Russia

Russia 090731Basic Political Developments

· Ex-Soviet states meet for 'Russian NATO' summit - The leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) were set to discuss the implementation of a deal signed on June 14 of the group's first joint rapid reaction force, the Kremlin said in a statement.

· CSTO informal summit of CSTO state leaders to open in Kyrgyzstan today - As informed earlier, the informal summit of the CSTO state leaders will be held on July 31 - August 1 in Cholpon-Ata. According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, during the informal summit, the heads of the CSTO member states will discuss the questions of international security and activities of the organization.

· New security stronghold planned in Central Asia - Seven former Soviet states are set to discuss the creation of a joint security stronghold in Kyrgyzstan at an informal meeting of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

· Dushanbe summit vows to curb drug menace - At a four-nation security summit held here on Thursday, the presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and Tajikistan agreed to intensify fight against drug trafficking in the region.

· Fighting terrorism together - Russia also supports NATO’s aim to defeat militants in Afghanistan, which is why Moscow agreed to sign the deal with the USA. Both Russia and the US understand though that Al-Qaeda often hits NATO’s allies, who are much closer to Afghanistan’s territory. Nonetheless, the Russian president chose to sign the agreement, giving Moscow an even larger role in fighting terrorism in the region.

· Russian-owned Tajik hydropower plant officially launched

· RF, Tajik presidents launch Sangtuda HPP-1: The Russian and Tajikistani Presidents - Dmitry Medvedev and Emomali Rakhmon - in a festive ceremony on Friday launched the Sangtuda Hydropower Plant-1 built with direct participation of Russian companies.

· Russia has no claims to Tajikistan regarding Russian language - “We do not need any explanations as the status of the language is fixed in the Constitution,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko said on Thursday.

· Medvedev Pushes Energy and Transport - “Energy projects are what really help governments that need to strengthen their economy,” he said. “Assistance must not just be a one-off, it should be aimed toward the future.”

· Russia boosts C.Asia ties, opens plant in Tajikistan - Control over Central Asia's abundant oil, gas, metals and hydro resources is at the centre of Russia-U.S. rivalry, particularly at a time when escalating fighting in nearby Afghanistan in adding to security concerns in the region.

· Russia pushes for CAsia energy projects

· Russian Premier to visit Turkey August 6 - "Today the head of government Vladimir Putin and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation during which they agreed on a working visit by the Russian head of government to Turkey on 6 August," the statement said.

· EU mission issues statement ahead of first anniversary of August war in Caucasus - At this particularly fragile time, it is exceedingly important for all parties to show restraint and to refrain from staging any provocative acts, the EU observer mission said in its statement, which was circulated on behalf of the mission's deputy head General Gilles Janvier on Thursday.

· South Ossetia to make territorial claim on Georgian gorge - South Ossetia intends to demand the return of its former territory, the Truso Gorge, which is currently a part of Georgia, the former Georgian republic's president said on Friday.

· U.S. claims about Russia's possible NATO membership nonsense – Rogozin

· U.S. Takes Steps to Boost Security Cooperation With Russia - The United States is moving to deepen security cooperation with Russia as part of the Obama administration's effort to "reset" relations with Moscow, senior officials told Congress on Thursday.

· Partnership deal signed with Russia - Russia and India will look to establish exporting standards for over 45 of India's fish processing plants.

· Russian energy minister to visit Iraq in early August - Russia's energy minister Sergei Shmatko said on Friday he would pay a visit to Iraq in early August to discuss oil and energy cooperation.

· Putin signs doc on quicker energy facilities building in F East

· East Russia May Pump 150 Billion Cubic Meters of Gas, Putin Says

· RF Transport Min asks Far East gvrnrs to subsidise local airlines

· RF to keep discount rates for flights from F East until late Oct

· Ukrainian diplomat expelled from Russia named - Berezkin, who recently took up his post in the political section of the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow, coordinated all issues on Ukraine-Russian relations, in particular Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine's Crimea.

· Sechin Latin America trip opens door for Russian energy producers

· Chinese merchants to retrieve seized goods in closed Moscow market

· Moscow Denies Plan For Chinese Market

· Russian Journalist Not Allowed Into Lithuania

· Belarus to reduce transit tariffs to Kaliningrad for Russian metals

· Russia's Nerpa nuclear sub starts sea trials in Far East - Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests in November last year, started on Friday the second stage of new sea trials, a source involved in the tests said.

· Russian Sailors Claim Attack - The 15 Russian crew members of the Arctic Sea say they were tied up and beaten by a group of up to 10 men who boarded the ship July 24 off the Swedish island of Oland, lead investigator Ingemar Isaksson said. No serious injuries were reported.

· Russia's Airborne Troops To Use Attack Drones in Near Future - Russia's airborne troops are about to complete the work on their new image and structure. Russia’s mobile assault forces will preserve mobility and increase their combat potential, the commander of the troops, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said.

· Russian Armed Forces Develop an "Information Pipeline" - Last week a report in the Moscow Gazeta daily quoted a source in the General Staff as saying that the main objective of Kavkaz 2009 was to test a new computerized command and control system.

· Moscow police hunt killer of manager at Russian defense firm - Moscow police are conducting a manhunt for the killer of a top manager at one of Russia's largest defense firms, Almaz-Antei, a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti on Friday.

· Meeting of Armenian Church and Russian Orthodox leaders held in Moscow - Between July 14 and 16, Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, traveled to Moscow to meet with Kirill I, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since his installation last February.

· Russian soldiers instead of cigarettes will get candy - Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Dmitry Bulgakov has announced that the Defense Ministry will no longer purchase cigarettes for soldiers.

· A Decade With Putin – By Robert Coalson

National Economic Trends

· Russian monetary base down 0.6% in week to $130 bln

· TABLE-Russia monetary base falls to 4.06 trln rbls

· 2010 Budget Protects Social Outlays

· State Will Wait Until 2010 for Borrowing

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

· Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel, Polyus Gold: Russia Equity Preview

· RTS Micex merger proposal gains impetus

· RusAl Says Guinean Spill ‘Controlled’ - United Company RusAl said Thursday that the 500 tons of caustic soda its Guinean alumina refinery accidentally spilled into the West African country’s waters have been controlled and haven’t affected the local area.

· Some Banks Not Sold On RusAl Debt Deal - Many of the 70 banks involved are not on the committee and saw the draft proposal for the first time only a day before meeting in Paris on Wednesday evening, a banking source told Reuters.

· Russia Severstal Q2 steel output down 28 pct y/y

· Russia's Norilsk Nickel posts net profit of $1.7 bln for Q2

· Norilsk Nickel Will Get New Drilling Rig

· Russia's VTB new share issue opens Aug 4 –source

· Russia's MTS to pay $1.3 bln for Comstar-paper

· Suzuki scrap plans to build plant in Russia

· Russian Truck Maker Kamaz Suspends Production

· Russia's Rosinter like-for-like sales fall in H1

· IKEA Reaches Deal On Samara Outlet

· Hermitage Seeks U.S. Help in Russian Case

· Hermitage Claims Russian Bankers May Have Helped With Fraud - In a New York court filing, Hermitage alleges that executives of Moscow investment bank Renaissance Capital Holdings had prior knowledge of theft and tax fraud

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

· U.S Company expects for next break up of Russian gas supplies to Europe - U.S analyst company, ESAI (Energy Security Analysis), expects for breaking up Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine and Belorussia this winter.

· Yulia Tymoshenko: Ukraine in talks with EU, EBRD, EIB and Gazprom for gas loan

· Russia's Gunvor to store crude off US Gulf Coast - Russian oil trader Gunvor has leased a supertanker to store about 2 million barrels of crude off the U.S. Gulf Coast, helping to partly fill the shrinking volumes kept at sea worldwide, industry sources said on Thursday.

· Timan Gets New Owner - Midsized Timan Oil said Thursday that businessman Vitaly Belik has taken control of the company.

· Volga Gas confirms oil at latest well on Yuzhno-Uzenksaya field

Gazprom

· Gazprom posts 40.8% net profit drop in 1H09 under RAS

· Gazprom Starts Building Pacific Link, May Hurt Exxon (Update1)

· Russia's Gazprom says needs to work hard on Exxon

· Exxon Expected to Face Tough Talks on Sakhalin

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Full Text ArticlesBasic Political Developments

Ex-Soviet states meet for 'Russian NATO' summit

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gtBsF1kShiMoccol8RtpjEj_m7AA

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

CHOLPON-ATA, Kyrgyzstan — The presidents of seven ex-Soviet states were to meet Friday for a summit of a security grouping led by Russia and touted as an eastern counterweight to NATO.

