Russia 101214
Basic Political Developments
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White House says Senate works on ratification of U.S.-Russian strategic arms
treaty - "Our belief is, as you've seen a number of Republican senators come out,
that this is a treaty that has the votes to pass the Senate and I believe will pass the
Senate before Congress goes home for the holidays," Press Secretary Robert
Gibbs told a press briefing.
o Senate set to ratify nuclear arms treaty with Russia - Democratic sources
told me the debate could come as early as Wednesday and that Reid was
confident the votes were there.
o Supporters increasingly confident of US START vote - Gibbs says Senate
will take up treaty after tax vote; Advocates say they have votes to ratify
the accord; "Issue of national security," retired general says
o Go-ahead to START - “I think that we have done our homework with
regard to the new START treaty and it is in a good situation to ratify it in
this lame-duck session,” said the treaty’s chief negotiator, Rose
Gottemoeller.
Tokyo raps Moscow for allowing senior politician to visit disputed islands "Japan will tenaciously express its deep regret if a senior Russian politician visits
the four disputed islands," said Sengoku at a press conference after Russia's First
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov visited two of the four disputed islands
Monday.
o Japan protests Russian deputy premier's island visit
Sunken Korean ship crew rescue operation called off
o Russian ship to help search for missing crew members of S. Korean ship
off Antarctica
Russia calls for resumption of six-party talks on North Korean nukes
Putin to hold talks with Mongolian PM Sukhbaataryn Batbold - Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin is scheduled to hold talks with his Mongolian opposite
number Sukhbaataryn Batbold, who is currently on an official visit to Russia.
o Premier’s Visit to Russia Starts - Prime Minister of Mongolia Batbold
Sukhbaatar has arrived in Moscow to start his four-day visit to Russia on
December 13-16, 2010, as the guest of Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin.
o Russia and Mongolia: Once and Forever - This trip has become a tradition
for Mongolian Prime Ministers since 2007, when Mr. S. Bayar became the
new Prime Minister and Chairman of the Mongolian People’s
Revolutionary Party (MPRP). Before his tenure, Prime Ministers were not
so close with Russia, except for Mr. N. Enkhbayar, who hosted the first
visit of a Russian President since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Medvedev chairs economic modernization commission meeting
Reform of the Russian army structure completed - chief of staff - After
conversion, the six military districts in four joint strategic command "all the
difficulties that we had disappeared,"
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o Forces in eastern Russia on high alert over Korean peninsula situation General Staff chief
o Western military district gets first Iskander tactical missile system
o Russia's army must turn digital by 2012 - General Staff Chief
o Documents on Mistral purchase to be ready by end of the month - General
Staff chief (Part 2)
o Russian military calm about reported NATO plans in Baltics
Hundreds Of Russian Soldiers Hospitalized In Siberia - The South Siberian
Center for Human Rights said the soldiers were sent to the hospital in the past
several days, most of them diagnosed with acute respiratory infections.
Fingers crossed for Russia to join WTO very soon - Finnish president
Finland's Väyrynen rejects visa-free travel for Russians
Europe may become visa-free for Russians in 2020
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan consider lifting border passport controls - Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan may lift passport controls on the joint borders within the
framework of the trilateral Customs Union under a decision passed at a top-level
meeting of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community
(EurAsEc) and posted by the Customs Union Commission (KTS) on its web site.
Russians recognize Kazakhstan as most reliable partner in CIS - Russians
recognize Kazakhstan as the most reliable partner in the CIS (37%). The leader of
the last year Belarus takes the second place now (23%). These are results of a pole
held by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center defining which of the CIS
states Russians recognize as the most reliable partners.
Russia space chief calls satellite crash "heavy loss" - "This for us was a very
heavy loss," agency head Anatoly Perminov said. However, Russia has activated
two satellites previously in reserve and will launch two more -- one in December
and one in March.
Russia-Greece-Cyprus congress highlights the future prospects between the
countries - The future prospects in relations shared by Russia, Greece and
Cyprus were underlined in the Hellenic-Russian Society Conference on “RussiaGreece-Cyprus: Political Economic and Cultural Partnerships, Present and
Future” held on Monday under the auspices of the Greek foreign ministry.
Greece: Bulgaria Serves American Interests by Blocking Oil Pipeline
Bulgaria: Russia re-offers 2.0 bln euros financing for Belene plant- Major foreign
investor expected to join the project
Jeremic and Lavrov on several topics - Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and
Russia and their cooperation in the international domain, including the Kosmet
issue, will be in the focus of attention during the talks of the two heads of
diplomacy, communicated the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the eve of
Vuk Jeremic’ visit to Moscow on Wednesday.
Serbia Doesn't Want Russia - Serbia hopes billionaire Mikhail Fridman won’t
prevail in the tender for the national phone company Telekom Srbija, after he
showed preliminary interest in it through VimpelCom Ltd. and Turkcell Iletisim
Hizmetleri, Blic reported, citing an unidentified government official.
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Serbia to sign Letter of Intention with Russia, Belarus - Sasa Dragin and the
directors of Russia’s Agromed and Belarus’ Ost Import will sign a Letter of
Intention on cooperation in cattle breeding at the government press room.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA: Purchase of Helicopters - A contract for the
procurement of 80 Mi 17-V5 helicopters along with spares and the associated
equipment was signed between Ministry of Defence and M/s Rosoboronexport,
Russia on 5th December 2008 at a cost of US $ 1,345,836,495.83.
