who will be announcing their intentions to stand. What’s wrong with that? This is a democracy. Would you prefer that one person in our country said ‘I am going to be a candidate and the rest of you had better not rock the boat’? So I think it’s normal.
STEFFEN KRETZ: I remember that you said in your speech of September 15, 2009 that you would be making this decision in conjunction with Prime Minister Putin. Why do you need this sort of coordination if you want to stand for President?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I will explain why such coordination makes sense. Mr Putin and I represent the same political force and our approaches to the country’s general development are very similar. Let me remind you that I worked with Vladimir Putin as head of the Presidential Executive Office in a Government Cabinet that he appointed. In this sense we don’t represent what you might call a left and right flank. Between two such people this sort of coordination would indeed be strange. People would say: why are those two getting together to choose a single leader, and indeed this sometimes happens. But he and I share the same political convictions, so between us coordination and consultation are essential.
STEFFEN KRETZ: With reference to the terrorist attacks in Moscow, you said that economic development can be used as a weapon in the Caucasus to fight terrorism. What is your view on the problem of overcoming the terrorist threat?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You know, in order to fight terrorism a single strategy is not enough. Of course on the one hand terrorism cannot be defeated simply by force, simply by destroying the terrorists’ havens, because unfortunately terrorism is more than just a person with a bomb, it is a set of beliefs, completely immoral beliefs of course, but a set of beliefs nevertheless. On the other hand, terrorism cannot be defeated only by social and economic means. What exactly is needed? We need at least four things. First, we need to continue the fight against the most notorious members of the terrorist criminal underground by every available means, and I will continue to do this, as did my predecessor, Vladimir Putin, and incidentally as did President Yeltsin before him. In some cases this is the only possibility.
Second, we need to help revive the rule of law in the broadest sense, to convince people that only law can install and create order, overcome corruption and cronyism, and destroy the whole clan system which unfortunately has centuries-old roots in the Caucasus.
Third, this kind of fight is impossible unless it has a spiritual basis, a moral foundation. This includes general notions of morality as well as those derived from religion, from those religions that exist in the Caucasus, namely Islam and Christianity. So the need to appeal to moral values, religious values, seems to me extremely important to ensure that those very values are not usurped by terrorists, whose acts are a direct contradiction of Islamic and Christian values.
Fourth and finally, we need a genuine economic revival. We need to increase the number of jobs and create normal, comfortable living conditions for the large numbers of people who live in the Caucasus.
Let me cite a single figure. We are currently considering a new investment programme for the Caucasus. The set of investment proposals that we are examining amounts to approximately 5.5 billion euros. If these investments are implemented, I hope they will result in a significant number of jobs, hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Unfortunately the unemployment rate in the Caucasus is very high. So those four conditions could radically change the situation.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Thank you for that very detailed answer.
How would you describe the differences between your leadership style and that of your predecessor as President?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: You would know better than I, or at least it’s a question that should be dealt with by political scientists. Russian citizens are no doubt better able to answer this than I am. It’s difficult to assess yourself, and it’s a thankless job too.
But of course despite the similarities in our circumstances we have had different experiences, and we may have different views on some of the nuances as to how our political system should develop. This is true even though Vladimir Putin and I received the same education: we graduated from the same Law Department in St Petersburg State University. Incidentally this actually helps us to communicate, because after all receiving the same education has given us a common language. Sure, there are obvious differences of style. Well, thank God, everyone’s different, everyone has their own ideas. So it’s better if you try to answer this question yourself.
STEFFEN KRETZ: We are looking forward to seeing you next week in Denmark. Relations between Denmark and Russia have been a bit cool for a while. What are you hoping for? Are things going to warm up a bit? What do you expect your visit to Denmark to achieve?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: First and foremost I’m hoping for good weather to ensure that our aircraft lands safely in the Danish capital, in Copenhagen, so that we can get to work. And secondly, of course I would like Russia to have cordial, productive, full-fledged relations with Denmark, one of our important partners, a country with whom we share many common historical experiences, as well as a very good set of business relationships. It is for this reason I hope that, after my state visit, our cooperation will move forward on all fronts. In terms of business cooperation, I will be having a separate meeting with the CEOs of some major Danish companies. It is always important for company leaders to get a look at the president of the country with whom they’re doing business, the country they’re planning to invest in, and to hear some reassuring words, because investment is always a risk, even in those countries that have been investing in Russia for a long time now. Generally speaking, it’s only now that we are developing the appropriate conditions for investment. I’m happy to admit that, because we really do want to create a proper investment climate.
Secondly, there’s the cultural and educational dimension of our relations. We should cooperate on all issues, discuss a wide range of subjects. And I’m never reluctant to discuss the most difficult questions, because such discussions are the only way to get at the truth. The main thing is that no one should claim to have exclusive access to this sort of truth.
Of course I expect that my visit will facilitate interpersonal contacts, contacts between civil society organisations and among ordinary people, and simply stimulate the flow of tourists more generally. I think this is also very important for mutual understanding.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Thank you very much. As a follow up to what I was saying about the business environment: what would you say to Danish companies who are concerned about investing in Russia because of corruption and other problems? What would you say to the executives of these enterprises, to reassure them, to make them more confident about the future of their investments?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Without a doubt I’ll be saying this to them in person, but I’m happy to use this interview to make the same points.
First, I would tell them that we are eager to have them and are glad to see them.
Secondly, I would say that of course we will attempt to eliminate those deficiencies that currently exist in our society and our governmental structures. And not simply or exclusively because we want to appeal to foreign investors, but because it is necessary that we create conditions for a modern, comfortable life in Russia, something that you and I have already discussed.
And, thirdly, our government will make every effort to protect Danish investors, as well as those from other countries. We will improve legislation, we will improve the implementation of this legislation, we will develop our system of judicial protection.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Russia has historically been located between East and West. If we talk about the fact that Russia is looking to the future, which is more important for Russia in terms of economic development and in general, East or West?
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: That is a rhetorical question. I am sure that you are ready to receive a completely obvious answer. Of course for us good relations with our Western, European partners are very important. We are part of European civilisation, and we cherish those relations. Our trade with EU countries alone amounts to $250 billion, which is quite a sum. But relations with our Eastern friends are very important for us too, because Russia is indeed part of both the West and the East. And of course we will work at developing business, political and other relations with our Eastern partners, all the more so now that several regions in the East are developing so rapidly, and there is such a flood of investment there. We want to actively develop our business relations with them and we plan to do this in every way possible.
STEFFEN KRETZ: Mr President, thank you for such interesting answers and for being so patient with my questions. I am looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I too am very much counting on seeing you again and I wish you a safe trip home.
Reuters: UPDATE 2-To speed WTO bid, Russia ditches customs union idea
|2010-04-26 20:51:24 GMT (Reuters) |
* Top official says Russia now needs to join first
* Russian WTO entry could be model for Kazakhstan, Belarus
* Moscow floats idea of Obama-Medvedev summit on WTO bid (Adds background, more quotes)
By Andrew Quinn
WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - Russia will pursue a separate bid to join the World Trade Organization, dropping its insistence on joining as a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, a top Russian official said on Monday.
"Russia will formalize its membership separately," First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters at the start of a Washington visit aimed at lobbying for U.S. support.
"It would be beneficial to all if Russia is a member of the WTO before we create a single market with Kazakhstan and Belarus," he said.
Russia threw its longtime bid to join the WTO into confusion last year when it said it would join the world trade body as part of a "customs union" with former Soviet republics Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Early WTO membership for Russia could help lay the groundwork for the other two countries to join as a customs union, Shuvalov said.
He said his meetings in Washington, which include talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers, would seek to weigh U.S. support for concluding Moscow's entry in the WTO.
He suggested this could be the subject of a follow-on summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medevedev in a matter of months modeled on the recent START nuclear arms treaty.
"Everybody waits for a strong signal from the American administration that America is interested in having Russia in the WTO," he said. "If our level is not sufficient, we will go to the presidents, like with the START treaty."
REMOVING ONE OBSTACLE
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced the customs union plan last year as final talks on Moscow's WTO entry seemed to be getting back on track after being derailed by the short war between Russia and neighboring Georgia in August 2008.
Shuvalov said the customs union proposal had been floated primarily to reassure Kazakhstan and Belarus that they would not be left behind but that Moscow now believed it could speed things by joining first.
"Our idea is cement all the relations with the whole group of WTO countries and then base our customs union or single market treaties on WTO membership," he said.
U.S. officials have recently signaled their interest in resuming negotiations with Russia.
"It is worth it for both of us to take a hard look at how we might re-energize Russia's WTO accession bid, despite the considerable complications posed by Russia's decision to enter into a customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus," U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns said in a recent speech.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is scheduled to meet Tuesday with Russian Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina.
Shuvalov said Russia had prepared a number of possible compromises on outstanding issues, which include intellectual property rights, imports of specialized equipment, state-owned industries and certain government subsidies.
"Everybody agrees that Russia has almost completely completed all the issues, just a few points left, and we are able to find compromises," he said, adding that Kazakhstan had completed only about 70 percent of the required preliminary work and Belarus far less.
He declined to give details of the new proposals and played down prospects of a breakthrough during his visit.
House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, whose committee has jurisdiction over trade, said he welcomed Russia's interest in resuming WTO talks.
He also said Congress was unlikely to repeal a Cold War-era trade provision known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment to establish "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) with Russia until Moscow makes a final WTO deal.
"PNTR is the only avenue we have to make sure we participate in the WTO accession process," Levin told the Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Jackie Frank, Cynthia Osterman and Bill Trott)
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
RIA: Russian paratroopers head for Kiev to mark WWII Victory Day
12:1427/04/2010
As the Ukrainian opposition fought against a deal extending Russia's use of a naval base in Crimea, 75 Russian paratroopers headed for Kiev on Tuesday to take part in Ukraine's Victory Day celebrations.
The deal, which was ratified amid violent scenes inside the parliament chamber, extends the lease on a Russian base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017, and may be further extended by another five years. In return, Ukraine will receive a 30% discount on Russian natural gas.
"In accordance with the invitation received from the Ukrainian leadership, a unit of the Russian Armed Forces will take part in the military parade in Kiev to mark the 65th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War," the press office of the Russian Airborne Troops said.
The troops are expected to return home on May 10, the day after the anniversary, the press office said.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: Russian State Duma ratifies agreement extending Russia's lease on naval base in Ukraine
12:1427/04/2010
The Russian State Duma has ratified an agreement extending Russia's lease on a naval base in Crimea for 25 years after the current deal expires in 2017.
A total of 410 deputies voted for the ratification.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian parliament also ratified the deal with 236 deputies voted for the ratification with a minimum of 226 needed to pass the bill.
The deal, signed by the Russian and Ukrainian presidents on April 21, extends the lease on a Russian base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017, and may be further extended by another five years. In return, Ukraine will receive a 30% discount on Russian natural gas.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Russia Today: Putin in Ukraine to seal the deal on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea
26 April, 2010, 23:05
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Ukraine on Monday evening to meet with the country’s President Viktor Yanukovich and Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov.
Following the of meeting, Prime Minister Putin announced that the subject of discussions was “full-scale” collaboration in the field of nuclear technology, ranging from fuel production to exporting energy.
"We are offering full-scale cooperation in our nuclear energy sectors,’ Putin stated after meeting with Yanukovich. “We propose to form a major holding that would include unification of nuclear power generation, unification of nuclear equipment construction and of the nuclear cycle."
Among other things, the politicians discussed possible projects in aircraft engineering and ship building.
The fate of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea was also high on the agenda.
“The only question was the price of the deal. The price we are now asked to pay is out of this world. I would be willing to eat Yanukovich and the prime minister for that sort of money. No military base in the world costs that much. Prices like that simply do not exist. If we look at what the contract would cost us over ten years, it amounts to forty to $40-45 billion,” Putin revealed.
“We could build several bases like that with this money. But, to us, this is not simply a question of money. It concerns our relations with Ukraine. Cooperation in the military sphere, undoubtedly, builds up trust between states. We can work in a trusting manner on economic issues, social issues and in politics. This is the real priority,” he concluded.
The major breakthrough was made when Ukraine agreed to extend the deployment of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol for 25 years, and in return, Russia promised to sell its gas at a 30 per cent discount.
Prime Minister Putin has called the deal “a unique case” and noted that the recent deals will “lay down foundations of Russian-Ukranian relations,” as in his view they are the evidence of “trust” and “supporting elbows” between Moscow and Kiev.
Since Viktor Yanukovich was recently elected as Ukraine’s President, co-operation between the two countries has intensified, said the Ukranian government press service, recalling that “the prime ministers will hold the fifth meeting for the past month.”
The Ukranian Prime Minister said that the restoration of trust between Russian and Ukraine is the major result of the recent Kharkov agreements.
However, the recent agreements, reached between the Presidents have yet to be ratified by the parliaments of either Russia or Ukraine.
On April 27, the document is scheduled for the ratification at Ukrane’s Supreme Rada and Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma.
However, its ratification in Ukraine is not a fait accompli, as there has been strong opposition in Ukraine to the agreements. Former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko and former President Viktor Yushchenko, who have recently united again – at least on this issue – strongly oppose the deal, calling it unconstitutional. They claim that the country’s constitution excludes the deployment of foreign military bases on its territory. However, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court has ruled the agreement legal, as this is not a new deployment, but an extension of an existing one.
During his recent Presidential campaign, Yushchenko made it clear that, if elected, the Russian Black Sea Fleet would have to leave the country’s territory in 2017. However, it is now up to the Rada to decide whether the Russian Navy will stay in Ukraine or not.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Putin told the media on Tuesday that he was surprised to see this form of response from Ukraine’s former leaders.
“It is a little bit unexpected to me because we discussed the matter with the previous government in previous years, and then no one was opposed to the extension of the Russian Black Sea fleet's presence," Putin stated.