But the meeting at an idyllic location on the shores of Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan was set to be marked by differences as Moscow struggles to keep control over its former Soviet subjects.

The leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) were set to discuss the implementation of a deal signed on June 14 of the group's first joint rapid reaction force, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The summit, billed as a informal meeting, was due to get underway after 1000 GMT.

The creation of the force -- officially called the Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF) -- is a clear bid to rival the Western military alliance's own joint operations.

But the idea had a difficult birth when the authoritarian but increasingly pro-EU President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko refused to show up at the June 14 meeting in Moscow to sign the document.

Lukashenko, to the surprise of some, is to attend the Kyrgyzstan meeting and Kremlin officials had expressed confidence that he will sign the document at the lakeside resort of Cholpon-Ata.

But Valentin Rybakov, an aide to Lukashenko, told the Kommersant newspaper: "As a sovereign and independent state, Belarus will decide itself what CSTO documents to sign and when."

The newspaper commented: "Moscow's plans to strengthen the CSTO's military components and transform it into the Russian equivalent of NATO are threatened with collapse."

Russia will also not be able to succeed in persuading Kyrgyzstan to sign documents on the creation of a base for the force in its city of Osh at the summit, Kommersant said.

The organization's secretary general, Nikolai Bordyuzha, said the creation of the base has not even been put on the summit agenda, the Interfax news agency reported.

The CSTO is made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Kommersant said Uzbekistan's strongman President Islam Karimov -- currently seeking better ties with the United States -- would signal his opposition to the base's creation at the summit.

CSTO informal summit of CSTO state leaders to open in Kyrgyzstan today

http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=135307

[12:00] 31.07.2009,  Kazakhstan Today

The informal summit of the heads of the states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will open today in Kyrgyzstan, "Kazakhstan Today" agency reports citing the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the summit will start its work in the evening in the state residence №2 in the city Cholpon-Ata. The President of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, will personally meet his counterparts.

After the heads of the states and CSTO Secretary General gather in the cultural-ethnographic centre Ruh Ordo, they will hear the report on approaches and practical measures of formation of the coordinated information policy of the CSTO states. The leaders of the states will discuss the question of construction on the bank of the lake Issyk Kul of the international youth military-sports centre of the organization.

The meeting will come to an end with a working dinner on behalf of the President of Kyrgyzstan in honor of the honored guests. During the summit, the leaders of the CSTO states will hold a number of bilateral negotiations.

As informed earlier, the informal summit of the CSTO state leaders will be held on July 31 - August 1 in Cholpon-Ata. According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, during the informal summit, the heads of the CSTO member states will discuss the questions of international security and activities of the organization.

New security stronghold planned in Central Asia

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-31/new-security-stronghold-kyrgyzstan.html/print

31 July, 2009, 09:35

Seven former Soviet states are set to discuss the creation of a joint security stronghold in Kyrgyzstan at an informal meeting of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

The presidents of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are to meet in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on Lake Issyk-Kul.

The creation of a joint-CSTO Rapid Reaction Force military base in the Central Asian country is on the agenda. Earlier, Russia suggested deploying its rapid reaction force battalion in the southern part of Kyrgyzstan.

"The base is necessary in case of certain decisions in the CSTO framework. It is not intended for any of our issues," said Kremlin foreign policy aide Sergey Prikhodko.

Kyrgyzstan's newly re-elected president, Kurmanbek Bakiev suggested it might be a training center for the Russian and Kyrgyz military, rather than a standard military base.

Kyrgyzstan has become a key location for fighting terrorism in the region, and an American military base there has already courted controversy.

It is said that every close relationship has to have spice, and in the case of Russia and Kyrgyzstan – the Manas air base is the jalapeno.

“Some members of Russia's political elite think that by using this base to satisfy its geo-political interests in Afghanistan, Washington is creating a threat to Russia's national security,” said Aleksandr Knyazev from the Institute of CIS Studies.

The Manas base has been used by the US and coalition forces since 2001 to support operations in Afghanistan.

Over the years, it has become a source of controversy with many locals wanting it closed after an American soldier shot dead a Kyrgyz citizen on December 6, 2006.

This February, the country's authorities denounced the agreement for coalition forces to use the base. But a new deal was signed, under which the US would pay three times more than it did before – or US$170 million in rent for it to become a transit point for the US air force.

US military planes can be seen coming and leaving almost every hour at the Manas base. But after nearly a decade of operations in Afghanistan, not much progress has been made in terms of either fighting terror or drug trafficking in the country.

Opinion is split over whether the Manas base is likely to be removed in the near future.

“I don't think the Americans will leave anytime soon,” said Tabyldy Orozaliyev, MP and Vice Chairman of the ruling Ak Jol People’s party. “I think they will stay – it's difficult to say when this is going to end.”

Moscow has stressed that as long as Manas only remains a transit point, it has no problem with its activities.

Russia also has military links with Kyrgyzstan both being members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization – a security bloc of seven CIS states.

Kant is one air base within the framework of the CSTO, and talks with Moscow on a second one are underway. Both are meant to host a joint team of commandos from the member states of the organization.

Agreements on the new base are planned to be signed in the nearest future, with Southern Kyrgyzstan chosen as the location for security reasons.

“Religious extremism is a problem for the whole region,” said Aleksandr Knyazev. “We see its signs in the neighboring states of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and I think it's caused by the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan and US policies there.”

Kyrgyzstan is a small country in the heart of Central Asia, but its location makes it attractive for the big players in global politics.

Dushanbe summit vows to curb drug menace

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/11-pakistan--tajikistan--and-afghanistan-sign-agreement--il--11

Friday, 31 Jul, 2009 | 02:12 AM PST |

DUSHANBE: At a four-nation security summit held here on Thursday, the presidents of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and Tajikistan agreed to intensify fight against drug trafficking in the region.

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Presidents Asif Ali Zardari, Hamid Karzai, Dmitry Medvedev and Emomali Rakhmon expressed concern over an increase in narcotics trade, terming it one of the main sources of financing for militancy.

It called upon the international community to take ‘additional steps for a decisive fight against the narco-threat.’

Addressing a news conference after the meeting, President Zardari said that the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and this region were looking up to the leadership of the region to help solve their problems.

Mr Medvedev said the four countries had a shared vision of how to make the turbulent region, and the world, safer.

‘We want regional and international security to be more comprehensible, more transparent, more controlled and based on international law,’ he said.

President Medvedev is also pushing for energy and transportation projects — in which Russia is likely to lead the way — to boost economic development in Afghanistan and surrounding countries.

He called building energy infrastructure a vital prerequisite for prosperity.

‘Energy projects are what really help governments that need to strengthen their economy. Assistance must not just be a one-off affair, it should aim towards the future,’ he said. He said the leaders had discussed trade and cross-border projects at their meeting.

‘We have a common space which should be filled with all sorts of projects. ‘We were talking about energy projects, railway projects,’ he said. He said Russia would lobby for international financing for the plans.

‘I believe that huge sums allocated by the international community — altogether making trillions of dollars — should go for such aims,’ he said.

Afghanistan’s Karzai said: ‘This meeting... is the first important step in the direction of better understanding. Afghanistan... welcomes this and will participate in that wholly.’

Security cooperation was a key issue of separate talks held by the leaders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan earlier in the day.

‘The three states have expressed enthusiasm to cooperate in fighting against all threats and challenges like terrorism and all its manifestations: separatism, extremism and organised crime,’ the joint statement said.

‘We attached primary attention to common security issues,’ Tajikistan’s Rakhmon said after the talks with Mr Zardari and Mr Karzai.

President Zardari also held separate talks with the Russian leader who said trade between the two countries had been growing despite the economic crisis. — Agencies

President Zardari returned on Thursday from Dushanbe after a 3-day visit to Tajikistan.

Fighting terrorism together

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-07-30/fighting-terrorism-afghanistan-drugs.html/print

30 July, 2009, 20:49

“A symbol of trust” – that is what Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dubbed his meeting with the leaders of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan during a visit to the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.

Fighting terrorism in Afghanistan was the main focus of the Thursday summit of the four presidents.