Atomstroyexport and L&T to manufacture equipment for nuclear power plants
200 fight over grazing land in Dagestan
Police officer shot dead in Dagestan
Ingush president says some 30 militants still active in his republic
New opposition party formed in Russia
o Kremlin critics form new opposition party - Opposition leader Boris
Nemtsov warned: “If they dare not register us, they will confirm the
illegitimacy of the elections.” He added: “Russia is a member of the
OSCE and we are committed to holding fair and transparent elections.
During the years of the rule of Medvedev and Putin, we have not been
able to do this.”
Moscow mayor threatens tough response to destabilization attempts
o Reports emerge protesters making their way to Moscow from N Caucasus
for "participation in mass riots"
o Moscow police on high alert over new far-right youth rallies
o New disorder possible in Moscow - Moscow police checks the
information received from a resident of Zelenograd, that a group of
citizens from the Caucasus is coming to Moscow for the riots.
Another criminal case opened over Manezhnaya Square riots
o Riots in Russia rooted in nationalism, hatred of immigrants
Putin Cousin Quits Bank Job, Kommersant Says (Correct) - Putin joined Master
Bank at the end of September to help the lender expand and become one of the
country’s biggest 50 banks. He was hired on Dec. 6 by a pipeline construction
company linked to the businessman Gennady Timchenko, the newspaper said.
Russian spy will take Abkhazia under control - According to Infoks.ru, Bezrukov
will lead unit of international projects of Rosneft which has already been
recruiting new staff. One of the company's international projects is carried out in
occupied Abkhazia, where Rosneft is founding a network of petrol stations and
plans to produce oil. This direction, along with others around the world, will be
overseen by the Russian intelligence officer.
Khodorkovsky awarded for human rights activities
o Western political figures appeal to Medvedev on Khodorkovsky
o FT: Plea for end to Khodorkovsky ‘persecution’ - A group of western
politicians has urged Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, to “end the
persecution” of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed Yukos oil tycoon, just
days before a Moscow judge begins reading the verdict in his second trial.
Russia approves controversial road plan - A controversial new road through an
endangered forest near Moscow will go ahead as initially planned, Russia's
Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.
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o A Pyrrhic victory in Khimki?
PRESS DIGEST – Russia – Dec 14
o www.kommersant.ru
o Russia's developers could lose up to $200 million as Moscow city
authorities have banned the construction of new shopping malls in the
centre of the capital, on the territory of 400,000 square meters.
o Russia still hopes to attract foreign companies to take part in construction
of a Silicon Valley-like project near Moscow, in Skolkovo, head of the
Skolkovo Fund Viktor Vekselberg says in an interview as the decision was
taken to attract Russia's Lukoil oil company to become the main investor
in the project.
o www.vedomosti.ru
o U.S. retail group Wal-Mart Stores Inc is leaving Russia's market after it
failed to purchase one of the local retail chains Kopeika, bought by
Russia's leader X5.
o Russia could use the money of state-controlled pensions funds to boost the
development of high technologies, according to a presidential adviser
Arkady Dvorkovich.
o Shareholders of the Caspian pipeline consortium could decide on
Wednesday on doubling the amount of oil to be shipped through the
Tengiz-Novorossiisk pipeline.
o www.rg.ru
o Russia's brewery Baltika is offering the use of gas emerging in the process
of beer production as a biological fuel, the daily reports from a forum on
energy saving problems, which took place in Yaroslavl.
o St.Petersburg authorities are ready pay one million roubles to the company
which will win a nano-tender on finding the way to fight icicles in the city.
o www.vremya.ru
o Leaders of Russian opposition movements have united to register a new
political party to fight the seats in Russia’s parliament in December 2011.
o www.izvestia.ru
o Russia will spend 20 trillion roubles to ensure a 70 percent rearmament of
its armed forces by 2020.
o www.ng.ru
o The daily suggests that aggressive (militant) extremists were behind the
clashes of young men with police on Saturday, as more rallies are
expected to be held on Dec. 15 in the capital.
Russian Press at a Glance, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
o President Dmitry Medvedev ordered police to identify and punish those
responsible for violent, racist rioting just outside the Kremlin's walls over
the weekend.(Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti, the Moscow Times,
Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
o United Russia should attract more opposition members, while maintaining
its ideological path of “Russian Conservatism”.(The Moscow Times,
Kommersant, Vedomosti)
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o President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to create a unified
document defining Russia’s energy security.Kommersnat)
o LUKoil will become one of the core investors of the technology hub in
Skolkovo and will locate its research center there beginning in 2014.(The
Moscow Times)
o Russia's top mobile phone operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is set to
borrow from country’s top lender Sberbank 100 billion rubles ($3.3
billion.(Vedomosti)
o Presenting the prototype for the “yo-mobile” car on Monday, Mikhail
Prokhorov, head of Onexim Group, said that the joint venture Yo-Avto
(formerly Gorodskoy Avtomobil - City Car) is planning to establish auto
assembly plants to produce the cars abroad.(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
o The latest restructuring at state-owned oil giant Rosneft took a high-profile
twist Monday, as a sleeper agent in July's infamous spy swap was
appointed to a top position in the company.(The Moscow Times)
o Igor Putin, a cousin of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left the
post of Master-Bank vice-president to head Russian pipeline construction
company Surguttruboprovodstroi.(Kommersant)
o Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov says he hopes a WikiLeaks
report about NATO's contingency plan to defend the Baltic states from
potential Russian aggression is false.SOCIETY
o The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, considers
introducing new harsher amendments to anti-tobacco regulations.(Vremya
Novostei, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
o The Moscow City Court is set to announce on Tuesday its verdict in
regard to Alexander Bulbov, a former senior Federal Drug Control official
charged with fraud and abuse of office. Bulbov pleaded guilty to
charges.(Kommersant)
o Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club SKA tore up a contract with 35year-old goaltender Yevgeny Nabokov.(Kommersant)
Transdniester’s fate to be decided by oligarchs – by Svetlana Gamova
Critics Allege Russian Magazine Is Misrepresenting WikiLeaks Cables - By
Claire Bigg
Any foreign investor knows Russia's been corrupt for centuries – by Paddy
Rawlinson
Fake Faberge eggs seized at airport - The fake Faberge eggs were found in a
commercial cargo coming from Russia at Charles de Gaulle airport late last
month, custom officials said.