Naftogas Ukraine has also expressed its concerns over the opposition’s criticism of the deal, but concluded in its statement that the countries’ leadership have “worked out the best possible scenario for the company’s financial improvement.”
At the same time, the country’s population is also divided in its opinion as to whether or not the Russian Fleet should stay in the country. On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators marched in front of the parliament building in Kiev, protesting a deal reached between the two Presidents earlier that week.
As local media reports, the opposition leader, Yulia Timoshenko, addressed the demonstrators, saying that the ratification of the agreement should be prevented at all costs, claiming that President Yanukovich is “selling out” Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the recent polls suggest that more than half (around 53 per cent) of Ukrainians support the newly-elected President Yanukovich, while only about 30 per cent don't and around 18 per cent are undecided on the issue.
This data was announced by the Public Opinion Foundation of Ukraine’s director-general, Oleksandr Bukhalov. Talking about the results of another survey, he noted that the majority of Ukranian citizens approve of European integration (almost 53 per cent), but, at the same time, support a union with Russia and Belarus (around 63 per cent) and oppose possible NATO entry (also around 63 per cent).
Olga Masalkova, RT
Earthtimes: Protests in Kiev as Ukraine parliament approves Russia fleet treaty
Posted : Tue, 27 Apr 2010 08:08:58 GMT By : dpa
Kiev - Thousands of Ukrainians demonstrated in the capital Kiev on Tuesday as parliament approved a controversial treaty approving the extension of a naval port lease to the Kremlin.
Ukraine's parliament ratified the treaty with 236 deputies out of the 450-seat house voting in favour.
Parliament speaker Volodymyr Litvyn sat beneath an umbrella protecting him from paper wads, eggs, and other objects including a smoke bomb, as he put to parliament the vote on the recent agreement with Moscow to allow Russia continued basing of warships and land forces currently stationed in Ukraine's Crimea pensinsula.
The treaty extends Russia's lease on a military wharf and shore installations in the Crimean port Sevastopol until 2042.
Chaos followed the vote in the parliament chamber, with pro-treaty parliamentarians using their jackets to breath through smoke, and physically preventing firemen from entering the chamber.
Thousands of demonstrators were meanwhile demonstrating outside the parliament building, both for and against the agreement.
Banners carried by anti-treaty marchers read, in part, "We will not allow war to be brought to Crimea," and "Down with traitor parliamentarians!"
A group of some 1,000 pro-treaty activists was across the street and trading insults with the treaty opponents.
Pro-treaty banners on display read, in part, "Russia and Ukraine are strategic partners!" and "We support President Yanukovych!"
Police presence was heavy and, in contrast to the scene within parliament, no violence on the streets near parliament was reported.
Dozens of parliamentarians loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych spent the night inside the legislature, according to organisers so as to prevent anti-treaty parliamentarians from sabotaging electronic voting equipment in the chamber.
Destruction of electronic voting equipment, and prevention of roll-call votes by use of sirens or physically preventing the parliament speaker from calling for a vote, are tactics routinely used by both sides in Ukraine's often-raucous legislature.
Yanukovych, a pro-Russia politician, signed last week in the east Ukrainian city Kharkiv the treaty with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev allowing Russia's Black Sea Fleet to remain based in the Ukrainian port Sevastpol until 2042.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in remarks to reporters shortly after his arrival in Kiev late Monday evening said he was "surprised" by some Ukrainians' outspoken opposition to the naval treaty.
Moscow will cut the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine by some three billion dollars a year, and will bring major investment into Ukrainian industry, if the Black Sea Fleet treaty is approved, he said.
"Russia is ready for major cooperation with Ukraine," he said, according to Interfax.
Copyright DPA
RBC: Mass rally against the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet is held in Kyiv
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
In Kiev demonstrations against the signing of a treaty on the Black Sea Fleet are gaining momentum. To date, near the building of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine have gathered more than 1 thousand protesters, RBC-Ukraine. Next to the building are several tents of Representatives of the Yulia Tymoshenko, as well as a stage set.
More about 5 thousand protesters heading towards Parliament on adjacent streets. Along the perimeter of the parliament building standing tents with symbols of the ruling Party of Regions.
Recall, the State Duma of RF Federal Assembly and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine today, April 27, plan to simultaneously consider ratifying the agreement on the extension of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) of Russia on the Ukrainian territory for 25 years.
However, Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn doubts about the possibility of ratifying the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet because of opposition protests. On the eve of parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense Council failed to adopt a consolidated decision on the ratification of the agreement signed in Kharkov, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Dmitri Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovich, April 21, 2010.
Under the agreement, stay the Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory extended for 25 years with right of renewal for another five years unless one of the parties so desired.
We note, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at a meeting with President of Ukraine on April 27 reported that the Yulia Tymoshenko did not oppose the extension of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
The Prime Minister emphasized that for him "somewhat unexpected" tense debate in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet. According to him, when discussing the extension of the lease term base of the fleet in Sevastopol, it was only about price.
"I understand that it is a matter of domestic policy, but nobody, including Julia, did not object - in conversations with me, anyway - to discuss an extension of stay of the Russian navy," - said Putin.
The Russian prime minister added that the price that Russia "rolled out" Ukraine for the extension of the host Black Sea Fleet in Crimea for 25 years, "limit". "I would eat for the money your president. If we calculate the 10 years of such a contract a few such bases can be built", - Putin said.
The Prime Minister noted that cooperation with Ukraine in the military certainly raises the level of trust makes it possible to work more closely in the economy and social sphere. In addition, stressed the Prime Minister, if the Black Sea Fleet remain in Sevastopol, it would mean that Russia will load capacity of Ukrainian shipyards.
27 April 2010.
Russia Today: Brawl, smoke bombs fail to stop Ukrainian MPs
27 April, 2010, 11:55
Ukraine’s parliament has ratified a new naval base agreement with Russia despite the opposition’s resistance. The vote was mired with a fistfight, smoke bombs and hooliganism.
The document has been approved with 236 votes. It extends the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s stay at its base in Crimea until 2042 in exchange for a considerable gas price discount.
The opposition believes that the agreement undermines Ukraine’s national security and wanted the document to be denounced at any cost. At the session some deputies threw eggs at Speaker Vladimir Litvin, but he was saved from having his suit ruined by fellow MPs with umbrellas.
There were also reports of smoke bombs used in the parliament and a fistfight. Also, some of the slots for deputy ID cards used to cast votes have been blocked.
Meanwhile, thousands of protesters and supporters of the agreement have gathered outside of the parliament building. Some tried to enter, but have been stopped by a police cordon.
Ukraine parliament fight, smoke bomb thrown: AFP
April 27, 2010 - 5:49PM
Fighting on Tuesday broke out and smoke bombs were thrown during a session in Ukraine's parliament over a deal with Russia extending the lease of a key naval base, an AFP correspondent reported.
It has also been reported that thousands of people have protested outside the Ukrainean parliament building over a Russia fleet accord.
Scuffles inside the building broke out after eggs were thrown at the speaker, Volodymr Lytvyn, who then took cover behind two black umbrellas.
BBC: Smoke fills Ukrainian parliament
A smoke bomb has been thrown in the Ukrainian parliament amid protests over Kiev's extension of the lease on a Russian naval base in Ukraine.
Fighting had broke out after the speaker was pelted with eggs. Thousands of protesters were reportedly gathered outside the building.
Kiev has prolonged the lease on the Sevastopol base by 25 years in return for cheaper supplies of Russian gas.
Russian PM Vladimir Putin has been in Kiev amid improving ties.
The Ukrainian parliament was debating the ratification of the fleet lease extension on Tuesday when the eggs were thrown at the speaker.
He was then shielded by two aides holding black umbrellas as the debate continued.
Deputies were seen throwing punches and covering their faces with handkerchiefs to protect themselves from the smoke.
AP: Ukraine ratitifes Russian naval lease
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 27, 2010; 4:03 AM
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's parliament has voted to extend Russia's lease of a Crimean naval port for the Black Sea Fleet in a chaotic session during which eggs and smoke bombs were thrown.
The measure is also up for ratification in the Russian parliament, where a far more orderly session is under way Tuesday.
The countries' presidents agreed last week to extend the Russian navy's use of the Sevastopol port for another 25 years after the old lease expires in 2017.
The deal is the most concrete sign of Russia's renewed influence in Ukraine since Viktor Yanukovych became president in February.
Yanukovych replaced Viktor Yushchenko, who adamantly pushed to move Ukraine out of Moscow's shadow and integrate more closely with Western Europe.
RBC: Rada ratified the agreement on the Black Sea Fleet
The Ukrainian parliament ratified the agreement on an extension of stay in the Crimea, Black Sea Fleet. "For" 236 deputies voted for the necessary 226 votes.
Self meeting of Parliament was accompanied by numerous scandals and clashes.
Thus, opposition MPs assailed the Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn eggs. Two guards opened the speaker before him umbrellas to protect against the "egg-bombing". But some "shells" still caught up with his victim. The third guard brought Vladimir Litvin handkerchief to clean clothes.
In addition, there was scuffle between deputies and the hall someone stuffing smoke pot.
Two opposition sector in the parliament were covered with Ukrainian flags length of several tens of meters. Representatives of the Regions Party blocked the rostrum in advance to avoid her deputies from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine faction - People's Self-Defense.
27 April 2010.
Prime-Tass: Yulia Tymoshenko promises to denounce the agreement with Russia to extend Black Sea Fleet of Russia in the Crimea
KIEV, April 27. Itar-Tass. Ex-Premier of Ukraine, leader opppozitsii Yulia Tymoshenko promises to denounce the agreement with Russia to extend Black Sea Fleet of Russia in the Crimea. "This agreement parliament ratified the treacherous path. We will cancel it as soon as get back into power", - said Tymoshenko to journalists today.
However, she stressed that he always denied the possibility of prolonging the term home of the Russian fleet on Ukrainian territory, ITAR-TASS. "Today's decision of the Verkhovna Rada of shame, as the agreement itself. This surrender of national interests", - added Tymoshenko.
27.04.2010 12:01
Itar-Tass: 15,000 people expected to gather for rally in front of Ukraine Rada
27.04.2010, 11.08
KIEV, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - Up to 15,000 people are expected to come on Tuesday for a rally of supporters and opponents of ratification by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada the agreement on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea, Itar-Tass learnt on Tuesday at the Kiev police department.
The Party of Regions plans to invite 5,000 people, while the opposition – 10,000. These data are already being partially confirmed. A total of 3,000 people are already in front of the parliament building, while another column is approaching the building from the River Terminal. The first clashes between protesters and police were already recorded. Law enforcers are trying to stop them at approaches to the parliament where the place is already crowded.
The parliament building is encircled by dozens of blue tents with the emblem of the Party of Regions, put up close to one another. The “tent settlement” of the Yulia Timoshenko bloc and other opposition parties is located close by, in the Mariinsky Park. Reinforced police squads and commandoes are stationed near the parliament.
A large group of deputies from the Party of Regions remained from Monday inside the session hall. One of them told Itar-Tass by phone that deputies guard not only the rostrum, but also the voting control system and the power control board to prevent switching off electricity at the session hall.
Opposition leaders do not conceal that they hope on Tuesday for active backing from the country’s western regions. A total of 40 buses which brought 2,000 members of opposition parties and deputies of local bodies of self-government, brought to Kiev from Lvov alone.
Viktor Yushchenko and Timoshenko called on their sympathisers to head off ratification of the Kharkov agreement on prolonging the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol till 2042.
Russia Today: Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to remain in Sevastopol
27 April, 2010, 09:35
Parliaments in Moscow and Kiev are set to ratify an extension of the lease on the naval base in Ukraine's port city of Sevastopol. If finalized, the deal will allow Russia’s Black Sea Fleet to stay until 2042.
Meanwhile Ukrainian opposition lawmakers have tried to block the deal to extend the lease of the naval base saying it betrays the country's national interests, a position that Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has found surprising.
“I can see that quite a heated debate in the Rada (Ukrainian parliament) on the Russian fleet is coming up. I find it somewhat surprising, to be honest. Just recently I discussed the possibility of prolonging the Black Sea Fleet’s stay in the Crimea with the previous administration. At that time, and during negotiations before that, no one seemed to mind,” shared the Russian PM.
“The only question was the price of the deal. The price we are now asked to pay is out of this world. I would be willing to eat Yanukovich and the prime minister for that sort of money. No military base in the world costs that much. Prices like that simply do not exist. If we look at what the contract would cost us over ten years, it amounts to forty to $40-45 billion,” Putin revealed.
“We could build several bases like that with this money. But, to us, this is not simply a question of money. It concerns our relations with Ukraine. Cooperation in the military sphere, undoubtedly, builds up trust between states. We can work in a trusting manner on economic issues, social issues and in politics. This is the real priority,” he concluded.
The history of Sevastopol is intertwined with the port city’s huge naval tradition. It is home to part of the Russian naval fleet and has been since the city’s foundation nearly 300 years ago. However, after the break-up of the Soviet Union the Navy found itself in troubled waters. Sevastopol is on Ukrainian territory, which means the clock has been ticking on the Russian fleet's deployment there, which was due to end in 2017.
However, last week’s agreement between Moscow and Kiev extends the fleet’s stay by a further 25 years, to 2042.
Many in the city have the Navy running through their veins, so the new scenario has been widely welcomed by the locals.
“This is Sevastopol. The only place for the Black Sea Fleet to be! It has always been here, and needs to stay put,” local resident and former sailor Vladimir told RT.
“Everyone here views the fleet as part of our history, part of our lives – and we do not want it redeployed somewhere else. This hype around the issue is just attempts by some of our politicians to stir trouble between Moscow and Kiev.”
Local politicians are also happy because of the benefits the large naval presence brings.
The Chairman of Sevastopol city council Valery Saratov shared that the prolonged agreement of deployment is going to the benefit the region financially.
“As for all those who say it is somehow a threat to Ukraine – that is nonsense. There are plenty of other countries with foreign fleets in their ports. Plus, this fleet is part of our history,” he said.