The leaders of Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan first met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation earlier this year in Russia’s Yekaterinburg to discuss terrorism. This was where they also agreed to again meet to continue their talks on the issue.

At the present summit, the presidents did not say much about what they were discussing but did mention that the talks were productive and they would continue meeting in the future.

Also, the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, thanked the other presidents on behalf of his people for their efforts in providing peace in Afghanistan.

Russia’s part

Russia’s involvement in the region, including fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, is becoming more intense. President Medvedev and his American counterpart, Barack Obama, signed an agreement in Moscow in July that opens Russian air space to US military cargo on its way to Afghanistan.

Despite alternative routes being available, such as through Pakistan and other countries, Obama was reportedly keen, for safety reasons, to sign the deal with Moscow.

Russia also supports NATO’s aim to defeat militants in Afghanistan, which is why Moscow agreed to sign the deal with the USA. Both Russia and the US understand though that Al-Qaeda often hits NATO’s allies, who are much closer to Afghanistan’s territory. Nonetheless, the Russian president chose to sign the agreement, giving Moscow an even larger role in fighting terrorism in the region.

Drug trafficking

Drug trafficking from Afghanistan is another problem that is a major concern for Russia. The income from this illegal industry is primarily used for financing terrorists. This is another reason why Russia wants to be more deeply involved in solving the problem.

If the current format of co-operation between Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan proves to be efficient, Russia is expected to increase its efforts in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking in the region.

Russian military base in Tajikistan

Russia is also ready to discuss its military presence in Tajikistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday. According to media reports, Tajikistan could raise the issue of seeking payments from Moscow in exchange for it keeping its military base in the country.

One of the apparent purposes for Russia’s largest foreign ground base is to help maintain peace in the region and support its Tajik partners on the border with Afghanistan.

"We are partners, and if one of the partners wants to discuss something, we are ready. We will discuss this issue when it is raised with us," Lavrov told Russian journalists in Dushanbe on Thursday, according to Interfax.

Dmitry Medvedev and his Tajik counterpart have ordered their Defense and Foreign ministers to discuss the terms for Russia’s continuing presence in the country.

Russia’s Defense Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, is accompanying President Medvedev during his visit to Tajikistan.

Russian-owned Tajik hydropower plant officially launched

http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=50&id=461596

MOSCOW, Jul 31 (PRIME-TASS) -- Russian-owned Sangtudinskaya GES-1 hydropower plant in Tajikistan was officially launched Friday, ITAR-TASS reported.

The launch ceremony was attended by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently visiting Tajikistan.

The Russian and Tajik governments concluded an agreement to operate the plant.

Meanwhile, Medvedev said that Russia and Tajikistan planned to sign several agreements on cooperation in the energy industry and in the exploration of mineral resources.

Russian state-controlled nuclear conglomerate Rosatom holds 66.39% in the Sangtudinskaya GES-1 plant. Earlier this month the conglomerate said it would transfer its stake to Russian electric power importer Inter RAO UES, which is 57.3% controlled by Rosatom. The Tajik government owns 16.45% in the plant, while Russia's state-controlled Federal Grid Company (FGC) holds 14.92%.

The plant has a capacity of 670 megawatts.

RF, Tajik presidents launch Sangtuda HPP-1

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14194996

SANGTUDA (Tajikistan), July 31 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian and Tajikistani Presidents - Dmitry Medvedev and Emomali Rakhmon - in a festive ceremony on Friday launched the Sangtuda Hydropower Plant-1 built with direct participation of Russian companies.

The two heads of state pressed a symbolical button in the turbine room of the HPP after which on the map of Tajikistan green lines showing electrical networks lit up via which electricity will be supplied from the station.

Ahead of the ceremony, CEO of the Inter RAO UES Company Yevgeny Dod and Tajikistani First Vice Prime Minister Asadullo Gulomov signed an act of state acceptance of the plant thus officially completing the work for the HPP construction launched back in the Soviet period, about 20 years ago.

After that Director of the Sangtuda HPP OJSC Rakhmetulla Alzhanov told the presidents about the main parameters of the plant and demonstrated the equipment installed in the turbine room.

Alzhanov told reporters that the HPP will attain the design capacity in 2 months when the plant’s dam lake fills with water. It is planned that the HPP’s share will reach 12 percent of annual generation of all electricity in Tajikistan. He added that in two years after the Sangtuda HPP-2 is built by Iranian specialists downstream the Vakhsh River, the Tajikistan will solve the energy dependence problem. “Electricity will be supplied to houses round the clock, even in winter during frosts,” said Alzhanov.

The Sangtuda HPP-1 with the design capacity of 670 megawatts is one of the largest joint Russian-Tajikistani investment projects in the CIS space. The completion of the hydropower plant located 160 kilometres south of Dushanbe on the Vakhsh River, was started in April 2005 with 75-percent Russian capital. In 2008, amid a severe winter with 20-degree frosts that brought Tajikistan to the brink of energy collapse, the first unit of the plant was commissioned ahead of schedule, which considerably improved electricity supply to the million-populated Tajikistani capital. The last - fourth - power unit of the HPP was put into operation in the middle of this May.

Russia has no claims to Tajikistan regarding Russian language

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14194263&PageNum=0

DUSHANBE, July 31 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia has no claims to Tajikistan regarding the use of Russian language in the Central Asian republic, where it is recognized as the language of inter-ethnic communication.

“We do not need any explanations as the status of the language is fixed in the Constitution,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Sergei Prikhodko said on Thursday.

“The use of the Russian language is in the interests of Tajikistan,” he said, adding “there are no claims” regarding the use of the Russian language in the republic.

Last week Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon urged to pass a new language law that will switch state communications exclusively to the Tajik language, while at present Russian-language information is also available.

However, Prikhodko praised the Tajik president for his personal contribution to Russian language education. Programs have been launched to send Russian-language teachers to Tajikistan, to open affiliates of Russian institutes and Russian-language classes in secondary schools.

Numerous Tajiks are labor migrants in Russia, and while discussing the issue Rakhmon said “the people are also the carriers of the Russian language and Tajikistan is interested in that they have a possibility to work in Russia and study the Russian language.”

Many Tajiks had to return back home from Russia after the economic crisis erupted.

Medvedev Pushes Energy and Transport

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/380005.htm

31 July 2009 By Peter Leonard / The Associated Press

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan — President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday pushed for energy and transportation projects — in which Russia is likely to lead the way — to boost economic development in Afghanistan and surrounding countries.

Meeting with the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, Medvedev called building energy infrastructure a vital prerequisite for prosperity.

“Energy projects are what really help governments that need to strengthen their economy,” he said. “Assistance must not just be a one-off, it should be aimed toward the future.”

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari appeared to welcome the prospect of a greater Russian role in improving stability and enabling economic development.

“We are a region that is asking for help,” he said. “The people of Pakistan, the people of Afghanistan are looking forward and looking up to the leadership in the region to help them come out of their problems.”

Moscow has already invested heavily in projects in the region. On Friday, Medvedev is to attend the unveiling of the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant, in which Russia has a 75 percent stake and has invested almost $500 million.

While security issues lay at the heart of the meeting in Dushanbe, much attention was devoted to a project to export surplus electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Tajikistan, whose economy was ruined by civil war in the mid-1990s, has pinned its hopes of resurrecting its economy on new hydropower plants built with financial and technical assistance from Russia. The country currently suffers from chronic power shortages throughout the winter, but new plants could eventually enable Tajikistan to satisfy its own energy demands and also sell power to neighboring countries.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmon, joined Zardari in vowing to work more closely in fighting terrorism amid growing fears that instability could fan across the region.

Concerns have mounted in recent months that the step-up in military operations against insurgents in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be contributing to worsening security in Tajikistan, which has struggled to protect its 1,300-kilometer border with Afghanistan.

In recent weeks, Tajikistan has seen a spate of clashes between government troops and militants in areas near the Afghan border.

Zardari indicated that his country was committed to ensuring stability beyond his country’s borders.

“We stand together to confirm and inform the world that together we shall face all eventualities, whether they are a threat to our national interests through terrorism, or whether it is a hope for the future of the coming generation,” Zardari said.

While not committing any troops to U.S.-led military operations to quell the insurgency in Afghanistan, Moscow has sought in recent months to take a more prominent role in regional security.

In July, Russia agreed to allow the United States to ship Afghanistan-bound weapons across its territory.

The normal supply route to landlocked Afghanistan via Pakistan has come under repeated Taliban attack, and the United States and NATO have been eager to have an alternate overland supply route through Russia and the Central Asian countries.