Georgian singer rejects invitation from Moscow
National Economic Trends
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Rising global food prices carries inflation risks for Russia in 2011 – CB
Russia’s Central Bank revokes license from several banks
CBR moves to a more hawkish policy, rate hikes on the way
RUB rates climb triggering a sell-off in government bonds
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Pork producers ask for government subsidies - the National Union of Pork
Producers had applied to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture for direct
government subsidies to counter the growth in meat production costs caused by
sharply increased grain prices.
Russia's Avtodor to hold international tender for M4 highway operators
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
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Polyus Gold to boost free float
Petropavlovsk’s IRC secures $340m for mine at China's border
Lukoil Yield Cut 50% Amid Quarterly Stock Rally: Russia Credit
Stillwater Says Norilsk Nickel Sells Entire Stake in U.S. Miner
Signing flurry for Alstom in Russia - Agreements to support Russia's nuclear
energy market, including plans to set up a facility to manufacture steam turbines,
have figured in a list of strategic agreements signed by Alstom and major Russian
energy companies.
Fortum and Russian Energy Agency Strengthen Cooperation to Improve Energy
Efficiency and Innovations
Bank of Moscow Faces Scrutiny by Audit Chamber
VimpelCom Ltd joins race for Telekom Srbija
Bank HSBC said in a statement Monday that it concluded its first trade
transaction in yuan in Russia for sporting goods retailer Sportmaster, without
revealing the terms of the deal. (MT)
Sberbank agreed to lend Mobile TeleSystems as much as 100 billion rubles ($3.2
billion) to refinance existing debt and fund investment, the bank said Monday.
(Bloomberg)
Russia has no “acute need” for grain imports at present, United Grain chief
executive Sergei Levin told reporters on Monday, saying the need for sales from
government stockpiles will become clear in first quarter 2011. (Bloomberg)
Canadian Beef Export Federation president Ted Haney said his country shipped
Russia 4,600 tons of beef in the first three quarters of 2010, up almost 30 percent
year on year. (Interfax)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
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Russia and Vietnam extend partnership - Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group and
Russia’s state-owned Zarubezhneft have agreed to extend their joint venture cooperation in Vietsovpetro for a further 20 years.
Georgia Still Mulling Over Selling Russia-Armenia Pipeline to Azerbaijan
ONGC reportedly interested in Bashneft stake
Change in Sakhalin-1 Operator Not Ruled Out
Gazprom
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Gazprom sees output up 12 percent in 2015-paper - Gazprom sees '15 output at
570-580 bcm - Vedomosti sources; 2008 production plan saw 2015 output at 610615 bcm; Gazprom board to agree on 5-yr output plan on Dec. 21
Gazprom Sets Starting Price for Gazprom Bureniye at 4 Billion Roubles
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Gazprom postpones Burgaz sale until 1H11
Gazprom awards Nippon Steel contract for SBD pipes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
White House says Senate works on ratification of U.S.-Russian strategic arms
treaty
http://en.rian.ru/world/20101214/161764375.html
05:01 14/12/2010
The U.S. Senate will begin debates on the ratification of a new arms reduction treaty with
Russia as soon as it finalizes debates on various tax issues, a spokesman for the White
House said.
Discussions of a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia were included into the
agenda of the U.S. Senate's December 13 session. However, the higher chamber of the
Congress debated tax documents instead.
"Our belief is, as you've seen a number of Republican senators come out, that this is a
treaty that has the votes to pass the Senate and I believe will pass the Senate before
Congress goes home for the holidays," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told a press briefing.
Earlier reports said that the Congress will hold its last session on December 17 before
going on the Christmas vacation.
The results of November's elections to Congress, which saw the Republicans make big
gains at the expense of the Democrats, mean that President Barack Obama has until
January, when the new Congressmen take up their positions, to try to push the treaty
through. The Obama administration hopes to get the treaty ratified by Christmas.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the arms reduction treaty on
April 8 in Prague to replace the START 1 agreement that expired in December 2009.
The new Russian-U.S. pact obligates both nations to cap their fielded strategic nuclear
weapons to 1,550 warheads, while the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery
vehicles must not exceed 800 on either side.