The Black Sea Fleet’s presence is huge, with around 50 vessels of all shapes and sizes and 25,000 personnel stationed in Sevastapol. Patrols, exercises and training sessions take place daily and while service personnel carried on with their tasks, for the thousands based there with their families, the uncertainty over their future was something all had to take on board. The agreement has brought relief for those who call this Ukrainian port home.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say it is great news that the fleet will remain here. I was born in Sevastopol, and for me, to imagine it without the fleet is impossible. It is a symbol, for marines and civilians alike, of our shared history – and this is its rightful home,” stated Commander Ruslan Safiullin.
Being soldiers first and foremost, Russian marines stationed in Sevastopol say that they will go wherever their country sends them, but until then, their home will remain as it has been for the past 300 years.
Bloomberg: Ukraine’s Opposition Seeks to Block Russian Lease Ratification
April 27, 2010, 12:37 AM EDT
By Daryna Krasnolutska and Kateryna Choursina
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s opposition parties will today try to block attempts by President Viktor Yanukovych’s supporters in parliament to ratify an extension of the lease for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in exchange for gas price cuts.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on April 21 to lower natural gas prices for Ukraine by 30 percent. In return, Yanukovych said Ukraine will allow Russia to keep its Black Sea Fleet at the port of Sevastopol until 2042, with a possible five-year extension. The fleet is currently subject to a lease that expires in 2017. Ukraine will also increase the amount of gas imports.
The agreement “violates Ukraine’s national interests, poses a threat for national interests and breaches territorial integrity,” said Ivan Kyrylenko, head of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s parliamentary group, on television yesterday. The opposition also registered a bill on the unacceptability of the accord.
The party of former President Viktor Yushchenko, who sought membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, urged citizens to come to the parliament building to protest, according to a statement on its Web site.
“In exchange for cheap gas, which leaves the economy uncompetitive, they put at risk the most sacred thing for every nation: its independence,” Yushchenko said on April 22. “One should use straw as fuel but one should stay independent.”
The pro-Yanukovych majority in the parliament has the backing of 240 lawmakers in the 450-seat legislature.
--Editors: Chris Kirkham
To contact the reporters on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@; Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at dkrasnolutsk@.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@. Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@
RIA: Ukrainian opposition prepares to block naval base deal ratification
10:2427/04/2010
The Ukrainian opposition is threatening to disrupt the Ukrainian parliament's ratification on Tuesday of a controversial deal to extend Russia's lease of a naval base in Ukraine.
The deal, signed by the Russian and Ukrainian presidents on April 21, extends the lease on a Russian base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017, and may be further extended by another five years. In return, Ukraine will receive a 30% discount on Russian natural gas.
The Russian and Ukrainian parliaments plan to start discussions on ratifying the agreement simultaneously at 11.00 Moscow time [07:00 GMT].
Around 1,000 supporters of the Party of Regions and the opposition have gathered near Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Rada, and more are expected.
The Ukrainian opposition earlier said any prolongation of Russian military presence in the country would require amendments to the Constitution and a national referendum. But the country's constitutional court has ruled that the agreement is in line with the Constitution.
Oleg Lyashko, a lawmaker of the opposition Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, said he did not exclude "the use of force," and other opposition members vowed to block access to the speaking rostrum.
The Ukrainian parliament committee for international affairs on Monday recommended the Supreme Rada against ratifying the deal. Of the 14 committee members, 10 were present at the session and eight voted against the deal.
Ukrainian lawmakers have also submitted to parliament a proposal to establish a temporary parliamentary commission to investigate whether or not President Viktor Yanukovych should be impeached for signing an unconstitutional agreement.
A number of environmental organizations said the Russian naval base poses an environmental threat to the region, and demanded that ratification be suspended, Ukraine's UNIAN news agency said.
Volodymyr Lytvyn, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Rada, called on the opposition for constructive dialogue.
The ruling coalition in the Ukrainian parliament has enough lawmakers to secure a simple majority of 226 votes in the 450-seat parliament, required to adopt the agreement.
All factions in the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, have declared their unilateral support for the document. Speaker of the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, Boris Gryzlov indicated he had no doubts it will be ratified and expressed hope that the Ukrainian parliament would do the same.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Financial Times: Russia offers Kiev nuclear power deal
By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev
Published: April 27 2010 00:14 | Last updated: April 27 2010 00:14
Russia’s prime minister made what he described as a “large-scale offer” late on Monday to Ukraine, urging both countries to merge their vast nuclear power generation businesses, and hinting that together they could benefit from joint electricity exports to foreign markets.
Stopping over in Kiev late on Monday after a visit to Italy, the offer made by Vladimir Putin was the latest sign of Moscow’s efforts to bring the former Soviet republic of Ukraine closer under its wing.
“We have just formulated an offer which we would like to discuss,” Mr Putin said addressing Viktor Yanukovich, Kiev’s newly elected pro-Moscow president. “At issue is large scale co-operation between our nuclear sectors. We are offering to establish a major holding, which would unite our generation, nuclear engineering and nuclear fuel cycles.”
“If Ukrainian specialists find this to be too revolutionary, then we could act in phases,” Mr Putin added.
The unexpected offer would produce a European nuclear giant based on the vast nuclear power industries inherited by both nations from the USSR. Ironically, it was made on the eve of the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The world’s worst nuclear accident occurred in Soviet times at a plant just north of Ukraine’s capital, when Moscow was Kiev’s master.
The controversial offer also came on the eve a testy political day in Kiev and is certain to be viewed by many domestic politicians as the most recent attempt by Moscow to strengthen its influence over Ukraine. Both countries’ lawmakers are on Tuesday to hold a ratification vote on a divisive bilateral agreement on power supplies and military links brokered last week by Mr Yanukovich and Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart.
If ratified by the legislatures of both nations, the agreement would prolong the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet at a Ukrainian port in return for a 30 per cent discount on natural gas prices charged to Ukraine.
Economists say the deal could help Ukraine crawl out of a deep recession. But Ukrainian opposition groups, led by ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko, pledged on Monday to block ratification at all cost. They describe the deal as a threat to the nation’s “independence” and “sovereignty”. Protests are planned for Tuesday to bloc ratification.
Speaking late on Monday, Mr Putin tried to reel Ukraine’s leaders into these and other agreements tailored at integrating both nations’ economies, including a merger of their promising aviation industries.
Referring to the nuclear power deal, Mr Putin said: “We have big plans to double [nuclear] generation in the next 10 years. We could together work on other markets.”
He also expressed surprise that Ms Tymoshenko was so adamantly blocking the Black Sea Fleet extension. In an attempt to undercutting her opposition to the agreement, he said that she had entertained the idea while serving as premier last year, before losing a February presidential run-off to Mr Yanukovich.
Bloomberg: Russia Proposes Merging Nuclear Energy With Ukraine (Update1)
By Anna Shiryaevskaya
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed creating a nuclear power holding company as the two former Soviet republics rebuild ties.
“We have made massive proposals, referring to generation, nuclear power engineering, and nuclear fuel,” Putin told reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev today. Any cooperation may be phased, Putin said after the surprise visit to Kiev.
Russia and Ukraine have reached agreements on natural gas subsidies and a navy base since Yanukovych’s election in February on a platform of improving ties between the neighboring states. Putin also met yesterday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Azarov, to discuss industrial cooperation.
Ukraine currently operates four nuclear power plants with 15 reactors, according to the World Nuclear Association database. It was the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident when reactor suffered a meltdown at the Chernobyl facility in April 1986, causing radiation to leak.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Yanukovych met in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on April 21. Russia agreed to cut the price of natural gas for Ukraine by as much as 30 percent, while, in exchange, Ukraine agreed to allow Russia to keep its Black Sea fleet at the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol until 2042, with a possible five-year extension. The fleet is currently subject to a lease that expires in 2017.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at ashiryaevska@
Last Updated: April 27, 2010 00:04 EDT
RIA: Russia still to consider modernization of Ukraine gas transportation system - Putin
03:2027/04/2010
Russia and Ukraine have not yet discussed the modernization of the Ukrainian gas transportation system or Russian investment, the Russian prime minister said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Sunday that Ukraine's gas transportation system will provide some $6 billion in annual revenues if Kiev manages to persuade Russia and the European Union to invest in the modernization of Ukraine's pipelines.
"We have not yet discussed possibilities for the modernization of the Ukrainian gas transportation system," Vladimir Putin, who is currently in Ukraine for an official visit, said.
The Russian prime minister said that Russia's investments in the modernization of the system depended directly on the political risks in the country.
"The issue of investing into additional infrastructure must take into account the political risks of gas transit countries," he said.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Azarov said the issue of the system's modernization was made possible by a 30% discount for Russian natural gas agreed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych during a meeting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov last Wednesday.
The agreement reached in Kharkov stipulates that Russia will grant Ukraine a 30% discount on the gas price of $330 per 1,000 cu m over the next ten years.
In exchange, Ukraine has agreed to extend the term of the Russian Black Sea Fleet presence in the Ukrainian Crimea for 25 more years.
Azarov also said a $40-billion investment which Ukraine has secured as a result of the Kharkov agreements, exceeded total investment in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian business daily Vedemosti has counted that the discount provided to Ukraine would cost Russia $40 billion over the next ten years. However, some of the losses for the Russian budget will be compensated after 2017 when accrued discounts will be counted towards Russia's payments for the lease of the Black Sea Fleet base.
KIEV, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: Russia proposes Ukraine forming united nuclear energy holding - PM Putin
01:2527/04/2010
Russia forming a united nuclear energy holding with Ukraine that will allow Ukrainian nuclear companies to enter the Russian market and create possibilities for joint work in third countries, the Russian premier said.
"We are offering full-scale cooperation in our nuclear energy sectors. We propose the formation of a major holding that would include unification of nuclear power generation, unification of nuclear equipment construction and of the nuclear cycle," Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukoovych.
Yanukovych said Ukraine is interested in Russia's proposals concerning cooperation in the nuclear energy sector, upgrading nuclear power stations and the unification of nuclear power generation.
"This is a very interesting proposal to form an enterprise for production of nuclear fuel not only for our [Ukrainian and Russian] nuclear power stations, but for third countries as well," Yanukovych told Putin.
"We might also cooperate in upgrading nuclear power stations, while the unification of nuclear power generation is an issue that was discussed in general terms for future implementation," he added.
Vladimir Putin arrived for an official visit in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, late on Monday night.
Yanukovych, who was inaugurated as president in February, vowed during his campaign to improve relations with Russia and renegotiate the January 2009 deal on gas supplies, which increased the price, straining Ukraine's already troubled finances.
KIEV, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
RIA: Russia wants to offer Ukraine cooperation in leading economic sector - Putin
00:5727/04/2010
Russia is ready to offer Ukraine large-scale proposals regarding cooperation in one of the leading economic sectors, the Russian prime minister said.
"We are ready to offer some large-scale proposals on cooperation in one of the leading sectors," Vladimir Putin, who arrived for an official visit in Ukraine late on Monday night, said at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Azarov.
The Russian premier did not specify which sector he was referring to but added that the proposals would be discussed on Tuesday with Azarov and Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as well as during a session of the intergovernmental commission later in the week.
Azarov said Russia and Ukraine "still have a number of unresolved issues," however, the most important had already been settled.
Yanukovych, who was inaugurated as president in February, vowed during his campaign to improve relations with Russia and renegotiate the January 2009 deal on gas supplies, which increased the price, straining Ukraine's already troubled finances.
Last Wednesday Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Yanukovych signed an agreement to extend the lease on a Russian naval base in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017, which may be further extended by another five years.
Ratification of the treaty is scheduled to take place on Tuesday during a plenary session of the Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, and a similar session in the Ukrainian parliament.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Official Wire: Kiev Lobbies For Gas Pipeline Upgrades
|Published on April 27, 2010 Comments (Be the first) |
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|by NewsDesk - iWireNews ™ |
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|(iWireNews ™ and OfficialWire) |
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|KIEV, UKRAINE |
Kiev could generate $6 billion per year in revenue for gas transits if Russian and the European Union back infrastructure upgrades, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said his country could start making money if Kiev were able to persuade Russia and the European Union to fund upgrades to its gas transit network, Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Kiev pressed Moscow for revisions to a 2009 gas deal that placed stiff penalties and payment obligations on Ukraine. Both sides last week agreed to a revised deal for a 30-percent discount for Russian natural gas in exchange for an extended lease on a Russian naval base in the Crimea.
Azarov said the revised gas deal opens the door for further cooperation in the Ukrainian energy sector.
"For example, gas transit -- if we manage to persuade the European Union and Russia to invest in the modernization of our gas transportation system, then we will have about $6 billion in annual revenues just from the gas transportation system," he told Ukraine's ICTV news station.
Azarov said in early April that working with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was vital to modernizing the gas transit network.
"Our task is to modernize the (gas transportation) system so that our pipeline becomes the most profitable and efficient for pumping gas to Europe," he said.
Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine transport about 80 percent of the Russian gas bound for Europe.
RIA: Russia's Cosmos-3M space carrier orbits military satellite
07:3527/04/2010
A Russian carrier rocket orbited a military satellite on Tuesday at 6:08 Moscow time (2:08 GMT), a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said.
The Cosmos-3M rocket lifted off earlier on Tuesday from the Plesetsk space center in northwest Russia.
The military satellite is a new addition to a Russian network of about 60-70 military reconnaissance satellites.
The Cosmos-3M is a liquid-fueled two-stage rocket, first launched in 1967, with over 410 successful launches to date. The booster has been designed to lift a payload of up to 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) into low, medium, and high orbits.
The previous launch of Cosmos-3M with one military and one civilian satellites was conducted on July 21, 2009.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Itar-Tass: ”Cosmos-3M” rocket carrier to put military satellite in orbit
27.04.2010, 07.28
MOSCOW, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - The “Cosmos–3M” rocket carrier with a military satellite onboard took off from Plesetsk cosmodrome on Tuesday. The satellite will be put in orbit in the interests of the Russian Defence Ministry.