Moscow hopes to secure a second military base in Kyrgyzstan, where the United States also has an important air base. Kremlin officials say the base would be used by a rapid-reaction force being formed by the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization. Other organization members are Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The issue is due to be discussed this weekend, when Medvedev meets other Collective Security Treaty Organization leaders in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.

Russia boosts C.Asia ties, opens plant in Tajikistan

http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINLV61621720090731

Fri Jul 31, 2009 1:29pm IST

* Russia opens new power plant in Tajikistan

* Seeks to retain regional influence

By Roman Kozhevnikov and Anastasia Onegina

SANGTUDA, Tajikistan, July 31 (Reuters) - Russia opened a large hydroelectric plant in Tajikistan on Friday as part of its push to counter growing U.S. clout in ex-Soviet Central Asia.

Control over Central Asia's abundant oil, gas, metals and hydro resources is at the centre of Russia-U.S. rivalry, particularly at a time when escalating fighting in nearby Afghanistan in adding to security concerns in the region.

Tajikistan has been particularly courted by Washington in recent months because of its role as a transit nation for U.S. troops fighting the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Seeking to boost Moscow's weight in a region Russia sees as part of its sphere of influence, President Dmitry Medvedev flew to Tajikistan to open a new $720 million power plant due to account for 12 percent of Tajikistan's electricity output.

"(Sangtuda-1 plant) is a large project that will link our countries and peoples for many years," Medvedev said, speaking at the giant Soviet-style construction perched on a powerful river gushing down the Pamir mountains.

Security remains a major concern in the region which has been rocked by a series of violent clashes between state troops and armed gangs described as Islamist rebels by the authorities.

On the eve of Medvedev's visit to Sangtuda, a bomb blew up a police car in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, injuring a policeman.

The power plant deal cements Moscow's role as Tajikistan's key partner at a time when the West is taking steps to forge closer ties with ex-Soviet republics -- a process Moscow sees as an attempt to poach its long-standing allies.

The United States last month convinced Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian nation, to allow U.S. troops to keep a military air base in the country.

In another case, Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous nation also bordering Afghanistan, has strongly objected to Moscow plans to set up a new military base in Kyrgyzstan and threatened to block any such moves, according to Russian media.

Relations with Tajikistan itself have also been rocky. The tiny nation has irked Russia by drafting a new law limiting the use of the Russian language and promoting Tajik, a language closely linked to Farsi. (Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; editing by Maria Golovnina)

Russia pushes for CAsia energy projects

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1104ap_as_tajikistan_russia_development.html

Last updated July 30, 2009 10:30 a.m. PT

By PETER LEONARDASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday pushed for energy and transportation projects - in which Russia is likely to lead the way - to boost economic development in Afghanistan and surrounding countries.

Meeting with the presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan, Medevdev called building energy infrastructure a vital prerequisite for prosperity.

"Energy projects are what really help governments that need to strengthen their economy," he said. "Assistance must not just be a one-off, it should be aimed toward the future."

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari appeared to welcome the prospect of a greater Russian role in improving stability and enabling economic development.

"We are a region that is asking for help," he said. "The people of Pakistan, the people of Afghanistan are looking forward and looking up to the leadership in the region to help them come out of their problems."

Russia has already invested heavily in projects in the region. On Friday, Medvedev is to attend the unveiling of the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant, in which Russia has a 75 percent stake and has invested almost $500 million.

While security issues lay at the heart of the meeting in Dushanbe, much attention was devoted to a project to export surplus electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Tajikistan, whose economy was ruined by civil war in the mid-1990s, has pinned its hopes of resurrecting its economy on new hydropower plants built with financial and technical assistance from Russia. The country currently suffers from chronic power shortages throughout the winter, but new plants could eventually enable Tajikistan to satisfy its own energy demands and also sell power to neighboring countries.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmon, joined Zardari in vowing to work more closely in fighting terrorism amid growing fears that instability could fan across the region.

Concerns have mounted in recent months that the step-up in military operations against insurgents in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be contributing to worsening security in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic that has struggled to protect its 830-mile (1,300-kilometer) border with Afghanistan.

In recent weeks, Tajikistan has seen a spate of clashes between government troops and militants in areas near the Afghan border.

Zardari indicated his country was committed to ensuring stability beyond his country's borders.

"We stand together to confirm and inform the world that together we shall face all eventualities, whether they are a threat to our national interests through terrorism, or whether it is a hope for the future of the coming generation," Zardari said.

While not committing any troops to U.S.-led military operations to quell the insurgency in Afghanistan, Moscow has sought in recent months to take a more prominent role in regional security.

In July, Russia agreed to allow the United States to ship Afghanistan-bound weapons across its territory.

The normal supply route to landlocked Afghanistan via Pakistan has come under repeated Taliban attack, and the U.S. and NATO have been eager to have an alternate overland supply route through Russia and the Central Asian countries.

Moscow hopes to secure a second military base in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, where the United State also has an important air base. Kremlin officials say the base would be used by a rapid-reaction force being formed by the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization. Other organization members are Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The issue is due to be discussed this weekend, when Medvedev meets other Collective Security Treaty Organization leaders in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital.

Russian Premier to visit Turkey August 6

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102085&sectionid=351020204

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:19:05 GMT

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is scheduled to pay a visit to Turkey on August 6 at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to a statement by the Russian government press service, the visit was agreed during a phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan on Thursday.

"Today the head of government Vladimir Putin and the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a telephone conversation during which they agreed on a working visit by the Russian head of government to Turkey on 6 August," the statement said.

The statement further added that several joint economic and trade projects will be examined during the Russian official's visit.

According to the Turkish daily Sabah, Turkey and Russia would sign three protocols on bilateral cooperation - in the oil, gas and nuclear spheres.

Trade between the two countries totaled around $40 billion in 2008.

EU mission issues statement ahead of first anniversary of August war in Caucasus

http://www.interfax.com/3/508602/news.aspx

TBILISI. July 31 (Interfax) - The EU observer mission has issued a

statement in the run-up to the first anniversary of last August's

conflict in the Caucasus, calling on all sides concerned to display

restraint and to avoid staging provocations.

At this particularly fragile time, it is exceedingly important for

all parties to show restraint and to refrain from staging any

provocative acts, the EU observer mission said in its statement, which

was circulated on behalf of the mission's deputy head General Gilles

Janvier on Thursday.

An escalation of tensions today would not meet anyone's interests,

the mission said.

Several incidents have occurred in the past few days, it said.

The observer mission continues to follow the situation and to study

it in the regions in a thorough and impartial manner, it said.

The mission also continues to cooperate with all sides concerned in

order to maintain security and stability for the population living in

the territories near the administrative borders, according to the

document.

South Ossetia to make territorial claim on Georgian gorge

http://en.rian.ru/exsoviet/20090731/155685643.html

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - South Ossetia intends to demand the return of its former territory, the Truso Gorge, which is currently a part of Georgia, the former Georgian republic's president said on Friday.

"We have serious territorial issues which have to be raised. And we will raise them. This is about the Truso Gorge, currently a part of Georgia's Mtskheta-Mtianeti region - this is an indigenously Ossetian land that for some unclear reason was transferred during Soviet times to the administrative control of the Georgian Soviet Republic," Eduard Kokoity told RIA Novosti.

"Today we must raise the issue of returning these lands to Ossetia," he said.

The president also said that South Ossetia will start constructing border facilities on the 400-km frontier with Georgia, despite Tbilisi's refusal to recognize South Ossetia's independence and participate in the border demarcation.

"At this stage the frontier will be established within the borders of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast [a region created within the Georgian Soviet Republic in 1922]," Kokoity said.

The border between Georgia and its former republic of South Ossetia is currently controlled by Russian and South Ossetian border guards.

Russia recognized South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia, after Russia and Georgia fought a five day war last August. Georgian forces had attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.

U.S. claims about Russia's possible NATO membership nonsense – Rogozin

http://www.interfax.com/3/508616/news.aspx

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax-AVN) - The statement by a U.S.

administration official that Russian could become a member of NATO

should not be taken seriously, said Russia's ambassador to NATO Dmitry

Rogozin.

"All this is nonsense, to be honest. I cannot take it seriously,"

Rogozin said live on the Russian News Service on Thursday.