The agreement will come into force after simultaneous ratification by both chambers of
the Russian parliament and the U.S. Senate.
WASHINGTON, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
Senate set to ratify nuclear arms treaty with Russia
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/2833934-418/senate-treaty-ratify-armsfunding.html
Dec 14, 2010 1:25AM
WASHINGTON — The Obama White House has the votes to ratify the new START
nuclear arms treaty with Russia, with the Senate preparing for a vote this week, the SunTimes has learned.
President Obama has made ratifying the START treaty by the end of the year a priority.
Sen. Dick Durbin backs the measure; Sen. Mark Kirk is undecided.
A supermajority of senators — 67 — is needed to ratify a treaty; at least nine
Republicans are needed to get to 67. All 43 GOP senators — including Kirk — signed a
letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Nov. 29 pledging not to advance
legislation until the tax deal and government funding bills are passed. The Senate is
tentatively set to take up the funding measure at the end of the week and is under pressure
to pass it because the money runs out at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
Democratic sources told me the debate could come as early as Wednesday and that Reid
was confident the votes were there.
Lynn Sweet
Supporters increasingly confident of US START vote
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINN1322775720101214
6:53am IST
* Gibbs says Senate will take up treaty after tax vote
* Advocates say they have votes to ratify the accord
* "Issue of national security," retired general says
By David Alexander
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Administration officials and other proponents of the
New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia expressed increasing confidence on
Monday that they have the support needed to ratify the accord once the U.S. Senate
brings it to a vote.
Debate on the treaty has not yet been scheduled, but White House spokesman Robert
Gibbs told reporters he expected it to be "one of the next couple of pieces of business that
the Senate will move to" after debate on tax legislation is concluded.
"Our belief is, as you've seen a number of Republican senators come out, that ... this is a
treaty ... that has the votes to pass the Senate and I believe will pass the Senate before
Congress goes home for the holidays," Gibbs told a White House briefing.
Senator Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
has said the treaty can get more than the 67 votes needed for ratification in the 100member chamber, said Mark Helmke, his senior adviser.
Increased confidence in ratification of the treaty follows a series of announcements in
recent days by Republicans who threw their support behind the accord, including former
President George H.W. Bush.
Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins endorsed the agreement on Friday. Senators
Judd Gregg, George Voinovich and Lamar Alexander have said they were leaning toward
supporting it.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, in April. In addition to cutting
deployed nuclear warheads, the agreement puts limits on the number of missiles and
nuclear bombers on both sides.
SUPPORT FROM MILITARY BRASS
Ratification of the accord was thrown into doubt last month when Senator Jon Kyl, the
top Republican negotiating with the administration on the treaty resolution, said he did
not think there was enough time to debate it before the end of the year.
Democrats fear the accord could be much more difficult to pass when the new Congress
takes office in January. Democrats lost control of the House in the November elections
and saw their majority in the Senate shrink.
Failure to pass the treaty in the current Congress would send it back to the Foreign
Relations Committee for reconsideration, a process that could take weeks as the new
lawmakers get up to speed on the issues.
The treaty has the support of the Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Admiral Mike Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the rest of the military establishment.
But some Republicans have expressed concern about the accord, demanding the Obama
administration provide adequate funding to modernize U.S. nuclear forces and expressing
concern the treaty might limit Washington's ability to build missile defense systems.
Obama has pledged some $85 billion for nuclear modernization. Experts say the funding
is adequate to ensure the arsenal remains in a high state of repair while also enabling
officials to build new facilities to construct more up-to-date systems that would be more
secure and effective.
"It's an issue of national security," retired Brigadier General John Adams, a member of
the Consensus for American Security, told a briefing on Monday. "They need to do their
duty and put this to a vote. And I believe if it comes to a vote it's going to get ratified."
(Editing by Todd Eastham)
Go-ahead to START
http://rt.com/news/go-start-senate-ratification/
Published: 14 December, 2010, 07:08
The US Senate will ratify the new nuclear arms control deal with Russia before wrapping
up for Christmas – according to a senior adviser to the American president.
David Axelrod claims there is enough support on Capitol Hill for the crucial START
agreement to be passed.
“I think that we have done our homework with regard to the new START treaty and it is
in a good situation to ratify it in this lame-duck session,” said the treaty’s chief
negotiator, Rose Gottemoeller.
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed the treaty reducing the two
countries' atomic arsenals by a third, in April. However, US Republican senators, who
made significant gains in the recent mid-terms, have been far from favorable in their
reaction to the pact.
Democratic strategist Robert Weiner said the Republicans will finally end up passing the
START treaty because “they, too, want security and safety in the world.”
“It is stupid for Republicans to continue blocking it. I think they are boxed into a corner
now, because our national security is at stake,” Weiner said. “Not only dropping the
20,000 warheads that both countries have, but the inspections are necessary so that
rogue terrorists don’t get at nuclear weapons. That would be a disaster if terrorists get to
these weapons.”
President Obama has called ratification his top foreign policy priority.
When the new Congress convenes next year, Democrats will lose their current majority in
the lower house, making it tougher for them to pass the deal.
Joel Rubin, deputy director of the National Security Network, believes the ratification of
the treaty is essential for President Barack Obama’s image on the international scene.