RUVR: Progress freighterto be dumped into the Pacific
Apr 27, 2010 09:23 Moscow Time
Russia’s unmanned Progress cargo spacecraft, which undocked from the International Space Station on April 22, will be dumped into the Pacific away from regular shipping lanes. In the past five days the freighter has been used as a technical space platform as part of a scientific experiment to study the effect spaceships engines have on the ionosphere.
News.az: Turkey to raise Karabakh issue with Russian president
Tue 27 April 2010 | 07:19 GMT
Nagorno-Karabakh will be one of the main issues on the agenda of the Russian president's visit to Ankara, the Turkish foreign minister has said.
'Dmitry Medvedev is expected to visit in the near future. The problem with the Azerbaijani territories will be one of the main issues. We consider that topic as our own and always keep it on the agenda. From now on, Turkey and Azerbaijan will coordinate their steps. No development can affect the relationship between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Everybody should bear this in mind,' Davutoglu said.
'Relations between Armenia and Turkey will normalize. We do want it,' the minister said, referring to rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey. He expressed hope that the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh would also be resolved.
Davutoglu said that the 'Turks and Armenians have co-existed for centuries. Wherever in the world they meet, they should learn to share not only each other's pain, but also each other's history'.
'They have lived together and will do so in the future,' he said, adding that Turkey did not want the status quo to be preserved in the Caucasus.
'We are interested in whatever happens in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan. Any approach by Russia and Iran towards the Caucasus is directly related to us. For that reason we do not want this status quo in the Caucasus. The status quo in the Caucasus is beneficial neither for Turkey, nor for Armenia, nor for any other country,' Davutoglu said.
'Turkey-Armenia relations will become normalized,' he said. 'In parallel, the occupation of Azerbaijani land will end and the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be resolved. The border between Azerbaijan and Armenia will open. It means a corridor from Erzurum (a province in the east of Turkey) will open throughout Central Asia,' he said.
Anatolia
News.am: PACE President to visit Armenia, Russia and Georgia
09:44 / 04/27/2010
PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu plans to discuss the activities of sub-commission on Nagorno-Karabakh with leaders of Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations. The meeting will be held within the framework of PACE spring session, which started on April 26, Cavusoglu stated at a press-conference. “When members of the subcommittee are decided, I will lead it as a president,” he said.
In June PACE President intends to visit Armenia, Russia and Georgia. “I plan high-level meetings with presidents, parliament speakers and representatives of leading political parties and opposition, as well as non-governmental organizations,” he said. He expressed readiness to support the establishment of peace in the region, where currently there are unresolved conflicts.
Earlier, Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Moldova and Azerbaijan.
L.A.
26.04.10 18:21
| |Turkmenistan.ru: Turkmenistan and St. Petersburg prepare agreement on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation |
| | |
The Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg received a draft agreement on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation between the governments of St. Petersburg and Turkmenistan. This was reported by BaltInfo with reference to the author of the document, plenipotentiary representative of the Legislative Assembly on International Relations Vatanyar Yagya. The agreement will be concluded for five years with automatic prolongation for the next five years.
According to the document, the parties undertake to encourage the participation of construction companies from St. Petersburg in the implementation of projects for construction of roads and housing, creation of engineering infrastructure in Turkmenistan. The governments of St. Petersburg and the Central Asian republic promised to promote the implementation of joint investment projects on construction of sports and recreation facilities as well as resort-hotel facilities in St. Petersburg and Turkmenistan. The sides also plan to establish trading houses of Saint-Petersburg in Ashgabat and of Turkmenistan in Saint Petersburg.
The sides also promised to promote joint researches, including field studies and exchange of materials of mutual scientific interest. The governments undertake to promote direct partnership relations in education between schools, assist in organizing training and study courses for citizens of Turkmenistan in the universities of St. Petersburg.
The sides undertake to facilitate contacts between organizations working in the field of culture and art, and to facilitate visits by art groups and artists. In addition, the governments promised to promote the development of mutually beneficial tourism activities and to encourage cooperation between sports organizations, associations, federations, teams and coaches.
"This is one of the few agreements the administration of St. Petersburg signed with the government of a foreign state. Turkmenistan is a very important country for Russia as it has great energy potential and access to the Caspian Sea. This document will be the legal basis for further agreements with business and governmental structures of Turkmenistan," Yagya said.
KYRGYZSTAN
Itar-Tass: Kyrgyz ex-president charged with organizing mass killings
27.04.2010, 11.06
BISHKEK, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - Kyrgyzstan’s ex-president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was charged in absentia with organizing mass killings and abuse of power, the interim coordinator for the judicial system and law enforcement agencies, Azimbek Beknazarov, on Tuesday.
He also confirmed that on Monday the interim government approved a decree depriving Bakiyev of immunity.
“We will seek extradition of Bakiyev to Bishkek and bringing him to criminal responsibility. Kyrgyzstan’s law enforcement agencies have already been instructed to request their Belarussian counterparts for Bakiyev’s extradition,” Beknazarov said.
He recalled that Belarus and Kyrgyzstan signed the Minsk convention on extradition of criminals. Pursuant to this convention Bakiyev should be extradited.
Itar-Tass: Rare animals found at Bakiyev family residence
27.04.2010, 11.33
BISHKEK, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - A zoo containing exotic for Kyrgyzstan birds and animals has been found at the Bakiyev family residence in the Jalal-Abad region. There were also birds on the endangered-species red list in that family zoo, the press service of the Kyrgyz General Prosecutor’s Office told Tass on Tuesday.
The sources said the house in the settlement of Yntymak had been searched within the framework of criminal cases launched against close relatives and allies of the former president.
Two bear cubs, an African ostrich, two one-year-old snow leopards, three roes, a golden eagle and two falcons, as well as four African peacocks, Indian ducks, Austrian white and black swans were found in the family zoo. Prosecutors are taking measures to evacuate those animals and birds to preserve them, the sources said.
Meanwhile, there are no public zoos in Kyrgyzstan. Ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev himself fled the country after the uprising of April 6-8, and is now in Belarus.
27 April 2010, 12:15
Interfax: Kyrgyz rights activists accuse Bakiyev of polygamy
Bishkek, April 27, Interfax - Human rights activists are asking Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies to open a criminal case against former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whom they accuse of polygamy.
Kalicha Umuraliyeva, leader of the public foundation Nashe Pravo, told a briefing on Tuesday that "our organization has asked law enforcement agencies to open a criminal case against the former president for polygamy.
"The former president has breached Article 153 of the Kyrgyz Criminal Code by being married to several women at the same time," she said.
"Investigators must now determine how many unofficial wives Bakiyev had," she said.
According to the local media, Bakiyev had two other wives besides his official wife Tatyana.
Several years ago, Bakiyev initiated a bill decriminalizing polygamy. However, the parliament voted against these changes to the Kyrgyz Criminal Code.
RIA: Ex Kyrgyz interior minister arrested on charges of power abuse
08:5027/04/2010
A Kyrgyz court on Monday authorized the arrest of former interior minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev on charges of power abuse, 24.kg news agency reported an interim deputy minister as saying.
Kongantiyev was flown to Manas airport near Bishkek on Monday after being detained in Moscow in a joint Kyrgyz-Russian operation.
Kongantiyev was apparently captured by protesters as he tried to appease a mass rally in the Kyrgyz city of Talas on April 6. He was later shown alive but beaten up in a television report. His subsequent location was unknown, with some media reporting that the ex-minister fled to Kazakhstan.
"The ex-minister is not accused of the murder of two or more people because, for obvious reasons, he was unable to give orders when peaceful protesters began to be shot at on the capital's central Ala-Too square," Azimbek Beknazarov said.
Large-scale anti-government protests swept Kyrgyzstan after the protests in Talas, claiming the lives of at least 80 people and leading to the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who has since taken refuge in Belarus.
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
RUVR: Kyrgyz interim government dismisses Bakiyev as president
|Apr 27, 2010 09:40 Moscow Time |
Kyrgyzstan’s interim government has issued a decree to dismiss Kurmanbek Bakiyev as national president and strip him of presidential immunity. An investigation has been launched into his involvement in Bishkek on April 7th, when more than 80 people died in clashes between opposition supporters and police, acting on orders from the authorities. The interim government claims that it was Bakiyev, who ordered the use of live ammunition to break up the crowd that had gathered in front of the government building. Kyrgyzstan may demand that Belarus should extradite the former Kyrgyz president for trial.
24.kg: Kyrgyzstan affect upon international security index
27/04-2010 09:22, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”
International security index over the last week increased slightly and made up the 2901st point, informs Kommersant portal.
According to the publication, the small growth is connected with resumption of flight connection in the North Atlantic. Positive influence on the regional security was given by achievement of new understandings between Russia and Ukraine on gas supply and extension of stay of Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea.
“Negative factor was the growth of tension in Kyrgyzstan: in the beginning of the week the situation in outskirts of Bishkek got beyond control of the interim government, unrest resumed, and Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Belarus refused to admit his resignation”, the message says.
As was noted, the international security index is affected by “hot situation in Thailand, and attempt of state overthrow in Madagascar”, as well as suspension in Armenia of the procedure of ratification of protocols on establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey, high level of military and terroristic threat in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Near East.
24.kg: Interim government borrows diesel fuel from Gazprom Neft Asia
27/04-2010 07:56, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Tolgonai OSMONGAZIEVA
In Kyrgyzstan the interim government borrowed from Gazprom Neft Asia Company 3,500 cubic meters of diesel fuel for farmers. Employee of the agricultural sector and natural management department of the interim government Askar Mombekov informed the news agency 24.kg.
According to him, Kazakhstan has not allocated the promised diesel fuel as humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan.
“The interim government entered into a contract with Gazprom Neft Asia, according to which it should return fuel to the oil company by 1 June”, says Askar Mombekov. “Now we started distributing talons in regions. Batken and Talas oblasts received talons for 100 cubic meters of diesel fuel. Zhalal-Abad and Osh oblasts received 10 cubic meters each, Naryn – 91 cubic meters, Issyk-Kul – 132 cubic meters.
Moscow Times: First-Ever Jury Trial for Chechnya
27 April 2010
By Alexandra Odynova
Trial by jury became a nationwide possibility on Monday as the first such case in the history of Chechnya began.
The Chechen Supreme Court selected 12 jurors and two extras for the case of Zelimkhan Magomadov, a suspected militant who is accused of trying to kill the physically challenged Lechi Zukharayev, a former law enforcement officer working as a taxi driver, in 2000, RIA-Novosti reported Monday.
Both men were living in the village of Goity in the Urus-Martan region of central Chechnya.
"Despite claims that it is impossible to find people who are unbiased and not related to the defendants, we succeeded," presiding judge German Alexandrov said, Gazeta.ru reported.
The clannish structure of Chechen society has been cited as a concern for jury trials in the North Caucasus.
At least 6,000 inhabitants of the republic are listed as potential jury members, and 1,400 more qualify as alternates.
Chechnya officially introduced jury trials, considered by human rights groups to be the most unbiased form of trial in Russia, on Jan. 1, becoming the last Russian region to do so.
In a controversial decision delivered earlier this month, the Constitutional Court banned trial by jury for a number of crimes, including terrorism, treason and mass unrest, citing the possible threat to jurors.
Expert Club: Another armed clash occurred in Dagestan
27/04/2010 10:30
Armed confrontation between government forces and rebels continues in Dagestan.
On April 26th police officers attempted to stop car "VAZ-2108" for inspection, but the driver disobeyed the policemen. This happened near the village of Mutsalaul of Khasavyurt district in Dagestan.
It is not uncommon that when asked to produce documents passengers open fire. The same happened this time. According to law enforcement agencies, as a result of shooting two "suspected militants" were killed and three policemen were wounded. Identities of the persons who were killed are being determined.
27.04.10 11:21
Interfax: Ingushetia and North Ossetia will look for missing people during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict
Magas. April 27. INTERFAX-SOUTH - Questions Search missing during the tragic events of autumn 1992 in the Prigorodny district of Vladikavkaz discussed during the meeting in Magas, Ingushetia president Yunus-Bek Evkurov and head of the Interregional Public Organization "Peacekeeping Mission behalf of General Lebed, Alexander millers.
This will be done jointly with the commission to find missing persons, which includes representatives of Ingushetia and North Ossetia, the press service of the President of Ingushetia, Interfax-South.
"We understand that for people who have lost loved ones 17 years ago, a great event and to find the remains of victims of those tragic events, as required by religion" - quoted Yu-B.Evkurova press service.
Defpro: Russian Reforms Mean Major Defense Modernization
17:22 GMT, April 26, 2010
NEWTOWN, Conn. | After years of mulling over various reform strategies, Russia is finally moving forward with plans to modernize both its armed forces and the nation’s defense industry.
In a Forecast International Russian Defense Market report, Eurasian defense analyst Rebecca Barrett points out that the long-term budget plan known as the SAP 2007-2015 "has evolved to simultaneously become a military modernization, employment, and defense industry stimulus plan." According to Barrett, "The plan is attracting a greater number of stakeholders and thus gaining the political momentum needed to ensure that defense spending continues to grow, even if such expenditures are not economically prudent."
In February 2010, President Dimitri Medvedev approved the new, highly anticipated military doctrine for the Russian Federation. The doctrine outlines the nation's strategic nuclear plan and highlights what the government considers to be real threats and challenges facing the nation. It also calls for the armed forces’ transformation into a more effective mobile force. Under the plan, the Russian military will be cut by some 200,000 personnel by 2012.
"The combination of Russia's desire to modernize its force structure and its budget constraints is forcing it to adopt a number of end-strength and budget reforms," said Barrett.
As a result, the second major aspect of the reform is the restructuring of the long-term planning portion of the Defense Ministry's budget. The aim here is to modernize the Kremlin's fiscal practices in line with the modernization of the nation's defense industry.