U.S. assistant secretary of state Philip Gordon told earlier the

Congress that Russia could join NATO.

"You should read the text. Gordon said: if there is a consensus

within NATO - and this consensus will never be there," Rogozin said.

NATO members such as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, "which are

demolishing our monuments, the monuments to the soldiers who fell during

the Great Patriotic War fighting for the liberation of the world from

Nazism" will never let Russia become an alliance member, Rogozin said.

"How can they vote for us joining NATO if they got enrolled there

to hide from us?" he said.

In the mid-1950s the Soviet leadership seriously considered joining

NATO, but Moscow's initiative was rejected by Western countries, Rogozin

recalled. "When the Soviet Union collapsed, there was another chance to

reformat itself, to become one single pan-European security system.

Again, they did not want it," the diplomat said.

U.S. Takes Steps to Boost Security Cooperation With Russia

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073004094.html

By Walter Pincus

Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, July 31, 2009

The United States is moving to deepen security cooperation with Russia as part of the Obama administration's effort to "reset" relations with Moscow, senior officials told Congress on Thursday.

This week, a team of military experts went to Moscow for the first round of discussions on an early warning center that would assess the threat of ballistic missiles, including any from Iran or North Korea, the officials said. U.S. and Russian officials are also planning to hold talks in October to lay the groundwork for extensive military programs next year.

"Hopefully, through this joint threat assessment, we can begin to chip away at some of the Russian misperceptions" about U.S. plans for missile defense elements in Europe, Alexander Vershbow, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told members of the House Armed Services Committee.

Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, said Russian "elites" exhibit "paranoia and worst-case assessments" about the U.S. plan to put a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptors in Poland, but he added that dialogue could help soften those views.

Vershbow said that the highest priority for President Obama in recent talks with the Russians was Afghanistan, and that securing Moscow's agreement to allow the transit of U.S. troops and weapons through Russian air space was an important achievement. "The Russians, I think, recognize that they, too, have a stake in defeating the Taliban and establishing a stable, democratic Afghanistan," Vershbow said.

He added that although Russia does not have a military presence in Afghanistan, it is participating in that country's counternarcotics programs, training Afghan police at a center in Moscow, and repairing Soviet-era bridges and tunnels that are improving access for commercial goods heading in and out of Afghanistan.

Officials said U.S. and Russian security interests overlap on nonproliferation and thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"I think we've seen cooperation with Russia on this issue and then other areas where they've been less helpful," said Philip Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.

He said that although some officials in Washington and in other capitals are concerned about Moscow's relations with Iran, "Russia has refrained from moving forward with what would be really considered more destabilizing arms transfers to Iran or steps in the nuclear area that would be provocative to us and others."

There remain disagreements between Russia and the United States, such as over U.S. support for Georgia and the enlargement of NATO.

"The predominant view in Russia is that they're better off dominating their neighbors, even if that means instability than accepting the choices of those neighbors -- unfortunately," Gordon said.

Partnership deal signed with Russia

http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=&special=&monthyear=&day=&id=33276&ndb=1&df=0

Russia and India will look to establish exporting standards for over 45 of India's fish processing plants.

Friday, July 31, 2009, 15:20 (GMT + 9)

The Russian Federation and India on Wednesday signed a deal in Moscow outlining an administrative arrangement for the shipping of fish and seafood between the two nations. Russia’s intended ban on Indian imports has since been cancelled.

Leena Nair, Chairperson of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), and N.A. Vlasov, Deputy Head of Russia’s Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS) represented their countries in the signing of the agreement, Business Line reports.

India's representatives at the meeting also included Director of the Ministry of Commerce Shiv Kumar, Joint Director of India’s Export Inspection Council (EIC)Anand Kishore and First Secretary of Economics and Commerce at the Indian Embassy in Moscow Debajyoti Pal.

Food safety and quality control prior to the shipment of seafood products will be assured by the arrangement. It will also determine exporting standards for over 45 of India’s fish processing plants.

Another function of the document is the outlining of cooperation modalities regarding the quarantine of export and import products that do not pass the inspections of processed wild-caught and farmed seafood.

India’s EIC has acquired greater authority and accountability in regards to its country’s fish processing units and the administering of inspection approvals for products to be exported to Russia, as emphasised in the agreement.

Both EIC and FSVPS have decided that open ongoing communication between them will heighten their partnership, especially regarding India’s seafood exports to Russia.

An agreement for the countries to put together a bilateral working group to focus on marine products safety has also been reached.

Russian energy minister to visit Iraq in early August

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090731/155684922.html

KHABAROVSK, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's energy minister Sergei Shmatko said on Friday he would pay a visit to Iraq in early August to discuss oil and energy cooperation.

"In the first half of August, I will visit Baghdad," he told journalists.

The main issue on the agenda is likely to be Russia's participation in the West Qurna-2 project.

LUKoil was involved in the development of the first phase of West Qurna and signed a contract with the Saddam Hussein regime to develop the second stage, but the deal was frozen in 2002.

In May Russia wrote off the bulk of Iraq's debts of around $12 billion.

A number of foreign oil companies, including LUKoil, are expected to take part in bidding to participate in long-term development projects involving the country's oil fields next month.

West Qurna-2's proven recoverable reserves have been estimated at around 6 billion barrels of oil. Investment in the project could reach $4 billion.

Putin signs doc on quicker energy facilities building in F East

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14194672&PageNum=0

KHABAROVSK, July 31 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a resolution on the acceleration of the construction of a number of energy facilities in the East of the country, he said at a meeting on issues of control over the fulfilment of the RF president’s and prime minister’s tasks linked with the development of the Russian Far East.

“Today I signed a government resolution envisaging the construction of a number of most important energy facilities,” Putin said, “namely the construction of the power transmission line of the Neryungri hydropower plant for ensuring the work of the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean Oil Pipeline (ESPO) – 1.5 bln roubles; the construction of the Suntar-Olyokminsk power transmission line – 2 bln roubles in 2009, as well as the project for the use of hydro and geothermal resources of the Kamchatka Territory”.

East Russia May Pump 150 Billion Cubic Meters of Gas, Putin Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aufZ8AfQ_asc

By Anna Shiryaevskaya

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s east may produce 150 billion cubic meters of gas by 2020, a figure comparable with the country’s current total exports, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today.

Putin commented in Khabarovsk at a ceremony marking the start of construction on a gas pipeline linking Sakhalin Island the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at ashiryaevska@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 30, 2009 20:41 EDT

RF Transport Min asks Far East gvrnrs to subsidise local airlines

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14195042&PageNum=0

KHABAROVSK, July 31 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Transport Ministry has requested governors of the Far East to subsidise the local airlines.

At a conference in Khabarovsk with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin chairing, Transport Minister Igor Levitin said that in the Far Eastern Federal District 45 airports are financed from the federal budget, including 21 – in Yakutia, 9 – in Chukotka and 15 – on Kamchatka. “This is the network that will be financed from the budget,” said Levitin.

In this connection he made a proposal to the governors to subsidise local airlines as they would not finance the airports.

RF to keep discount rates for flights from F East until late Oct

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14194731&PageNum=0

KHABAROVSK, July 31 (Itar-Tass) - Discount tariffs for plane tickets from the Russian Far East to the country’s central regions will be in effect until late October 2009, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a meeting on the “control over the fulfilment by the executive power bodies of the RF president’s and government’s tasks linked with the development of the Far East of Russia.”

“We have already introduced a special air transportation discount tariff for citizens living in the Far East. Such rules are in effect from May 15 to September 15. I think that we should make another step and extend the effect of the discount tariff for transporting the Far East residents until the end of this October,” Putin said.

The prime minister noted, he has recently signed the corresponding resolution. According to the RF government, 90 thousand more Far East residents will be able to use this privilege. “We should also think about increasing the number of cities to which passengers will be flown at a discount rate,” Putin said.

He recalled that within the framework of taking anti-crisis measures the government introduced free transportation of new Russian-made automobiles to the Far Eastern Federal District. “Such an easy-term regime will be extended for 2010,” said the RF prime minister.

Ukrainian diplomat expelled from Russia named

http://en.rian.ru/world/20090731/155684906.html

KIEV, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - One of the Ukrainian diplomats to be expelled by Russia as part of the tit-for-tat row has been named as Igor Berezkin, a source in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was cited by the UNIAN news agency as saying on Friday.

Berezkin, who recently took up his post in the political section of the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow, coordinated all issues on Ukraine-Russian relations, in particular Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine's Crimea.