“If it does not get passed, there could be serious consequences for American leadership
and the fallout for America’s reputation around the world would be significant,” Rubin
told RT. “And if it’s not turned down but delayed, that, too, will signal that President
Obama is weak at home.”
Tokyo raps Moscow for allowing senior politician to visit disputed islands
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-12/14/c_13648363.htm
2010-12-14 13:01:30
TOKYO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said
Tuesday a visit by a senior Russian politician to disputed islands off Hokkaido claimed
by both countries would be of no benefit to Russia's plans of developing its Far East
region.
"Japan will tenaciously express its deep regret if a senior Russian politician visits the four
disputed islands," said Sengoku at a press conference after Russia's First Deputy Prime
Minister Igor Shuvalov visited two of the four disputed islands Monday.
"We have to send a strong sign that such a move despite Japan's protest would not benefit
Russia's efforts to develop its Far East area," he said.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who himself visited Kunashiri island in November,
becoming the first leader from Russia or the former Soviet Union to visit any of the
islands in person, instructed Shuvalov to visit Kunashiri and Etorofu islands and report
back on their infrastructure, local Russian media reports said.
The disputed islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai rocks are believed
by Japan to be a part of the Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture. Russia,
however, ardently contests this and the territorial dispute over the four islands has
prevented Japan and Russia from signing a postwar peace treaty.
Japan protests Russian deputy premier's island visit
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20101214p2g00m0in014000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan lodged a protest Monday against Russian First Deputy Prime
Minister Igor Shuvalov's visit to two of the four Russian-held islands north of Hokkaido
claimed by Japan, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan expressing his strong disappointment
over the issue.
"It is very regrettable" that Shuvalov visited the disputed islands, Kan told reporters in
the evening.
Shuvalov toured Kunashiri and Etorofu islands to inspect infrastructure earlier in the day,
Itar-Tass news agency reported, despite Tokyo's criticism of President Dmitry
Medvedev's previous visit to Kunashiri -- the first by a Russian leader to any of the
islands the Soviet Union seized at the end of World War II.
Kan said that Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Kenichiro Sasae has already conveyed
Tokyo's protest over the visit to Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Bely.
An official at Japan's Foreign Ministry said the government feels disappointed that
Shuvalov visited the disputed islands, although Russia has said it would like to discuss
the territorial dispute in a quiet atmosphere.
Medvedev's visit on Nov. 1 made him the first leader from Russia or the former Soviet
Union to set foot on any of the islands, which are called the Northern Territories in Japan
and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
Moscow has maintained that it sees no problem with the president visiting Russian
territory, while Japan said it would harm ties between the two nations given that it seeks
their return.
This time, Shuvalov was instructed by Medvedev to visit the islands, the first deputy
prime minister was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.
On Monday, Shuvalov attended a meeting at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, capital of the Russian
Far East province of Sakhalin, and had discussions about how to develop small and
medium-size enterprises in the region and ensure labor power there, and then visited
Kunashiri and Etorofu, according to local media.
They also reported that Shuvalov, after touring the two islands, showed a willingness to
secure funds for further infrastructure improvement on the islands.
Such moves suggest that Russia is seriously aiming to develop the area by itself as Russia
has promoted improvement of ports and airports in the area based on the 2007-2015
infrastructure development projects for the chain of Kuril Islands, some commentators
say.
The territorial dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri and Shikotan as well as the
Habomai islet group has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a postwar peace treaty.
(Mainichi Japan) December 14, 2010
Sunken Korean ship crew rescue operation called off
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/14/36782636.html
Dec 14, 2010 09:31 Moscow Time
The operation to search for and rescue the 17 missing crewmen of a South Korean vessel
that has sunk in the Antarctic waters has drawn to a close.
The 42-man strong crew of the ship that sank about 3,000 kilometres south of New
Zealand comprised Indonesian, Vietnamese, South Korean, Chinese and Philippine
nationals.
There was also one Russian monitor aboard the ship.
Five sailors died, 17 others are listed as missing, while the remaining crewmen were
rescued by a nearby fishing schooner.
Russian ship to help search for missing crew members of S. Korean ship off
Antarctica
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/14/11/0301000000AEN201012140047
00315F.HTML
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- A Russian fishing vessel is expected to help search for the
17 crew members, including five South Koreans, who went missing after their ship sank
in waters off Antarctica, an official said Tuesday.
The 614-ton "No. 1 In Sung" went down in waters some 2,600 kilometers off New
Zealand on Monday. Five of the 42 crew members were found dead, and 17 still remain
missing, while the other 20 have been rescued by nearby fishing boats.
The crew included eight Koreans, eight Chinese, 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, three
Filipinos and one Russian.
Two South Korean ships are scouring the area for the missing after three New Zealand
ships suspended rescue operations citing low chances of finding survivors. A Russian
fishing boat operating nearby is expected to join the search efforts, a foreign ministry
official said.
"Bad weather in the area is making search operations difficult," the official said.
The Seoul-based Insung Corporation, which owns the ill-fated ship, said the vessel
could have sunk after listing abruptly to one side due to strong winds and high waves in
the area at the time.
Russia calls for resumption of six-party talks on North Korean nukes
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/14/36778951.html
Dec 14, 2010 00:33 Moscow Time
The six party talks on the Korean Peninsula should be resumed, says Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov after a meeting with his North Korean counterpart.