In this regard, improving Russia's defense industry has taken on great importance for the central government. Indeed, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have even used the modernization as a political tool to some extent, with Putin touting the effort as a jobs/industry stimulus plan.
Modernization plans have been plodding along slowly in recent years, as is evidenced in the SAP 2007-2015. However, now that President Medvedev has signed the new military doctrine, the efforts are finally coming together under one umbrella.
Reuters: Deadly New Russian Weapon Hides In Shipping Container
By REUTERS
Published: April 26, 2010
Filed at 2:11 p.m. ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian company is marketing a devastating new cruise missile system which can be hidden inside a shipping container, giving any merchant vessel the capability to wipe out an aircraft carrier.
Potential customers for the formidable Club-K system include Kremlin allies Iran and Venezuela, say defense experts. They worry that countries could pass on the satellite-guided missiles, which are very hard to detect, to terrorist groups.
"At a stroke, the Club-K gives a long-range precision strike capability to ordinary vehicles that can be moved to almost any place on earth without attracting attention," said Robert Hewson of Jane's Defense Weekly, who first disclosed its existence.
A promotional video for the Club-K on the website of Moscow-based makers Kontsern-Morinformsistema-Agat shows an imaginary tropical country facing a land, sea and air attack from a hostile neighbor.
It fights back by loading three shipping containers concealing Club-Ks onto a truck, a train and a ship, disperses them, and then launches a devastating strike on its enemy, destroying its warships, tanks and airfields.
"The idea that you can hide a missile system in a box and drive it around without anyone knowing is pretty new," said Hewson, who is editor of Jane's Air-Launched Weapons.
"Nobody's ever done that before."
Hewson estimated the cost of the Club-K system, which packs four ground or sea-launched cruise missiles into a standard 40-foot shipping container, at $10-20 million.
"Unless sales are very tightly controlled, there is a danger that it could end up in the wrong hands," he said.
The promotional video showed how an ordinary shipping container with the Club-K inside could be hidden among other containers on a train or a ship. When required, the roof lifts off and the four missiles stand upright ready to fire.
An official reached by telephone at makers Kontsern Morinformsistema-Agat declined to answer questions about the Club-K.
He said the firm had no spokesman and he needed time to study written questions before passing a request to the firm's management.
Russia is one of the world's top arms exporters, selling a record $8.5 billion of weapons last year to countries ranging from Syria and Venezuela to Algeria and China. Its order book is estimated to top $40 billion.
Mikhail Barabanov, a defense expert at Russia's Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), said that as far as he understood, the Club-K was still at the concept stage.
"Potential clients include anyone who likes the idea," he said. "It is known that the United Arab Emirates has shown interest in buying the Club."
Barabanov said the Club-K used proven missiles from Novator, an established Russian maker of weaponry including anti-submarine, surface-to-air and submarine-launched missiles.
One of the missiles on offer is a special anti-ship variant with a second stage which splits off after launch and accelerates to supersonic speeds of up to Mach 3.
"It's a carrier-killer," said Hewson of Jane's. "If you are hit by one or two of them, the kinetic impact is vast...it's horrendous."
Bne: Driving new roads - Russias first major PPP deal
bne
27 April 2010
Russias first major PPP project was officially signed yesterday, as the North-West Concession Company agreed with the Federal Road Agency on construction of a 43 km section of the Moscow - St Petersburg Expressway.
With construction set to start as early as this year, the first section of the motorway eventually planned to link Russias two major cities will run from the Moscow MKAD ring road 43 km to the north. According to a press release, the first section of the link - officially the 15th to 58 km stretch - will be complete in three years.
First put on the table in September 2007, the concession will see RUB 23 bn contributed by the state, with total project costs anticipated at RUB 60 - 70 bn. Picking up the rest of the tab will be North West Concession Company, which sees French construction giant Vinci link up with Russian transport and infrastructure group N-Trans.
In addition to the main contract, an annex was signed, with state development bank Vnesheconombank and Sberbank agreeing credit facilities to the private partner. In addition, RUB 10 bn in 20-year bonds will be issued on the project, with a variable return and guaranteed by the state. VEB chief Vladimir Dmitriyev announced yesterday that the bank will buy as much as 70% of the paper, according to The Mosocw Times.
This financing mix illustrates just how welcome the news is for the Russian authorities, who are scouting hard for sources of private investment into the countrys ailing soviet-era infrastructure. Three years ago, a whopping $1 tn was earmarked for this - most of it set to update the transport sector. However, the crisis soon put an end to that, but the issue still remains vital. Its no coincidence that shipping companies and ports are at the forefront of the governments new privatisation drive. At the same time, much has been made of Russias failure to build any new roads over the last handful of years.
Public-private partnership has been the aim for many planned highway projects for some years - other examples include the Western High Speed Diameter in St Petersburg - and much work has been done behind the scenes to sculpt legislation to pave the way. Of course the last couple of years put many of these projects on the back burner, so the signing is a significant step in revitalising Russias road building program.
The deal sees the private side of the project take on a familiar shape for the construction and development sectors in Russia: a large western partner importing expertise and cash linking up with a domestic company which knows how to negotiate the tricky local environment.
Russia Today: 27 April, 2010 in Russian Newspapers
Gazeta: Jurors tried their way to Chechnya
Grigory Tumanov
Chechnya began its first trial by jury. Finding jurors who are unbiased will be very difficult in the small republics of the North Caucasus, says Dzhabrail Abubakarov, a Grozny lawyer. The judge is satisfied with the jury because they “did not make noise, were all present, did not refuse, and all elected the foreman in good faith”.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: The priorities of modernization
Leonid Radzikhovsky, political scientist
The agreement with Ukraine is called “gas in exchange for naval fleet”.
Despite this picture’s favorable layout, the statement is incorrect.
In reality, the naval fleet agreement and the natural gas agreement are independent of one another, and one is not “payment” for the other.
Let us review the naval fleet agreement.
Nezavisimaya: Lukashenko uses CSTO membership to blackmail Russia
The Belarusian president may not come to Moscow on May 8
By Anton Khodasevich, Minsk
Aleksandr Lukashenko will decide today whether or not he will take part in the informal summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which is scheduled to take place in Moscow on May 8. While speaking with journalists at a polling station during the local municipal election, the president of Belarus formulated conditions under which his arrival would be possible.
Moscow Times: Today in Vedomosti
Issue 4380. Last Updated: 04/27/2010
2011 Budget in Trouble
By Olga Kuvshinova
This year, the government will spend almost all of the surplus budget that it can get. The balance of the treasury in 2011 is on the brink of disaster — there may be nearly half a trillion rubles too little.
Editorial: Luzhkov Still Popular Despite Genplan Controversy
Vedomosti
20 years ago, on April 26, 1990, the Moscow city council approved Yury Luzhkov as the city’s mayor. In June 1992, after the resignation of the previous mayor Gavriil Popov, Luzhkov concentrated executive power in his hands and firmly holds the capital’s control levers to this day.
RTS Index Tapped for Growth
By Gyuzel Gubeidullina
Before the crisis, investment banks were competing to see who could give a bigger outlook on the RTS index. It seems those days are returning. Already three investment banks say that at the end of the year the RTS index will reach 2,000 points.
Voice of Russia: Press review
Topic: Russian Press (33 documents)
Apr 27, 2010 11:16 Moscow Time
Most periodicals are focused on Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Norway. According to the Rosiyskaya Gazeta daily, Moscow and Oslo have lots of subjects to discuss, including controversial ones. One of these is the delimitation of the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean water areas. The question has been under discussion since 1970. The water area that’s still at issue has since shrunk to a mere 7,000 square kilometres in the southern part of the Barents Sea. Prior to his visit to Norway Dmitry Medvedev said that the problem of the continental shelf delimitation was “absolutely resolvable”. The second problem is Spitsbergen Island. Russia does not recognize the Norway-imposed 200-mile protection area around the island, while the agreement on provisional fishing rules expires on July 1st. The most important Moscow-Oslo joint project is the development of the Stockman gas-condensate field in the Barents Sea. The field is believed to be one of the world’s biggest, however, action on the project has not started, in violation of previously agreed deadlines.
Of late the Russian stock market has been visibly growing. The CEO of the Russian Commodity Exchange Roman Goriunov pointed out the sectors and securities that proved most income-generating, in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily. According to him, the securities of almost all Russian companies have appreciated. Optimistic sentiment has fuelled the recovery of world stock markets. Russia’s Sberbank preferred equity has grown by more than 540 percent. The RAO UES securities have made almost as large a leap.
The UN Security Council is due to examine Russia’s draft resolution on additional measures to fight sea brigandage off Somalia’s coast. The draft provides for setting up an international court to prosecute pirates, writes the Izvestia daily in an article. The draft points out the inadmissibility of releasing the arrested pirates just because it is impossible to deliver them up to justice at once. One aspect of the problem is the lack of clearly spelled-out standards of prosecution of people, seized on piracy charges off Somalia coast.
According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, a unique exhibition, set up in Moscow in the run-up to the 65th anniversary of Victory Day, shows the visitors the way the Moscow Kremlin was camouflaged against Nazi bombers in wartime. From high-above it looked like an ordinary construction site. But although quite effective, the disguise failed to totally mislead Nazi pilots. As a result, the outstanding architectural and historical monument was bombed eight times. However, according to eyewitnesses, some mysterious force seemed to protect the sacred place. Part of the total of over 150 bombs dropped failed to go off.
April 26, 2010
Russia Profile: Counting Connections
By Svetlana Kononova
Special to Russia Profile
Social Networking in Russia Is Growing Rapidly, but Which Sites Will Eventually Dominate the Market Is Still Unclear
A few weeks ago the Vedomosti business daily announced that Facebook, one of the largest social networking sites in the world, is planning to open a regional office in Moscow. Although Facebook’s press service did not confirm the information, the report has renewed public interest in the competition between social networking sites in Russia.
“We have no immediate plans to open an office in Russia,” said Elizabeth Linder, a spokesperson at Facebook’s communications department. “But we have seen enormous interest from Russian developers and partners, and we are working closely with them to create the best possible Facebook experience for people in Russia.”
“Facebook fulfills a very basic human need: to connect and share with real people. We have found that people everywhere – including in Russia – discover Facebook, invite their friends to join, and quickly incorporate Facebook into their everyday lives. More than half of our users around the world access Facebook each and every day. As more people in Russia join Facebook, we will continue to do what we can to serve the needs of users, advertisers, and developers,” she continued.
At the moment Facebook has more than 400 million active users in more than 180 countries, including one million users in Russia. The average user has 130 friends and creates 70 pieces of content each month. There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through mobile devices. More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, and so on) are shared each month.
In spite of the rapid growth of Facebook worldwide, independent analysts believe the company will probably not replace the largest Russian social networks. “Facebook can find a specific segment on the Russian Internet, but it could not fully lure away the audience of the Russian services,” said Elena Anikeeva, a consultant analyst at J’son & Partners Consulting. “The pages of a Western giant would primarily attract people who can communicate in English and have friends abroad,” she added.
According to a recent survey conducted by J’son & Partners, there were 25 million active users of Russian social networking sites at the end of 2009. The leading projects are Vkontakte.ru, which is visited by 17.7 million people every month and MoiMir@Mail.ru, whose users number 15.6 million.
According to recent data from TNS Gallup, over 80 million messages are sent, over 12 million photos uploaded and over 1.8 million new videos uploaded through Vkontakte daily. The average user views 150 to 180 pages per day. About a half of users are younger than 25 years old, and 67 percent of them live in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The most popular social networks in the former Soviet republics are Russian services such as Odnoklassniki, which has 15.2 million active users, Vkontakte and MoiMir. The most visited communication platform in Belarus and Ukraine is Livejournal. The high demand of these communication services in the former Soviet republics could be explained by the close social links between citizens of Russia and other post-Soviet countries, as well as the common use of the Russian language in these countries, say experts.
Although some of Russia’s closest neighbors are developing their own national platforms, it is difficult for them to compete with the largest Russian networks, which have millions of registered users and many different services.
Both Russia and the former Soviet republics are very promising markets for developing social networks, analysts contend. “We expect the Russian audience for social networking sites to double by the end of 2013,” Anikeeva said. “This growth will come mostly because of new users.”
The fastest development is expected in those former Soviet countries with less than six million social networking users at the moment, such as Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan. The number of active users in these countries could rise forty percent each year up to 2014.
The rapid growth of social networks in Russia and the former Soviet countries offers fantastic opportunities for the commercialization of traffic, say experts. “Nowadays social networks receive income from advertising, paid services (gifts, personal pages’ design, rating raising), games and other applications,” Anikeeva explained. “The trend is a dramatic growth of the audience and income from games in social networks. This segment of the market could probably account for a significant part of profit this year,” she continued. Nonetheless, the success of commercialization strategies in a particular country depends on the mentality of the population, the availability of convenient payment methods for users, the quality of services, people’s incomes and many other factors which need to be taken into account, experts stress.
Although social networks were initially designed to connect people with their friends, relatives and colleagues, nowadays they have become more than just another communication service. Information about millions of people is available to everyone, and can be used for various purposes. For example, many employers find social networks a convenient instrument for finding information about staff and potential employees.
“Human resources officers and security services of large companies often use the Internet to check candidates,” said Alexey Zakharov, the president of recruitment Web portals, SuperJob.ru. “Whereas security services check the loyalty of an employee or search for dirt on them, the human resources officers more focus on activity of a recent or potential worker in professional communities.”
However, a poll conducted by a research centre at SuperJob.ru found than only seventeen percent of employers use social networks to find candidates. Most respondents said that HR-managers cannot do that because they do not have access to social networks in the office: many companies in Russia ban access to communication platforms from work computers to increase staff efficiency.
Social networks can be instruments of political strife as well. Some of the victims of a recent sex-scandal targeting Russian opposition figures were first contacted by honey-trap models through Vkontakte.