The expulsions follows a similar move by Kiev, who requested that Russia's consul general in Odessa, Alexander Grachev and a senior counselor at the Russian embassy, Vladimir Lysenko, leave Ukraine over accusations that they had been involved in work in violation of their diplomatic status.

Ukraine earlier demanded Lysenko quit the country by July 29, despite the fact that the Russian diplomat had already left Ukraine after his job came to an end on July 28.

Russia's Foreign Minister responded angrily to the expulsions, "The Ukrainian authorities have not presented us with any facts of espionage," Sergei Lavrov told reporters in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Thursday. "They simply do not exist. We know this for sure."

The minister also said that maintaining contacts with legitimate political forces, which openly express their ideas and conduct their activities in accordance with national laws, cannot be deemed "incompatible with diplomatic status."

Sechin Latin America trip opens door for Russian energy producers

http://www.russiatoday.com/Business/2009-07-30/sechin-latin-america-trip.html/print

30 July, 2009, 20:53

Russia will start exploring for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, after signing a deal with Cuba this week. The announcement comes as part of Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin's visit to the region.

Sechin's Latin American tour resulted in new prospects for Russian energy companies. Venezuela was the first stop of the trip. The Deputy Prime Minister talked up the longer term prospects of a joint venture deal the two nations agreed for the oil and gas sector.

"To create an actual basis for work in the oil and gas industry, a memorandum has been signed between Gazprom and Petroleum of Venezuela to form a joint venture for providing services."

Sechin later visited Nicaragua where more agreements were penned, before contracts in Cuba opened the way for Russian companies to explore for oil off its coast.

Denis Borisov, Senior Analyst at Solid-Invest says traditional geopolitical interests in the area are not the only reason for the visit.

“It's an attempt to enhance the effectiveness of oil extraction and compensate for problems that in the last few years have held back Russian companies from entering new regions.”

North America is the traditional and potential customer of oil extracted from this region. The deals signed this week will potentially give Russian companies 5 to 10 years of business in a potentially lucrative market.

Chinese merchants to retrieve seized goods in closed Moscow market

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/31/content_11801213.htm

2009-07-31 05:55:27

MOSCOW, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese merchants will be allowed to retrieve their goods in a closed Moscow market, the head of a Chinese coordination group said on Thursday.

    A Chinese coordination group on Thursday discussed with Moscow's consumer department the clearing up of Chinese merchants' stalls in the Cherkizovsky market as well as the transferring of their goods.

    The Russian side agreed to take further steps to safeguard the market's order and to work with the Chinese side to crack down on the illegal activities, said Cai Guiru, head of the temporary Chinese coordination group and chairperson of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Russia.

    It is agreed that Chinese merchants will be allowed to clean up their stalls and ship out their merchandise during a specific period of time every day, Cai said.

    The Russian side took "sincere and earnest" attitudes towards the handling of the market closure, in the hope that most of the Chinese merchants will be able to retrieve their goods safely, she said.

    This meeting is helpful and the Russian side heard positive opinions from Chinese vendors, said Georgy Smoleyevcky, first deputy head of the Moscow Consumer Market and Services Department.

    The Russian side will make conclusions accordingly and give instructions to relevant departments, he said, expressing the hope that complaints from Chinese traders will be less and less in future.

    The official also dismissed the speculation that a Chinese shopping mall will be built in the place of the closed Cherkizovsky, Russia's biggest wholesale market.

    The coordination group, formed under the auspices of the Chinese embassy in Russia in July, involves heads of China's provincial chambers of commerce.

    Russian police abruptly shut down the nearly 300-hectare market in northeastern Moscow on June 29, after the disclosure of various illegal and irregular operations in the market by the Russian Federal Supervision Service for Consumer Rights Protection and People Welfare.

    A Chinese senior delegation, led by Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, reached broad consensus with the Russian side on the closure issue.

Moscow Denies Plan For Chinese Market

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/380008.htm

31 July 2009By Maria Antonova / The Moscow Times

City Hall on Thursday denied reports that a Chinese trade complex would be built to replace Cherkizovsky Market, saying any such center will be located beyond the Moscow Ring Road.

Vladimir Malyshkov, head of Moscow’s consumer markets department, said Wednesday that the city was ready to provide space for Chinese investors who would construct a building complex for Chinese traders who have been displaced from Cherkizovsky. The market has been closed since June 29 over sanitary and safety violations.

City Hall has chosen two possible spots for a trading complex away from residential areas, Malyshkov said.

A spokeswoman for City Hall declined to say where these spots, sized 140 and 60 hectares, are located, while an official statement Thursday said any such complex would lie outside the Moscow Ring Road.

“The Moscow government has not considered any other alternatives of such a project,” the statement said.

One possible location for Chinese merchants could be a new building located on the southeastern fringe of Moscow, where construction has been almost finished, said Sergei Sanakoyev, head of the Russian-Chinese Center for Trade and Economic Partnership.

There have been about 500 requests from Chinese companies who are interested in becoming tenants, but half of them were immediately rejected because they didn’t have proper documentation, Sanakoyev said.

A spokeswoman for developer AFI Development, Natalya Ivanova, confirmed that the company has an office complex in the Kosino area of Moscow that could be turned into a shopping complex but denied that specific plans exist. “We have received such a request, but it’s too early to talk about a Chinese trade center. The official decision has not been made,” she said.

Sanakoyev said any possible facility would not be a replacement of Cherkizovsky, where many sellers operated illegally. “A civilized trade center would bring serious Chinese exporters to Russia, who were previously unable to compete with cheap counterfeits,” he said.

Goods worth about $2 billion were confiscated from the market, while media reports have said 60,000 to 80,000 Chinese lost their jobs because of the Cherkizovsky’s closure.

The closure prompted a Chinese delegation, led by Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, to fly to Moscow last week and request that the city do more to accommodate the out-of-work immigrants. Mayor Yury Luzhkov told the delegation that finding a place for the workers was not Moscow’s problem.

Russian Journalist Not Allowed Into Lithuania

http://www.rferl.org/content/Russian_Journalist_Not_Allowed_To_Lithuania/1789154.html

July 30, 2009

VILNIUS -- The editor in chief of Russia's Regnum Information Agency, Modest Kolerov, has been prevented from entering Lithuania by train despite having a valid Shengen visa in his passport, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Kolerov was on his way to the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to take part in an international conference on Russian-Lithuanian relations.

Lithuanian border guards asked Kolerov to step off the Moscow-Vilnius train and told him that Lithuania's migration authorities consider him an undesirable alien.

Kolerov said he still intends to take part in the conference via mobile phone and the Internet.

He accused media in Lithuania of mischaracterizing him as an adversary of Lithuania.

Belarus to reduce transit tariffs to Kaliningrad for Russian metals

http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/07/31/MTA0ODcw/Belarus_to_reduce_transit_tariffs_to_Kaliningrad_for_Russian_metals.html

Friday, 31 Jul 2009

It is reported that Belarusian Railways has decided to reduce from August 1st 2009 the transit tariffs for transporting pig iron and ferrous metals to Russia Kaliningrad region to the level adopted in Russia.

As per report, the decision will extend only to the transportation of products of Russian steelmaker Novolipetsk Steel, Russian mining and metallurgy company Metalloinvest steel producing subsidiary Oskol Electrometallurgical Plant and of one of Russia’s largest producers of merchant pig iron, Tulachermet.

The companies in question have guaranteed to increase the transportation of their products to Kaliningrad ports by up to 1 million tonnes in 2009.

(Sourced from www.steelorbis.com)

Russia's Nerpa nuclear sub starts sea trials in Far East

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090731/155684564.html

VLADIVOSTOK, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests in November last year, started on Friday the second stage of new sea trials, a source involved in the tests said.

The vessel resumed sea trials on July 10 in the Sea of Japan following extensive repairs. The first stage of new sea trials was successfully completed on Monday.

"The submarine left dock at the Vostok repair facility in the town of Bolshoy Kamen in the Primorye Territory and headed for the Sea of Japan," the source said.

Some special equipment to check the vessel's performance has been installed on board the submarine and the new trials will last for at least two weeks, according to the Amur shipyard officials.

On November 8, 2008, while the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials in the Sea of Japan, its on-board fire suppression system activated, releasing a deadly gas into the sleeping quarters. Three crewmembers and 17 shipyard workers were killed. There were 208 people, 81 of them submariners, on board the vessel at the time.