Sergei Lavrov voiced concern about the construction of nuclear uranium enrichment
facilities in Nenben and urged North Korean authorities to observe the UN Security
Council resolution. He also called on the North to show restraint in relations with the
South, amid the escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula.
Putin to hold talks with Mongolian PM Sukhbaataryn Batbold
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/14/36781945.html
Dec 14, 2010 09:12 Moscow Time
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is scheduled to hold talks with his Mongolian
opposite number Sukhbaataryn Batbold, who is currently on an official visit to Russia.
The two leaders are expected to take up trade, economic and investment cooperation. The
will also focus on mineral resource production, the development of transport
infrastructure and some other issues. The two Prime Ministers will, besides, discuss
humanitarian relations, and regional and international cooperation.
Premier’s Visit to Russia Starts
http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5618&Ite
mid=37
Written by P.Shinebayar
Tuesday, December 14, 2010.
Prime Minister of Mongolia Batbold Sukhbaatar has arrived in Moscow to start his fourday visit to Russia on December 13-16, 2010, as the guest of Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin.
At the Vnukovo Airport, Premier Batbold headed Mongolian delegation was welcomed
by Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A.N Borodavkin, Russian Ambassador to
Mongolia V.V.Samoienko and other officials.
In Moscow, Prime Minister Batbold will hold talks with Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin. He will also meet with other top officials including Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov, to discuss issues of mutual interest, including bilateral relationships in
trade, infrastructure and investment.
The first Russian official Batbold met after the arrival was the Transport Minister
I.E.Levitin.
During the stay in Russia, Batbold will attend a bilateral business forum and meet with
Mongolians residing in Russia.
Russia and Mongolia: Once and Forever
http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5617&Ite
mid=41
Written by G.Chingis Tuesday, December 14, 2010.
The Prime Minister of Mongolia will be in Moscow on the 13th-16th of December to see
his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
This trip has become a tradition for Mongolian Prime Ministers since 2007, when Mr. S.
Bayar became the new Prime Minister and Chairman of the Mongolian People’s
Revolutionary Party (MPRP). Before his tenure, Prime Ministers were not so close with
Russia, except for Mr. N. Enkhbayar, who hosted the first visit of a Russian President
since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Now, Mr. S. Batbold will need to continue what his two rivals, Mr. S. Bayar and Mr. N.
Enkhbayar started. Mr. S. Bayar was the Mongolian Ambassador to the Russian
Federation when Mr. Vladimir Putin was President. In some circumstances, there was
some small chance that the pair S. Bayar-N. Enkhbayar could be such as Vladmir PutinDmitrii Medvedev. Nevertheless, Mongolians used to repeat all political scenarios which
happened in Soviet Union. But the pair of S. Bayar- N. Enkhbayar was disastrous.
According to Mongolian newspapers, the Russians interfered several times to fix this pair
of S. Bayar- N. Enkhbayar.
Anyway, Mr. S. Bayar was a champion among Mongolian Prime Ministers in terms of
his number of visits to Russia. He had ambitious plans to fix everything with his
experience and knowledge of Russia. Unfortunately, the world economic crisis seriously
hit Russia and Russian oligarchs, especially Mr. Oleg Deripaska. He visited Mongolia at
least one time, and Mr. Oleg Deripaska always met privately Mr. S. Bayar. Mr. Oleg
Deripaska lost heavily when aluminum prices fell suddenly. He sold his mining
properties in Mongolia and he left only his bank “Credit” Bank here. Another plan of Mr.
S. Bayar was with uranium and the building of a nuclear plant in Mongolia. He had very
ambitious plans to build a nuclear plant by 2012.
During his visit, Mr. S. Batbold will continue to discuss the uranium project. Mongolia
wants to create a joint venture with the Russian State owned company “Rosatom”. For
that reason, the former Prime Minister, Mr. S. Bayar created the Mongolian Nuclear
Energy Agency and the Mongolian State owned company “MonAtom”. Everything at the
beginning was great and very simple. Mongolia has uranium, and with the support of
Russian friends, there would be a rapid building of the first Mongolian nuclear power
plant. But uranium is still under the surface, and it is most important that uranium does
not belong solely to Mongolians. You cannot do anything without an agreement with a
third shareholder, which is the Canadian company “Khan Resources”. Of course, there
was a very tiny hope that the two shareholders, the Russians and Canadians, will fix this
quickly, and Mongolians will not need to put any efforts into this.
Nowadays, Canadians are quite active in Mongolia. They did a lot of good things,
especially in terms of investment, employment generation and infrastructure building.
Unfortunately, the Canadians are weak with handling the Mongolian central and local
Governments. Even the recent visit of Prime Minister Mr. S. Batbold did not fix the
problems with such companies as Boroo Gold, Ivanhoe Mines etc.
Therefore, for Prime Minister S. Batbold there will be the huge task of revitalizing
Mongolian-Russian relations. According to his agenda, there will be a fresh start in terms
of relations. He will face for the first time Mr. Vladimir Putin as Mongolian Prime
Minister. From one side, it will easy for him to communicate with the Russian Prime
Minister. Mr. S. Batbold is an alumni of Moscow State Institute of International
Relations, which was a starting place for many high ranking KGB officials, such as
Vladimir Putin. On the other hand, it will be very difficult since his two predecessors,
Mr. S. Bayar and Mr. N. Enkhbayar failed with the Russians. Before signing the Oyu
Tolgoi agreement, there were many publications in the Russian press that Oyu Tolgoi
will be given to Russian companies. There was even some information that Mr. Oleg
Deripaska met with Mr. Robert Friedland to fix such a deal. There was also the same
information floating about that Tavan Tolgoi will be given to the Russians as well.