Social networks are also popular targets for spammers and computer viruses. But even these drawbacks cannot dent the popularity of communication platforms – especially in Russia, which is home to the most active social network users in the world. The average Russian user spends up to seven hours monthly contacting friends through social services – more than twice the global average.
The future growth of social networks in Russia is not in question. However, large “general purpose” networking sites may eventually give way to more specialized platforms connecting people with similar interests, professions and hobbies, analysts predict.
National Economic Trends
Bloomberg: Ruble Gains May Force Russia to Protect Industry (Update1)
April 27, 2010, 3:58 AM EDT
(Adds car industry background in sixth paragraph, non- deliverable forwards ninth, Shuvalov’s comments on capital controls starting in 14th.)
By Hans Nichols and Paul Abelsky
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The ruble’s appreciation in the next few years will force the government to subsidize heavy industry and raise import tariffs to keep Russian producers competitive, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.
“In the long term, or even a period of three or five years, we will observe the strengthening of the ruble,” Shuvalov told reporters in Washington late yesterday. “The ruble will appreciate and a few industries will suffer.”
The Russian currency, which has been trading at its strongest level since December 2008 against the central bank’s basket of dollars and euros, hasn’t yet “appreciated that dramatically,” Shuvalov said.
The administration of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been powerless to stem gains in the ruble, which has surged 15 percent against the dollar in the past 12 months, tracking a 75 percent rise in Urals crude in the same period. The government, which is putting pressure on the central bank to do more to cap the ruble’s rise, may resort to a tax on currency transactions to protect exporters in industries including car manufacture, Shuvalov said today.
“We now understand that we will need to provide subsidies for different sectors, or we will need to have or use tariffs,” Shuvalov said. “If we want to have our local and well developed car industries we would need to keep high tariffs for at least five years.”
Car Industry
Revamping Russia’s automobile industry will require as much as 1.8 trillion rubles ($61.9 billion) of investment through 2020, the government estimates. Carmakers must invest more than 627 billion rubles to overhaul the industry and the government will spend about 180 billion rubles.
Russia’s share of non-energy world exports decreased to 0.9 percent at the end of last year, bringing it to 2005 levels, from 1.01 percent in 2008, Nomura Holdings Inc. said in an April 15 report.
Russian car sales plunged 56 percent last year to 1.4 million vehicles and may rise as much as 15 percent this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers said in a Jan. 20 presentation. Under a pessimistic economic scenario, sales may slide as much as 5 percent this year, the audit firm said.
Ruble non-deliverable forwards today show the currency 12 percent weaker at 32.56 per dollar in three years time. That compares to an expectation the Russian currency will weaken 42 percent to 47.14 a year ago, three-year NDFs show. The contracts are a guide to expectations of currency movements as they allow foreign investors and companies to fix the exchange rate at a particular level in the future.
Raised Duties
The government raised duties at the start of last year on imported new and used cars, to protect domestic producers. The tariffs range from 30 percent to 35 percent.
Deere & Co., the world’s largest maker of agricultural equipment, and Caterpillar Inc. were most affected by loan restrictions and tariffs of as much as 25 percent imposed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey last year of the top 50 American businesses in Russia.
“Discriminatory” trade policies will slow Russia’s recovery and should be “reversed or allowed to expire as soon as possible,” the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report last November.
To bolster efforts to contain speculative capital inflows, Russia’s government may levy a tax on capital transactions, Shuvalov said.
Capital Tax
“Maybe we will do something, which is not capital controls, but would be based on taxation,” Shuvalov said. Experts from the Finance Ministry and the Economy Ministry are studying steps that may be taken to limit short-term inflows, he said.
Russia’s central bank, which has lowered its benchmark rate 12 times in as many months to a record-low 8.25 percent, has tried to use the cuts to stem the inflow of short-term foreign capital in an effort to contain ruble volatility.
Brazil in 2009 implemented a tax on foreign purchases of stocks and fixed-income investment in a bid to stem the currency’s advance, while Indonesia’s central bank warned it may impose capital controls to curb speculative inflows. India “may well employ” some form of capital controls on inflows should such investments gain pace, central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said yesterday.
Brazilian Model
“Many people say that we need to impose new legislation which will be against quick and speculative operations on the market,” Shuvalov said. “They say that Brazil has very good rules.”
Equity funds focused on Russia posted inflows of $106 million in the week ending April 21, showing gains for the 10th consecutive week, according to fund tracker EPFR Global.
Russia abolished capital controls in 2006. The International Monetary Fund said in a Feb. 19 report that “there may be circumstances in which capital controls are a legitimate component of the policy response to surges in capital inflows.”
The Russian currency is about 25 percent undervalued, given the current oil price, according to UBS AG. The ruble is “20 percent cheap” compared to currencies of Brazil, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, ING Groep NV said in a report this month.
--With assistance from Denis Maternovsky in Moscow. Editor: Tasneem Brogger, Chris Kirkham.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Washington at hnichols2@; Paul Abelsky in Moscow at pabelsky@.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@
RUVR: Russia will pay off deficit in the budget at the expense of reserves, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Apr 27, 2010 08:11 Moscow Time
Russia will pay off a deficit in the budget that arose due to preferential gas supplies to Ukraine at the expense of reserves. This was announced on Tuesday by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to journalists after a meeting with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev. He noted that this year, according to calculations, the Russian budget deficit is more than 6 percent. While the budget deficit in Ukraine due to preferential gas supplies will amount to five percent a year. Under the agreement entered into by the presidents of the two countries, Russia is to boost gas supplies to Ukraine this year to 36.5 billion cubic meters. Ukraine will pay for the gas with a discount of 30 percent, but not more than $ 100 per thousand cubic meters of gas. Putin does not rule out the possibility of fixing the volume of transit, depending on growth in gas demand in Europe. It depends on the market: consumption will recover rapidly thus we will also increase the volume flow, "- said Putin. He noted that currently Europe is already experiencing a growth in consumption of gas (after the easing of the crisis), but the development of the situation depends on that the pace at which this demand will increase. When asked by reporters about the price for the lease of the Russian base in Sevastopol, Putin called it "over-the-limit", but admitted that Russia did so for the sake of cooperation and to build confidence with Ukraine. Putin recalled that in accordance with the arrangements for the 10-year lease the amount will exceed $ 40 billion. "For that money you can build a few bases," - said Putin. However, he expressed surprise that the Verkhovna Rada, according to media reports, expect a serious debate on the ratification agreement with Russia. The Prime Minister recalled that he had repeatedly discussed this issue with former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, and there had not been any objection on her part.
Alfa: Russias 2011 budget deficit may exceed RUB1.9 trln target by RUB0.5 trln
Alfa Bank
April 27, 2010
According to the preliminary 2011 draft budget, additional social obligations of RUB0.5 trln next year may boost the budget deficit to RUB2.4 trln, exceeding the RUB2.2 trln deficit we expect to see this year. That confirms our view that social spending is one of the key risks to Russias fiscal stability.
Additional increases in pensions, social payments and public sector salaries may cost the government an extra RUB0.7 trln in 2011. In the meantime, payroll tax collection may turn out some RUB150 bln below expectations due to slower salary increases in the private sector. All together, this poses a risk that the 2011 budget deficit will rise from the current RUB1.9 trln target to RUB2.4 trln. This forecasted increase assumes an oil price of $75/bbl, implying that even the expected rise in the payroll tax will not allow the government to reduce the breakeven oil price to below $100/bbl. It also implies that the government will be forced to continue aggressive foreign borrowing next year.
Natalia Orlova
Itar-Tass: Russia’s official unemployment rate decreases over week – ministry
26.04.2010, 23.58
MOSCOW, April 26 (Itar-Tass) -- The total number of officially registered jobless people in Russia decreased by 0.8 percent over a week from April 15 to April 21, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development said in the ministry’s regular report on Monday.
All in all, the total number of officially registered unemployed persons in Russia amounts to 2.195 million, the ministry’s press service said.
In the period under review, 72 Russian regions reported a decline in the officially registered unemployment rate, the press service said, adding that the republics of Adygeya, Kalmykia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Altai and Udmurtia, as well as the Trans-Baikal and Stavropol territories, the Amur, Astrakhan, Volgograd and Nizhny Novgorod were among such territories.
At the same time, the increase of the officially registered unemployment rate was reported from ten Russian regions, including the republics of North Ossetia – Alania and Mordovia, and the Chukchi Autonomous Area, the press service said.
In the Republic of Ingushetia the official unemployment rate remained unchanged as compared to the previous week, the ministry’s press service said.
The ministry’s press service said 1.091 million people had lost their jobs since the beginning of the economic crisis in October 2008. Of the total, 326,000 people have rejoined the workforce.
In addition, the number of employees, who are temporarily out of work, work part-time or have to go on forced vacations, neared 1.09 million people, the press service said.
The unemployment rate is calculated as the ratio of the total number of jobless people to the total number of able-bodied population, the Prime Tass economic news agency reaffirmed.
The ministry’s monitoring is based on official information about dismissals, received from more than 67,500 Russian organizations and companies in all regions of the country, the economic news agency said.
According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the total number of unemployed people in Russia counted by standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) increased by 8.2 percent in March 2010, as compared to the previous month, and amounted to 6.56 million, which amounted to 8.6 percent of Russia’s able-bodied citizens, Prime Tass said earlier.
In addition, the total number of Russia’s officially registered jobless people went up by 8.5 percent in the period under review, as compared to February 2010, and amounted to 2.224 million, Prime Tass said, adding that 1.9 million of that number received unemployment allowances.
The total number of Russia’s unemployed people decreased by 3.7 percent in March 2010, as compared to the end of March 2009, while the total number of officially registered jobless people in the country went up by 14.2 percent, the economic news agency said.
Russia Today: S&P warns on government spending
27 April, 2010, 09:53
Standard & Poor's has warned Russia's credit rating may be lowered if the government doesn't tighten its spending policy in the near future.
However, speaking to Business RT, the head of S&P's Russian and CIS department, Aleksey Novikov, said the possibility of downgrading Russia's rating is less than it used to be.
AN: “On the positive side we have a very strong fiscal performance – and stronger than expected fiscal performance of the Russian government, and we see that the oil price performance is very favourable for the Russian economy plus current account surplus is higher than last year, now it's probably 5% of GDP, last year it was 3.5% of GDP, so it's getting better-better-and-better, Russia is recovering from the crisis relatively fast.”
RT: What are Russia's credit risks?
AN: “The policy to reduce fiscal deficit requires some cuts in capital expenditure, which could be very important for the Russian infrastructure, and Russian infrastructure – roads, energy infrastructure – it's a base for Russia's growth. The reduction in capital expenditure on the one hand helps fiscal health, on the other hand constrain growth prospects. Russian banking system survived successfully the crisis but remained unreformed.”
RT: What are your concerns about Russia's budget deficit?
AN: “It's lower than expected, it's absolutely manageable. If you look at budget deficits in countries like Italy, France, Greece, Portugal, even in the United States and the UK, you'll see that this number is around 10%, in Russia it's less than 5%, and it's going to be less in 2010."
RT: How much does it depend on the oil price?
AN: “The oil price performance is still very important factor for the Russian credit profile, oil and gas dominate the economy still, the diversification is possible but in the longer term.”
Alfa: Russian banks continue to waive fees for issuing retail loans
Alfa Bank
April 27, 2010
Russian banks continue to waive fees for issuing retail loans. Although we estimate the lost revenue from fees will be partly compensated for by higher lending rates, competition for borrowers will likely prevent banks from fully making up the difference. This supports our view that NIM across the sector will be under pressure this year.
Yesterday Rosselkhosbank became the second Russian bank (after Sberbank) to announce that it was waiving retail loan fees. This is in line with our view that banks are ready to sacrifice margins to attract borrowers, indicating that lending across the sector is still far from a recovery. However, while Sberbank emphasized that its lending rates would remain the same, decreasing the final effective lending rate for the customer by 250-300 bpts, Rosselkhosbank did not disclose whether or not rates would increase. We believe that it and other banks that waive fees may slightly increase lending rates to compensate for the shortfall in revenues. However, we doubt banks will be able to fully make up the difference, as the overall retail lending market remains weak.
Natalia Orlova
AgriMarket: Russia provided spring sowing campaign throughout 5.1 mln ha
04/26/2010 14:10
Russian agrarians provided the sowing campaign of early spring crops throughout the area of 5.1 mln ha (10.7%). During the period of April 20-26, 2010, Russia sowed spring crops throughout 2.5 mln ha, declared the press-cutting service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, on April 26.
Agrarians sowed spring grains throughout 3.1 thsd ha of sowing areas (10.3% from the plan), a decrease of 814 thsd ha compared to the same date of 2009.
To date, agrarians of the Southern Federal District sowed spring crops throughout 28% of the sowing areas.
The North Caucasian Federal District sowed spring crops throughout 38% of the sowing areas.
The Central Federal District provided the sowing campaign throughout 36% of the sowing areas.
Agricultural enterprises of the Volga and Far Eastern Federal Districts also started the mass sowing campaign.
Agricultural enterprises of the Southern, North Caucasian and Central Federal Districts started maize grain sowing campaign, and sowed maize throughout 215 thsd ha, or 12.5% of the planned areas.
Agricultural organizations of the Central, Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts continued sunflower sowing campaign. Also, the Volga Federal District started the sowing campaign of the oilseed. In the country, sunflower sowings occupy 487 thsd ha, or 8% of the planned areas..
As of April 26 of the current year, agrarians provided additional fertilizing of winter grain sowings throughout 8.5 mln ha, or 47% of the sowing areas. The Southern Federal District provided the additional fertilizing of 73% of the sowing areas, the North Caucasian Federal District – 56%, the Central Federal District – 69% (down 401 thsd ha compared to the previous year), the Volga Federal District – 6% (361 thsd ha).
According to operative data of the regions, the condition of winter crop sowings is estimated as good and satisfactory throughout 90% of the sowing areas.