Following the repairs, which cost an estimated 1.9 billion rubles ($60 million), the submarine was cleared for final sea trials before being commissioned with the Russian Navy, and will be leased to the Indian Navy by the end of 2009 under the name INS Chakra.

India reportedly paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine.

Akula II class vessels are considered the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Russian Sailors Claim Attack

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1010/42/380013.htm

Swedish police were investigating a suspected hijacking of a Finnish-owned cargo ship whose Russian crew claims that the vessel was seized for 12 hours by masked men who identified themselves as police officers, officials said Thursday.

The 15 Russian crew members of the Arctic Sea say they were tied up and beaten by a group of up to 10 men who boarded the ship July 24 off the Swedish island of Oland, lead investigator Ingemar Isaksson said. No serious injuries were reported.

The intruders purportedly identified themselves as police and demanded to search the ship for drugs. Isaksson said Swedish police had not conducted any ship searches in the area.

The crew claims that they were released 12 hours later, as the men left the ship empty-handed and disappeared in a high-speed inflatable boat, Isaksson said. (AP)

Russia's Airborne Troops To Use Attack Drones in Near Future

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/economics/30-07-2009/108520-airborne_troops-0

30.07.2009

Russia's airborne troops are about to complete the work on their new image and structure. Russia’s mobile assault forces will preserve mobility and increase their combat potential, the commander of the troops, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said.

For the time being, there are nine battalions of paratroopers in the structure of the nation’s airborne troops. All of them are constantly prepared to be deployed in any troubled region. A contract paratrooper will be paid 30,000 rubles ($1,000) a month instead of the current 7,500 rubles ($240).

“This is not bragging. We bother each of the battalions every three months. Their mobility and readiness have been combat-proven,” the general said.

The work on a new image and structure in the Armed Forces stipulates a serious staff reduction. However, it has not been the rule with the airborne troops. Full-fledged surface-to-air missile regiments are to be established in four divisions, Shamanov said.

“Commandoes attack aggressively. They should be able to move very quickly from one location to another. However, the personnel have been defenseless against air raids and attack helicopters. Until recently, it has been a weak point in all of such operations. This drawback will be compensated now,” the official said.

Reconnaissance battalions will be created on the base of ground cavalry troops too. The new units will use unmanned aircraft in their activities. The drones will be used to regulate fire supervising the enemy on a battlefield.

“In two or three years we plan to develop and create attack drones that will be capable of defeating the enemy on the area of up to 25 kilometers without the participation of staff,” the general said.

"At the end of August we will receive a battalion of ten Nona self-propelled guns and two fire-control vehicles. We will also increase the number of wheeled armored vehicles in service with the airborne troops," he said, adding that the modernized or even new tracked vehicles, including the latest BMD-4 airborne infantry vehicle, demonstrated limited mobility in the five-day war with Georgia last year, RIA Novosti reports.

Russian Armed Forces Develop an "Information Pipeline"

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=35337&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=28a94a50c5

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 146

July 30, 2009 11:56 AM Age: 16 hrs

Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Home Page, Military/Security, Foreign Policy, The Caucasus, Georgia, Russia

By: Pavel Felgenhauer

From June 29 to July 6, the Russian military staged massive Kavkaz 2009 exercises involving air force, army and naval units. During Kavkaz-2009, forces were deployed on Georgia's borders and in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The official aim of Kavkaz 2009 was to prepare to counter terrorism, but this was clearly not the main objective. Unprecedented in Russian military tradition, its top military commander, the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Defense Minister General of the Army Nikolai Makarov was directly in command of Kavkaz 2009 - officially a routine regional exercise aimed at countering terrorism (EDM, June 18).

On July 14 in Novorossiysk President Dmitry Medvedev, visited the Black Sea Fleet flagship cruiser Moskva and inspected troops of the 7th Airborne (VDV) division that were both involved in Kavkaz 2009. In Novorossiysk Medvedev attended a top brass meeting together with Makarov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov aimed at assessing the results of Kavkaz 2009 (EDM, July 16).

Officially, the Kavkaz 2009 "operational-strategic exercises" were declared to be a success. A spokesman for the press service of the North Caucasus Military District (MD) Lieutenant-Colonel Andrei Boburin told reporters: "The goal of the exercise was to examine the actual battle and mobilization readiness of troops deployed in the southwestern region of Russia. All objectives were achieved and targets hit in conditions that were as close to real combat as possible" (RIA Novosti, July 6). Last week in the Kremlin Medvedev told top military commanders, "By the way, the recent exercises Kavkaz 2009 in one of the elements of which I participated, demonstrated that coordinated action by the armed forces, law enforcement structures and the Federal Security Service (FSB) can increase manifold the effectiveness of our actions" (www.kremlin.ru, July 20).

Kavkaz 2009 was held under a tight cloak of secrecy and the reports of their successful outcome remain vague. No foreign observers were invited. There are no official explanations as to what made Kavkaz-2009 so special that it justified putting Makarov in command, with Medvedev and Serdyukov participating.

Last week a report in the Moscow Gazeta daily quoted a source in the General Staff as saying that the main objective of Kavkaz 2009 was to test a new computerized command and control system. An Akatsia intelligence gathering system was reportedly tested to supply online-summarized information from the battlefield to upper-level operational staffs, as well as to the General Staff. A joint tactical command system Sozvezdie ("Constellation") was deployed to relay orders to battlefield units directly and online from the main operational staff. The Akatsia and Sozvezdie systems were designed to create a summarized situation environment on staff displays using information inputs from commanders, lookouts, drones and satellites to allow the commanding generals to make decisions based on online information and directly relay them to the troops. During a press conference on June 5, Makarov complained that the military lacks modern intelligence gathering and command and control systems, as was demonstrated during the war with Georgia in August 2008. The army, air force, navy and other armed forces branches has separate intelligence, command and control networks, said Makarov, but now a new joint "information pipeline" is being built to provide staffs and commanders of all services with information.

According to Gazeta, during Kavkaz 2009 the Akatsia and Sozvezdie systems did not live up to expectations: Makarov in the operational headquarters did have displays working, but the information did not come directly from remote battlefield sensors, but was punched in by officers sitting in an adjacent room. Makarov's orders also did not go directly to the battlefield during Kavkaz 2009, through the digital information pipeline, but were relayed by staff officers using voice radios and field telephones. Replying to a Gazeta request for information, the North Caucasus MD operational staff stated that they did not know about any communication mishaps during Kavkaz 2009 (www.gzt.ru, July 20).

After the visit to Moscow earlier this month by President Barack Obama, the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced that the threat of a new war had receded as a direct result of American pressure on Russia. Speaking at a meeting of the National Security Council in Tbilisi on July 9, Saakashvili announced: "Russia planned another war against Georgia, but fortunately due to the support of our strategic partners and the entire democratic world they were not allowed to do so" (The Georgian Times, July 14). U.S. pressure could indeed have played a role, but the reported underperformance of the Akatsia and Sozvezdie systems during Kavkaz 2009 could have been another serious restricting factor.

The Russian defense ministry is frantically trying to improve its battlefield intelligence gathering and its command and control capabilities. The new VDV commander Lieutenant-General Vladimir Shamanov told reporters this week that to supplement the lack of sufficient numbers of intelligence gathering drones, "it is possible to deploy in Abkhazia or South Ossetia light small propeller-engine manned An-2 or An-3 planes" for intelligence gathering "if the opposing air defenses are weak" (RIA Novosti, July 28).

The overall situation remains very tense. There is no letup in Russian officials making threatening statements, accusing Georgia of rearming with Western help, and of preparing "provocations" and planning treacherous new armed attacks against Abkhazia and South Ossetia (ITAR-TASS, July 23; RIA Novosti, July 29). It is unclear, whether any possible military action against Georgia will be postponed until the Akatsia and Sozvezdie systems effectively go online in the future, or if improvised shortcuts will be swiftly employed before the good weather season ends this year in the fall.

Moscow police hunt killer of manager at Russian defense firm

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090731/155685940.html

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow police are conducting a manhunt for the killer of a top manager at one of Russia's largest defense firms, Almaz-Antei, a law enforcement source told RIA Novosti on Friday.

Andrei Barabenko was gunned down on Thursday evening as he approached his car in south Moscow. The killer fired several shots into Barabenko before escaping on foot.