Therefore, the Chairman of “Russian Railways” Mr. Vladimir Yakunin reported two
years ago to Russian President Mr. Dmitrii Medvedev that the Russians took over Tavan
Tolgoi.
According to his agenda, Mr. S. Batbold will also meet with Mr. Boris Grizlov, Chairman
of “The United Russia” Party. Therefore, there will be a meeting between the two party
leaders, “United Russia” and the newly named Mongolian People’s Party (MPP). He will
meet Mr. Sergei Mironov, who is the current Chairman of the Federation council, the
upper house of the Russian Parliament. He served in Mongolia as geologist in Soviet
times. Therefore, Mr. Sergei Mironov likes Mongolia, and he tries to visit Mongolia for
any possible occasion.
Of course, Mr. S. Batbold will also meet Mr. Igor Levitin, who is in charge of
Mongolian-Russian intergovernmental relationships.
There is no doubt that it will be a very important visit for Mr. S. Batbold, since Russians
are easy partners, especially Russian Prime Minister, Mr. Vladimir Putin. There is not so
much space for maneuvering for Mr. S. Batbold, because Oyu Tolgoi is gone, Tavan
Tolgoi is almost gone and it is a very complicated situation with Mongolian uranium. The
MPP needs support in the incoming parliamentary elections from “United Russia” and
Mr. S. Batbold needs some kind support or let’s say some small victories with the
Russians before the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2012. There is a big chance that
it will be the last election for Mr. S. Batbold and his party. Therefore, Russia is very
important for Mongolia and Mongolian politics.
Medvedev chairs economic modernization commission meeting
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/14/36786891.html
Dec 14, 2010 10:19 Moscow Time
Today Dmitry Medvedev is chairing this year’s last meeting of the commission on
economic modernization and technological development of the Russian economy. The
commission, set up at the President’s initiative in 2009, is meeting as part of an
innovation forum at Skolkovo, near Moscow. The innovation centre in a specially
designated area at Skolkovo is slated to become Russia’s biggest test ground for the
country’s new economic policy. All required conditions are due to be created there to
design energy, nuclear, space, biomedical and computer technologies.
Reform of the Russian army structure completed - chief of staff
http://www.interfax-russia.ru/main.asp?id=197462
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
December 14. Interfax-Russia.ru - In the Russian Armed Forces completed the formation
of a new organizational structure, said Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov, during a
press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, summing up the reform of the army, which
began in 2008.
"A full-blooded group of forces in all strategic directions. We had four full-fledged
command, which having in its composition and directly subordinate to all forces and
resources to adequately respond to all threats and challenges the boundaries of their
districts," - said the army general.
According to him, changing the governance structure - is a necessary phenomenon as
"the old administrative-territorial division has ceased to meet the challenges and threats
of time."
"The military action of recent decades are being conducted, as a rule, the combined group
of troops and forces under unified command. In our country every six counties and four
fleet existed separately, each doing their work, their area of responsibility, not matching
with the others. To organize joint action should be was to create a temporary command,
temporary structures, which were usually poorly trained, did not have a corresponding
experience, and it usually leads to unsatisfactory results ", - said N. Makarov.
After conversion, the six military districts in four joint strategic command "all the
difficulties that we had disappeared," - he added.
December 14, 2010 11:36
Forces in eastern Russia on high alert over Korean peninsula situation - General
Staff chief
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=209009
MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Forces of Russia's Vostok (East) strategic
command center have been put on high alert due to the situation on the Korean peninsula,
Russian General Staff chief Gen. Nikolai Makarov told journalists in Moscow on
Tuesday.
"We have certainly taken measures to raise the state of the forces' combat readiness,"
Makarov said.
tm ap
Western military district gets first Iskander tactical missile system
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20101214/161766995.html
11:13 14/12/2010
The first Iskander tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile system has entered service
with the Russian Army's Western Military District, regional commander Arkady Bakhin
said on Tuesday.
"We are at practically 98 percent permanent readiness. We are carrying out reequipment
and delivery of new types of weapons," Bakhin said.
Iskander is designed for tactical strikes on small, high value land targets. The export
variant has a range of 280 km but the variant in Russian service has a range of 500 km.
Iskander was produced by a range of scientific-industrial companies including KBM
Kolomna, which previously produced the Tochka and Oka missile systems.
Russia has previously threatened to deploy Iskander in the Kaliningrad region if NATO
deployed missile defense systems in Poland without Russian approval.
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
Russia's army must turn digital by 2012 - General Staff Chief
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20101214/161767266.html
11:25 14/12/2010
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian army must turn to digital
communications by 2012, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Tuesday.
"It is necessary to have a technical base for resolving military tasks. It is communication
that must be turned digital. We are currently working on it. We should resolve these tasks
by 2012," Gen. Nikolai Makarov said.
One of the General Staff's main aims is the new troop-management system.
"A large sum of money, about 300 billion rubles ($10 billion) has been allocated to this,"
Makarov said, adding that army's digital communication program will be implemented in
line with a draft arms procurement program up until 2020.