In 2010, the accumulated resources of mineral fertilizers of agricultural commodity producers total 1251.6 thsd tonnes of active ingredient.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
2010-04-27 07:35
Reuters: Russian markets -- Factors to Watch on April 27
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Here are events and news stories that could move Russian markets on Tuesday.
You can reach us on: +7 495 775 1242
STOCKS CALL (Contributions to moscow.newsroom@):
Olma: "Prices may go down on early trade session due to some global indexes and oil prices stop growing"
Troika: "We are opening our prices this morning varied, from flat to down 0.5 percent"
EVENTS (All times GMT):
COPENHAGEN- Prime Minister of Denmark, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (to April 28)
OSLO- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visiting Norway (final day)
MOSCOW- Russia's Finance Ministry to place up to 50 billion roubles of temporarily free budget funds in deposits at commercial banks at a minimum bid rate of 6.5 percent
IN THE PAPERS:
Kommersant runs an interview with Avtovaz president Igor Komarov, who forecasts a rapid recovery after a grim 2009.
Sberbank plans to replay a 500 billion roubles subordinated loan to the central bank in a month's time, thus getting rid of its most expensive liability, Vedomosti reports.
TOP STORIES IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS:
COMPANIES/MARKETS:
Sistema swings to Q4 profit, eyes new investment
Grocer Okay eyes up to $500 mln London IPO
RussTech eye profit from bigger Kamaz stake
Sberbank agrees compensation with GM for Opel
ECONOMY/POLITICS:
To speed WTO, Russia ditches customs union idea
Rouble rallies on oil, more gains
REMA ENERGY:
Hungary regulator clears Surgut's buy into MOL
Italy,Russia each give EDF 10pct in SouthStream
Statoil pleased on Shtokman, eyes Greenland South Stream pipeline construction to start
2012 Russia seeks closer energy ties with Norway
Trutnev eyes TNK-BP-Gazprom JV at Kovykta
COMMODITIES: I
NTERVIEW-Baltic port of Ust Luga set to boom
Russia's TMK bullish on '10 pipe demand Russia grain export prices rise on lower supply
MARKETS CLOSE/LATEST:
RTS 1,626.1 +0.56 pct
MSCI Russia 875.42 +1.04 pct
MSCI Emerging Markets 1,032.47 -0.27 pct
Russia 30-year Eurobond yield: 5.033/5.003 pct
EMBI+ Russia 157 basis points over
Rouble/dollar 29.0850
Rouble/euro 38.8100
NYMEX crude $83.76 -$0.43
ICE Brent crude $86.66 -$0.17
Bloomberg: Norilsk Nickel, Razgulay and TNK-BP: Russian Equity Preview
By Jason Corcoran
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may be active in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close of trading in Moscow.
The 30-stock Micex added 1.1 percent to 1,484.26 at the close in Moscow. The dollar-denominated RTS Index rose 1.4 percent to 1,626.10.
OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel (GMKN RX): Copper prices rose to a one-week high in New York and London after Greece moved toward securing a financial rescue package, abating concerns of an economic slowdown in the euro region. Shares in Russia’s largest miner gained 1.4 percent to 5,662.32 rubles in Moscow.
OAO Razgulay Group (GRAZ RX): White sugar rose for the first time in five days in London and raw sugar advanced in New York on speculation that drought in China will curb production and spur importers to expand stockpiles. The Russian sugar and grain producer advanced 2 percent to 59.13 rubles.
TNK-BP (TNBP RU): BP Plc’s joint venture in Russia is expected to report its first-quarter results based on U.S. GAAP accounting guidelines. The shares declined 2.7 percent to 2.13 rubles.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at Jcorcoran13@
Last Updated: April 26, 2010 22:00 EDT
RenCap: Sberbank to redeem CBR subordinated debt early
Renaissance Capital
April 27, 2010
Event: According to Vedomosti today (27 Apr), citing Sberbank CFO Anton Karamzin, Sberbank, in a letter to the head of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), informed the regulator of its intentions to pay back the full amount of its subordinated debt. Sberbank will have to file a formal application with the CBR in order to obtain official approval to pay it back.
However, according to Karamzin, the bank sees no obstacles to the approval and plan to complete the payment within several weeks.
Action: Positive for Sberbank, in our view.
Rationale: The news flow followed Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrins comment last week that the Russian government and the CBR are not planning to reduce the interest rate charged on subordinated loans provided to Russian banks during the peak of crisis, but banks may be allowed to redeem subordinated loans before maturity. Meanwhile, Sberbank CEO German Gref earlier said Sberbank would prefer to repay part or all of its CBR loan ahead of schedule if the interest rate stays above 6%. The 10-year RUB500bn subordinated loan bearing an annual interest rate of 8% was granted to Sberbank by the CBR in late 2008, at the height of the crisis, and is currently one of Sberbank's most expensive sources of funding. The banks cost of funding is well below 8% (5.1% on our estimates, as of FY09). Moreover, Sberbank is now able to borrow at cheaper rates in international debt markets. In our view, the repayment of the loan should not pose a threat to the banks capital adequacy position. An early redemption of the subordinated loan could further reduce Sberbanks cost of funding and hence be supportive for margins, we think.
Armen Gasparyan
Reuters: Russia's Inter RAO places shares at 0.04 roubles/shr
Tue Apr 27, 2010 11:38am IST
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled power trader Inter RAO (IUES.MM) has sold 1.6 trillion additional shares at 0.0402 roubles ($0.001) per share, the company said on Tuesday.
The state-controlled corporations Rosatom, VEB bank and Rosimuschestvo, managing state property, will buy all the 1.6 trillion shares of the additional share issue, Inter RAO said in a press release.
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; editing by Toni Vorobyova)
St. Petersburg Times: O’Key Owner in IPO
MOSCOW (Bloomberg) — Dorinda Holding, which owns O’Key, the St. Petersburg-based food retailer, plans to raise at least $300 million through an initial public offering in London, Kommersant reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Dorinda, based in Luxemburg, will hold the IPO in the autumn, the newspaper said. The three principals, Dmitry Troitsky, Dmitry Korzhev and Boris Volchek, may sell some of their holdings in the sale, according to Kommersant. Russia’s VTB Capital and Goldman Sachs Group will organize the offering, the newspaper said.
2010-04-27 07:13
Reuters: BRIEF-Russia's Protek raies around $400 million in IPO
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Protek:
• SAYS IPO PRICES AT $3.50 PER SHARE VERSUS $3.10-$4.50 RANGE
• RAISES AROUND $400 MILLION, IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS (Moscow Newsroom, + 7 495 775 12 42, moscow.newsroom@)
Reuters: Avtovaz eyes recovery after $1.3 bln 2009 loss
Tue Apr 27, 2010 11:15am IST
MOSCOW, April 27 (Reuters) - Avtovaz (AVAZ.MM), Russia's top automaker, incurred a 38.6 billion rouble ($1.33 billion) loss in recession-hit 2009 but is counting on a rapid recovery thanks to state car sector aid, its president was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"Analysts had forecast a loss at the 1 billion euro ($1.33 billion) level. And so it will be, around 38.6 billion roubles," Igor Komarov told Kommersant business daily in an interview.
"These are unhappy numbers, but we do not hide them ... The Russian car market has passed the bottom and should recover from this year," he added.
Russia's largest carmaker plans to return to an operating profit as early as 2011.
Avtovaz -- hard-hit by Russia's first recession in a decade last year -- is now focusing on affordable cars and has benefited from a government scrappage scheme launched this year.
Komarov forecast that car sales in Russia -- which had been set to overtake Germany as Europe's biggest auto market before the crisis hit -- would rise to 1.6 million this year from 1.47 million sold in 2009 [nLDE60D0XM].
In coming years, the market will be supported by "the government programme for car industry development" and the replacement of old cars, Komarov said, noting that around 40 percent of the 33 million vehicles now on the road are over 10 years old.
State-controlled Avtovaz was saved from bankruptcy by the Russian government last year. France's Renault (RENA.PA), which holds a 25 percent stake, has pledged to help with expertise.
"We have seriously cut costs and reduced the breakeven point. And we do not plan to ask for state financing any more," he said, adding that in 2011 the company will need to get funding of some 19 billion roubles for its investment programme.
($1=29.10 Rouble)
($1=.7504 Euro)
(Writing by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Hans Peters)
((antonina.vorobyova@; Tel: +7495 7751242, Reuters Messaging: antonina.vorobyova.@)) Keywords: AVTOVAZ/
APRIL 27, 2010
Wall Street Journal: Dunkin' Donuts Heads Back to Russia
By KEVIN HELLIKER
After a retreat from Russia in 1999, Dunkin' Donuts is returning Wednesday with the first of 20 planned store openings in Moscow this year.
The move by the Dunkin' Brands Inc. unit will intensify a battle among coffee-shop chains in Russia, a tea-steeped culture that is fast getting hooked on coffee. Restaurant sales of coffee in Russia surged to an estimated $575 million in 2009 from $13 million in 1999, according to Euromonitor International. During the five years ended in 2008, total revenue in the category increased 362%.
Dunkin' is hoping to match the success of rival Starbucks Corp. of Seattle. Less than three years after opening its first store in Russia, Starbucks boasts 31 locations whose sales make it the third-largest coffee-shop chain in the country, behind an operation called Coffee House and the market leader, Shokoladnitsa, Euromonitor International says. In fourth place is McDonald's Corp.'s McCafé unit, according to Euromonitor.
The planned store openings come 11 years after Dunkin' Donuts pulled out of Russia, following three years of losses exacerbated by a rogue franchisee who sold liquor and meat pies alongside coffee and crullers.
This time, Dunkin' has teamed with Konstantin Petrov, a Russian real-estate developer with a proven record for finding and exploiting retail opportunities, said Nigel Travis, chief executive of Dunkin' Brands, which is based in Canton, Mass., and owned by a consortium of private-equity companies.
Mr. Travis himself developed the Russian market for Papa John's International Inc. before taking the helm of Dunkin' in early 2009. "There's a growing middle class in Russia, a strong movement toward American brands and a relative lack of competition," Mr. Travis said during an interview.
But do Russians like doughnuts? That question would be less relevant in the U.S., where coffee accounts for about 60% of Dunkin' sales. But in Russia, Mr. Travis expects beverage sales initially to account for less than 30% of the total, largely because in international markets, Dunkin' serves fewer customers in the morning than in the afternoon.
Doughnuts are a dish largely unknown to Russians. "The doughnut? Russians either don't know what it is or think it is too sweet," says Ivan Pentchoukov, a native Russian who opened a New York grocery and bakery called Moscow on the Hudson after immigrating a decade ago.
Mr. Travis says Dunkin' has studied local tastes and concocted several items expressly to appeal to Russians. "Without giving away too much, we've found that they favor something called scalded cream and a very nice raspberry jam as a pastry filling," he says.
Dunkin' Brands already ranks as a dessert purveyor in Russia. Its Baskin-Robbins ice-cream chain boasts 143 shops there, making it the No. 2 Western restaurant brand by number of stores behind hamburger chain McDonald's Corp., Dunkin' says. Its Baskin-Robbins partner in Russia is unrelated to its new Dunkin' Donuts partner in Russia, Mr. Travis says.
Write to Kevin Helliker at kevin.helliker@
Troika: Acron to pay $0.86 in dividends per share
Troika Dialog
27 April 2010
Acrons BoD yesterday recommended paying $0.86 (R25.00) in dividends per share based on the companys 2009 results, or $41 mln, which translates into a 2.5% yield.
We expect adjusted net income for the year of $81 mln (headline net income less nonrecurring items and capitalized interest expenses), so the payout effectively represents 50% of underlying earnings. The cutoff date was April 9 for holders of local shares and April 14 for holders of GDRs, and the AGM to approve dividends should take place on May 27.
With net debt at $736 mln as of end 3Q09 and substantial capex requirements at the Oleny Ruchei phosphate project and potentially the Talitsky potash project, the companys financial position remains extremely strained, in our view, even though it holds a stake in Silvinit worth $390 mln on its balance sheet. We estimate normalized EBITDA at $300_350 mln. As such, we doubt the rationale for the company to pay any dividends at this juncture.
Mikhail Stiskin
VTB Capital: Uralkali loses appeal over USD 27mn tax bill
VTB Capital
27 April 2010
Relates to tax unpaid in October 2006 due to flooding --- small amount, technical issue --- neutral
News: Uralkali has received a demand from the local tax authorities to pay RUB 803mn (USD 27mn) in tax, fines and penalties. According to the tax authorities, the amount relates to the mineral extraction tax which the company did not pay in October 2006 when Mine 1 was flooded. Uralkali's initial attempt to appeal the tax authorities decision to the supervising tax authorities failed and, in accordance with Russian legislation, the company paid the amount to the budget at that point. Uralkali then tried to appeal the decision in the court, but has now failed (with the exception of about 1% of the amount). The company has indicated that it will appeal to the court of the higher jurisdiction.
Our View: Due to the technical nature of the issue and the small amount of the claim (which can still be disputed in the court of higher jurisdiction) this news is neutral for Uralkali. It is also important to highlight that although the tax bill is related to the accident at Mine 1, it implies payment for extracted potash only and does not imply compensation for lost reserves (leaving the USD 220mn compensation for the accident paid by Uralkali to the budget in 2009 unchanged).
Moscow Times: For the Record
27 April 2010
• Supermarket chain Okay is planning to raise $400 million to $500 million from an initial public offering in London in fall 2010 or spring 2011, a source close to the company said Monday. (Reuters)
• The government is prepared to discuss compensation for airlines’ losses caused by flight disruptions after ash from a volcano in Iceland closed large swathes of European air space, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said, Interfax reported. (Bloomberg)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
27.04.2010
Oil and Gas Eurasia: Russia Waiting For Statoil to Come to Pechora Sea
Speaking at a closed business forum in Oslo, Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev expressed his hope that the Norwegian company Statoil will take part in developing the Prirazlomnoye hydrocarbon field in the Pechora Sea, RBK reports.