"At the current moment, investigators are looking at two main motives in the murder of the company employee - professional and personal motives. However, this does not mean that other versions are not being examined," the source said.

Police said the gun used in the shooting has not been recovered, although ballistic experts believe a TT pistol was used by the killer.

Investigators are continuing to work at the murder scene, the source said.

This is not the first time that a top manager at Almaz-Antei has been murdered, in June 2003 the head of the company Igor Klimov was gunned down outside his home in Moscow.

Klimov's killers were sentenced to up to 25 years in prison in 2006. Yevgeny Mankov, the leader of a six-member gang behind Klimov's murder was sentenced to life in October of 2005, but a year later his sentence was reduced to 25 years.

Almaz-Antei is one of Russia's largest air defense manufacturers, specializing in producing small, medium and long-range air defense systems, in particular, the S-300 and S-400 Triumpf systems.

Meeting of Armenian Church and Russian Orthodox leaders held in Moscow

http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2009-07-30-meeting-of-armenian-church-and-russian-orthodox-leaders-held-in-moscow

Published: Thursday July 30, 2009

Moscow - Between July 14 and 16, Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, traveled to Moscow to meet with Kirill I, the Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since his installation last February.

Accompanying the Catholicos was Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern); Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian, locum tenens of the Patriarchate of Jersualem; Archbishop Aram Ateshian, chair of the Religious Council of the Patriarchate of Constantinople; Archbishop Barkev Martirossian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Artsakh; Archbishop Yeznik Petrosyan, director of ecumenical relations at Holy Etchmiadzin; Bishop Yezras Nersissian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Russia and New Nakhichevan; Bishop Movses Movsesian, Primate of the Armenian Church of Southern Russia; and leaders of the Russian-Armenian community.

"Your Holiness, we came here to renew the brotherly love that has existed between our peoples and our churches for centuries. That love is the basis of our cooperation," Catholicos Karekin II said to Patriarch Kirill I. The Catholicos also expressed his gratitude to the Patriarch for his goodwill toward the Armenian community in Russia.

The two leaders discussed various issues, including the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. It was decided that the Russian Patriarch would host a meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani religious leaders some time in the near future, to further examine this issue.

"I am glad that Vehapar asked me to be a part of this historic moment," Archbishop Barsamian said. "The occasion allowed for our church to reaffirm its close relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church."

Patriarch Kirill I was consecrated as the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church last February. Prior to that, he served as the archbishop, and later as the metropolitan, of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and as chairperson of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations.

The visit this month marked Catholicos Karekin II's first meeting with Patriarch Kirill since the latter assumed his new role. The Catholicos had met with Patriarch Kirill in his previous capacities, and with the late Patriarch Alexy, both in Russia and Armenia, on several occasions.

Prior to his election as Patriarch, then-Archbishop Kirill also met on several occasions with Archbishop Barsamian. In 2003, the Primate hosted a luncheon in his honor at the Diocesan Center in New York City. 

Also during the visit to Moscow, Bishop Yezras Nersissian invited members of Catholicos Karekin's entourage to visit the construction site of the new diocesan complex in Moscow. When completed, the complex will be one of the largest Armenian diocesan centers in the world.

Russian soldiers instead of cigarettes will get candy

http://makfax.com.mk/en-us/Details.aspx?ItemID=7571

Moscow / 31/07/09 / 08:01

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Dmitry Bulgakov has announced that the Defense Ministry will no longer purchase cigarettes for soldiers.

In the new food packet for soldiers cigarettes won't be included. We will stop buying cigarettes for armed forces and replace them with candy and sugar, Bulgalkov said.

He added that they won't forbid smoking in the army, but the soldiers will have to buy cigarettes from a canteen.

If you want to smoke, then smoke. If not eat candy, the Deputy Prime Minister said and added that this reform will come into force in the first quarter in 2010. /end/tz

A Decade With Putin

http://www.rferl.org/content/blog/1786450.html

July 27, 2009

We are fast coming up on the 10th anniversary of Putinism. On August 9, 1999, Putin was named first deputy prime minister after the government of Sergei Stepashin was dismissed. The same day, President Boris Yeltsin named Putin acting prime minister and anointed him the presidential successor. On August 16, the Duma approved Putin as premier, making him Russia’s fifth prime minister in 18 months. And the rest is history: Yeltsin resigned on New Year’s Eve, and Putin was elected president on March 26, 2000.

 

So I suppose we can expect a lot of anniversary reflections over the next few weeks. The Levada Center got things rolling with a new poll on opinions about Putin. The interesting thing about the Levada poll is the stability of the views expressed over the span of the last five years. Twenty-two percent of respondents now say that Putin’s greatest achievement has been raising living standards (including wages and pensions), while 24 percent held that view in March 2004. In the latest poll, 17 percent responded that his main achievement was “the economic development of the country,” while 9 percent lauded his role in “raising optimism and hope for short-term improvements.” Only 8 percent said Putin had no significant achievements, a figure that was down from 12 percent in 2004, but up from the 5 percent registered in March 2008.

 

On the other hand, 35 percent of respondents said Putin had been least effective in combating corruption (President Dmitry Medvedev’s signature issue!), while 23 percent said he’d done worst at “subduing the oligarchs.”

 

Asked about changes in the gap between rich and poor since the Yeltsin years, 48 percent said the gap had increased, while another 31 percent said it remained the same. Only 15 percent believe the gap has been narrowed.

 

And why is Putin so popular? Thirty-five percent said it is because people believe Putin is capable of coping with the problems the country faces. However, 31 percent said Putin is supported because “people don’t see anyone else they can count on,” a reflection of the Kremlin’s iron-fisted control of the central media. Nonetheless, 63 percent of respondents said the fact that “practically all power in the country” is concentrated in Putin’s hands is “good for the country.” Just 16 percent disagreed with that view.

 

Gazeta.ru today published a really interesting commentary by veteran journalist Boris Tumanov that starts to lay some of the theoretical groundwork for looking at a decade of Putinism. It also, by the way, sheds interesting light on the ongoing debate about interpretations (falsifications) of history generally. Tumanov writes that “Russia is the only country in the world here history revels in the subjunctive mood,” and marvels that the country “still can’t decide whether the hecatomb of Stalinism was a monstrous crime or a great boon for the country.”

 

Anyway, Tumanov challenges the notion that if Russia had carried out a sweeping lustration (a process of exposing and barring from public life people who had worked in high Soviet posts, in the security organs, or the military leadership), then Putinism might not have happened. By the way, he calls what we have seen over the last decade “the revanche of the sovok” (sovok being a colloquial word for Soviet-minded people). I am one of those who feels the lack of lustration in Russia was and is a major obstacle to the country’s democratic development, so I read Tumanov’s take with great interest.

 

Tumanov basically argues that the urge to restore elements of the Soviet system began not in 1999, but in 1993 or even earlier. He argues that the results would have been largely the same if Yeltsin and Boris Berezovsky “had chosen not an ex-chekist from Petersburg, but a Petersburg lawyer or the head of a furniture store. Or even someone from Vladivostok or Novocherkassk.” No choice would have “altered the intractable clan nature of power in Russia.” Essentially, he says, anyone Yeltsin had chosen would have divided the spoils among his “own people” – people from his hometown, or people he’d studied with or people from the government agencies where he’d made his career.

 

The return of the sovok is inevitable in a society “where people silently endure any humiliation on the part of their own government but are outraged at the very thought that the United States might not ‘respect’ Russia or, worse ‘isn’t afraid’ of Russia.”

 

--Robert Coalson

National Economic TrendsRussian monetary base down 0.6% in week to $130 bln

http://en.rian.ru/business/20090731/155685885.html

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Central Bank said Friday the country's narrowly defined money supply (M1) was 4 trillion 59.6 million rubles ($130 billion at the current exchange rate) as of July 27, down 0.6% in the week since July 20.

According to the Bank, M1 money supply consists of the currency issued by the bank, including cash in vaults of credit institutions, and required reserves balances on ruble deposits with the Central Bank.

TABLE-Russia monetary base falls to 4.06 trln rbls

31-JUL-2009 07:23

July 31 (

) - Russia's monetary base fell to 4,059.6 billion roubles on July 27 from 4,083.6 billion roubles a week earlier, the central bank said on Friday. It provided the following details for this month.

Date monetary base (bln roubles)

2009

July 27 4,059.6 July 20 4,083.6 July 13 4,055.8 July 6 3,986.6 June 29 3,988.4