Medvedev said he was happy to see the company involved in the Shtokman project. "I hope that there will be joint efforts in other projects as well, including in the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora Sea", the Russian president said.
Statoil has frequently noted its interest in the Prirazlomnoye field. in 2004, the company even signed a memorandum of understanding with Prirazlomnoye project stakeholders Gazprom and Rosneft. Later Gazprom purchased Rosneft's stake in Prirazlomnoye and took complete control of the enterprise.
In June 2011, Sevmash (Archangelsk Region) plans to install an ice-resistant marine platform at Prirazlomnoye. The platform is now 80 percent ready.
Copyright 2010, Oil and Gas Information Agency. All rights reserved.
Official Wire: Syria Lauds Tatneft Oil Operations
|Published on April 27, 2010 Comments (Be the first) |
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|by NewsDesk - iWireNews ™ |
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|(iWireNews ™ and OfficialWire) |
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|DEIR EZ-ZOR, SYRIA |
Syrian officials praised the work of Russian oil and gas company Tatneft as it launched operations at the South Kishma oil field in the province of Deir ez-Zor.
Tatneft signed an agreement for the exploration, development and production of petroleum from Block 27 of the South Kishma-1 well in 2005.
The Russian company said it started crude oil production at South Kishma near the Syrian border with Iraq in early April. Estimated recoverable crude oil reserves top 35 million barrels of oil.
A delegation led by Syrian Petroleum Minister Sufyan al-Alao attended a weekend ceremony marking the start of operations at the South Kishma oil field. Provincial Gov. Hussein Arnus said Tatneft operations were a boon for his region.
Rais Khisamov, deputy general director at Tatneft, said his company anticipated "further deepening and expanding" operations in Syria.
Work in Syria is conducted by al-Bou Kamal Petroleum Co., a joint venture between Tatneft and the General Petroleum Corp. of Syria.
Production at South Kishma marks the first time Tatneft started oil production abroad in its 60-year history.
APRIL 27, 2010, 2:42 A.M. ET
Dow Jones: TNK-BP International 1Q GAAP Net Profit $1.27 Billion
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--Russian oil producer TNK-BP International, part-owned by U.K. oil major BP PLC (BP), said Tuesday its net profit for the first quarter climbed 71% due to higher oil prices and increased output.
The company's net profit under U.S. GAAP accounting standards for the January to March period stood at $1.27 billion, up from $747 million a year earlier.
"Despite the pressure on costs from a stronger ruble and increases in transportation and electricity tariffs, we benefited from a higher margin contribution by additional greenfield production," Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Muir said.
The company's revenue jumped to $10.24 billion from $6.33 billion last year, as prices increased and output grew.
TNK-BP International said operating cash flow was $1.97 billion in the first quarter, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, totaled $2.29 billion.
TNK-BP International--the parent company of listed TNK- Holding (TNBP.RS)--holds the majority of assets for TNK-BP Ltd., which is owned on a 50-50 basis by BP and a group of Russian business tycoons. Around 5% of shares in TNK-BP Holding are owned by minority shareholders.
Company Web site: tnk-
-By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9197; jacob.pedersen@
EasyBourse: TNK-BP International 1Q GAAP Net Profit $1.27 Billion
• Publié le 27 Avril 2010
• Copyright © 2010 Dowjones
- By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- Russian oil producer TNK-BP International, part-owned by U.K. oil major BP PLC (BP), said Tuesday its net profit for the first quarter climbed 71% due to higher oil prices and increased output.
The company's net profit under U.S. GAAP accounting standards for the January to March period stood at $1.27 billion, up from $747 million a year earlier.
"Despite the pressure on costs from a stronger ruble and increases in transportation and electricity tariffs, we benefited from a higher margin contribution by additional greenfield production," Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Muir said.
The company's revenue jumped to $10.24 billion from $6.33 billion last year, as prices increased and output grew.
TNK-BP International said operating cash flow was $1.97 billion in the first quarter, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, totaled $2.29 billion.
TNK-BP International--the parent company of listed TNK- Holding (TNBP.RS)--holds the majority of assets for TNK-BP Ltd., which is owned on a 50-50 basis by BP and a group of Russian business tycoons. Around 5% of shares in TNK-BP Holding are owned by minority shareholders.
Company Web site: tnk-
-By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232 9197; jacob.pedersen@
Dowjones
Telegraph: Russian attitude thaws to TNK-BP's license for the Kovykta gas field
Russian authorities have indicated that TNK-BP may be allowed to retain its licence for the lucrative Kovykta gas field if it agrees to develop the project with state-run Gazprom.
By Jamie Dunkley
Published: 6:00AM BST 27 Apr 2010
Yuri Trutnev, the Russian natural resources minister, said he wanted to avoid revoking the licence from the joint venture as it would send a negative signal to investors in the Russian resource sector.
He added: "Revoking the licence would cause the company to lose significant investments and, as a result, a deterioration in the investment climate.
"From the beginning, there were discussions about joint development of the project with Gazprom. We are not getting involved in negotiations between the companies... but we consider this to be a way out."
Kovykta, an eastern Siberian field with enough gas to meet world demand for eight months, has been the subject of a dispute between TNK-BP and the Russian government for almost a decade.
TNK-BP, which is half-owned by BP, says it cannot bring output to the levels stipulated by its licence because Gazprom holds a monopoly on Russian gas exports, effectively closing the Chinese market to Kovykta's 2 trillion cubic metres of reserves. Russian officials have argued that TNK-BP should be lose its licence for failing to meet the terms of the deal.
Speaking last week, Mr Trutnev said that Russian legislation demands the licence be withdrawn, while also acknowledging the negative effect such a decision would have on the investment climate in Russia.
TNK-BP agreed in 2007 to sell Kovykta to Gazprom for about $1bn (£650m) but the deal collapsed due to disagreements over the price.
The dispute has raised concerns among investors already wary of the Kremlin's track record of expropriating assets from private business.
OilVoice: TNK-BP Subsidiary Varyoganneftegaz Will Drill 100 New Wells in 2010
26 April 2010
About 100 new wells are to be drilled at the Varyoganneftegaz fields in 2010. 'The Company has not achieved such drilling rates for a long time', said Sergey Karavaev, General Director of Varyoganneftegaz. At a conservative estimate, this will bring ca. 450,000 extra tons of crude to the subsidiary.
About 11 drilling rigs are currently operated at the oil fields. Nine out of them are used for development drilling, and two rigs are installed at exploration wells.
Apart from traditional areas where proactive construction of new wells is underway, Ven-Yoganskoe and Severo-Khokhryakovskoe fields where operations used to be suspended are currently involved in exploration activities. Good performance of exploratory wells has confirmed availability of hydrocarbon reserves at the Verkhne-Kolik-Yoganskoe field. It is worth noting that oilmen now have to deal with hard-to-recover reserves. In order to decide upon feasibility of developing this or that site, profound geological and seismic studies are conducted. But all prospecting and exploration costs are worthwhile. This tactics is applied at all fields of the Varyoganneftegaz Target Subsidiary.
Varyoganneftegaz
Varyoganneftegaz was created in May 1993 on the basis of the Varyoganneftegaz production association. In August 2003, as the Russian oil companies became integrated, it was incorporated into TNK-BP.
Varyoganneftegaz is developing five fields: Severo-Varyoganskoe, Bakhilovskoe, Severo-Khokhrakovskoe, Verkhnekolik-Yogasnkoe and Suslikovskoe. It currently comprises three amalgamated production units, an oil treatment and pumping facility, and a maintenance depot.
Moscow Times: Sistema’s Price for Russneft
27 April 2010
Sistema will pay $100 million for a 49 percent stake in Russneft, Vedomosti reported Monday, citing an unidentified person close to Mikhail Gutseriyev, the oil company’s founder.
Glencore International, the commodities trader that holds a minority stake in Russneft and had loaned the oil producer 45.8 billion rubles ($1.57 billion) as of Oct. 1, will not block the deal, Vedomosti said, citing an unidentified person familiar with Russneft management’s plans.
(Bloomberg)
Moscow Times: Hungary Ends Surgut Probe
27 April 2010
BUDAPEST — Hungarian financial markets regulator PSZAF said Monday that it had closed an investigation into Surgutneftegaz’s 2009 purchase of a stake in oil group MOL without taking any steps.
PSZAF spokesman Istvan Binder said the investigation was into Surgut’s purchase of a 21 percent stake in MOL from Austria’s OMV, which the two companies announced on March 30, 2009. The deal was heavily objected to by MOL and the Hungarian government.
(Reuters)
Portfolio.hu: Surgut saga sewn up, no voting right at Hungarian MOL's AGM
April 27, 2010, 8:15 am
Hungary’s financial markets regulator (PSZÁF) has concluded a probe into Russian Surgutneftegaz’s 2009 purchase of a 21.2% stake in local fuels group MOL without taking action.
The watchdog has launched a market surveillance procedure on 29 March 2009 to determine whether the behaviour of any market player in relation to the transaction infringed regulations banning insider trading and market influencing.
The investigation was into Surgut's purchase of a 21% stake in MOL from Austria's OMV in late March 2009. Both MOL and the Hungarian government heavily objected the deal.
MOL will hold its annual general meeting on 29 April where Surgut will not be able to vote as it had not been registered in the company’s shareholders’ book in time, due to the PSZÁF investigation and a process by the Hungarian Energy Office which still has not been closed.
Portfolio viewpoint:
Following the closing of the PSZÁF investigation, Surgut’s registration in MOL’s shareholders’ book gets referred to the Hungarian Energy Office, which had already had a probe into the transaction but it was suspended at the request of the PSZÁF. According to Portfolio.hu’s information, the regulator requested Surgut to submit a Letter of Representation in order to be registered as a MOL shareholder. Local media reported earlier that Surgut did send the energy office the necessary documents, but when Portfolio.hu asked for the HEO’s confirmation, it could not provide it saying the procedure was no longer in progress.
Whatever the next chapter in the Surgut saga will be, the release of the PSZÁF decision, i.e. the conclusion of its investigation, came at the right time for MOL’s management. The AGM will be held this Thursday and the shareholders’ book was closed on 20 April until the end of the meeting. So Surgut will not be able to vote anyhow.
Gazprom
RIA: Gazprom, Eni to give each 10% of South Stream shares to French EDF - Putin
02:0927/04/2010
Russia's energy giant Gazprom and Italy's Eni will each give 10% of their shares in the South Stream gas pipeline project to French EDF, the Russian premier said.
South Stream is designed to pump 63 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas annually to Bulgaria, Italy and Austria.
"This will be a coordinated step by us and the Italians," Vladimir Putin told journalists who asked how the French company would acquire 20% in the project.
Putin said on Monday that an agreement on France's Electricite de France (EDF) becoming a project shareholder is due to be signed in June in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg. EDF will acquire some 20% in the project.
The pipeline is due to go into operation by the end of 2015. It will run under the Black Sea from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk to the Bulgarian port of Varna.
Russia is also building the Nord Stream gas pipeline to carry 55 billion cu m of Russian natural gas annually to Western Europe under the Baltic Sea.
The intergovernmental agreement with Austria was signed in the presence of Putin and Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann. The agreement is the last document necessary for the project's go-ahead.
KIEV, April 27 (RIA Novosti)
Upstreamonline: EDF to get South Stream stake
Russian and Italy will each give a 10% stake in the South Stream pipeline to France's EDF , Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today.
News wires 27 April 2010 07:15 GMT
"We will do it concurrently - us and the Italians, 10% each," Putin told reporters on a visit to Ukraine which followed a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy.
EDF is set to get a 20% stake in the South Stream gas pipeline designed to bring Russian gas to Europe, with work on the project due to start in the first half of 2012, Putin and Berlusconi said today.
Separately, Putin said Russia's budget will lose $3 billion this year and $4 billion in 2011 as a result of agreeing last week to a 30% cut in the price of its gas supplies to Ukraine.
"In essence it will mean an increase in the budget deficit for us," he said. "These are serious parameters, but we will manage."
Russia had expected a deficit of 3 trillion roubles ($103 billion), or 6.8% of gross domestic product this year, Reuters reported today.
Published: 27 April 2010 07:15 GMT | Last updated: 27 April 2010 07:16 GMT
April 27, 2010 09:35
Interfax: Gazprom, Eni to give 10% stake in South Stream to EDF each
KYIV. April 27 (Interfax) - Russia's Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) and Italy's Eni will give to EDF 10% stake each in the South Stream gas pipeline project, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
"This is a proportional deal: both Italy and we," Putin said, when asked about what country will sell shares to the new partner.
It was reported earlier that EDF may get no less than a 10% stake in the South Stream project. Putin announced on Monday that the French company will get a 20% stake.
ar
Official Wire: Exxon Staggers At Russia's Sakhalin
|Published on April 27, 2010 Comments (Be the first) |
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|by NewsDesk - iWireNews ™ |
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|(iWireNews ™ and OfficialWire) |
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|MOSCOW, RUSSIA |
Exxon Mobil has conducted lengthy talks with the Russian government regarding gas from Sakhalin Island to no avail, company representatives said.
The supermajor said it had record talks, but little progress, with the government over plans to spend $3.5 billion at the Sakhalin gas facility, The Moscow Times reported.
"There are no deadlines in sight as the company is answering inquiries from the Energy Ministry-led supervisory board," said Exxon spokeswoman Dilyara Sydykova.
Exxon Mobil suspended work at Sakhalin-1 in 2009 because of budget deliberations with Russian authorities. Exxon Mobil serves as the operator at Sakhalin-1 through a consortium with Russia's Rosneft, Japan's Sodeco and India's ONGC Videsh.
Russian energy monopoly Gazprom wants the consortium to sell it the gas from Sakhalin-1, though Exxon said they could sell the gas to China without Gazprom because of a production sharing agreement.
Exxon said the project has a total resource capacity of 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
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