December 14, 2010 11:59
Documents on Mistral purchase to be ready by end of the month - General Staff
chief (Part 2)
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=209020
MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Gen. Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian
General Staff, said the decision to purchase a Mistral helicopter carrier from France has
been made and the appropriate documents will be ready before the end of this year.
"The decision on Mistral has been made. We are now discussing the necessary price
parameters," Makarov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.
"I think all documents will be ready this year," Makarov said.
The multipurpose helicopter carrier has a standard displacement of 16,500 tonnes (32,300
with full dock). It is 199 meters long, 32 meters wide, and its draught is 6.2 meters. Its
full speed is 18.8 knots and its cruising radius is up to 19,800 miles. The helicopter group
of the ship includes 16 machines. Up to six helicopters can be located on the takeoff deck
at the same time.
The French Navy currently has two Mistral-class helicopter carriers and is building a
third one.
According to unofficial information, the ship is worth some 600 million euros.
av ap
Russian military calm about reported NATO plans in Baltics
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/92783/
Today at 11:09 | Interfax-Ukraine
General Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian General Staff, has said he has not taken
seriously information published by WikiLeaks stating that NATO and the U.S. have
drawn up plans to defend the three Baltic NATO member states against Russia.
"We are operating on the basis of the Lisbon meeting, on the basis of the fact that we are
partners," Makarov told journalists in Moscow in Tuesday.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/92783/#ixzz184ngkJ4u
Hundreds Of Russian Soldiers Hospitalized In Siberia
http://www.rferl.org/content/mass_hospitalization_russian_soldiers_siberia/2247706.html
December 14, 2010
YURGA, Russia -- The Military-Prosecutor's Office in the south-central Russian region
of Kemerovo has launched an investigation after some 250 soldiers were hospitalized,
RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.
The South Siberian Center for Human Rights said the soldiers were sent to the hospital in
the past several days, most of them diagnosed with acute respiratory infections.
Ramila Veits, the chairwoman of the Kemerovo branch of the nongovernmental
organization Soldiers' Mothers, told RFE/RL that one soldier is in critical condition after
suffering kidney failure.
She said the soldiers may have become sick because of their new military uniforms,
which were designed by prominent Russian fashion designer Vadim Yudashkin. Veits
said the uniforms aren't suited for the extreme cold in Siberia -- the temperature is
currently about 30 degrees below zero Celsius in some parts of Kemerovo.
Meanwhile, officials at the Central Military Region's headquarters say the new military
uniform is not to blame for the mass hospitalization. They said the newly designed
military uniform has a special synthetic filler -- instead of cotton -- and a hood that did
not previously exist.
Yury Sivokhin, the assistant commander of the 41st Army Unit to which the soldiers
belong, told journalists the number of hospitalized soldiers corresponds to the number
expected to be sick during the winter.
Sivokhin said neither Yudashkin nor his uniforms are responsible for the situation,
adding that the problem is because "our boys are much weaker" than they used to be.
The Military-Prosecutor's Office said it is checking if the sick soldiers were exposed to
severe cold weather for a long period of time.
Fingers crossed for Russia to join WTO very soon - Finnish
president
http://rt.com/news/fingers-crossed-russia-join-wto/
Published: 14 December, 2010, 09:38
Russia joining the World Trade Organization would help boost Europe's economy as a
whole, and especially those of its neighbors. Finnish president Tarja Halonen says her
country is very interested Russia joining WTO as soon as possible.
“We have a lot of trade between Finland and Russia, so we hope that it will be a member
of WTO. Then certain issues will go away from our table. It’s clearer to work under the
same regulations. We are keeping the fingers that everything will happen very soon,” she
said.
“You can guess from my smile that as a president of Finland, I hope in both ways and I’m
happy also that Russia started to invest in Finland. We hope also to have some new jobs
in Finland. The world is for the globalization, I hope for the globalization. The WTO
membership will make the situation much clearer and that’s why we are strongly for
that.”
According to Halonen, one of the potential areas of co-operation between Russia and
Finland could be energy efficiency.
“I think we should speak about renewable energy resources. I have noticed that all over
the world those countries with classical energy resources have been interested to work
with us to make new ideas how to get renewable energy from sun, wind, sea and whatever
you might mention. Then there is something that we know well, so-called clean
technology, and we are interested to share our experiences,” she said.
Finland's Väyrynen rejects visa-free travel for Russians
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/politics/13566-finlands-vaeyrynenrejects-visa-free-travel-for-russians-.html
Tuesday, 14 December 2010 09:26
Paavo Väyrynen (centre), the Finnish foreign trade and development minister, said
Monday that Finland could not lift the visa requirement on Russians.
Tarja Halonen, the Finnish president, had urged the Finnish government to request the
EU to launch a pilot project for visa-free travel for Russians visiting Finland.
"Finland is part of the Schengen area and we are bound by its arrangements," Väyrynen
told Parliament.
"That is why we cannot enter into reciprocal arrangements."
Russia has lifted the visa requirement on short-stay ferry passengers entering the country
from Finland, with Halonen saying that Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, was
considering extending visa-free travel to railway passengers.
STT
Europe may become visa-free for Russians in 2020
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/12/14/36779382.html
Dec 14, 2010 03:27 Moscow Time
Both, theEU and Russia are interested in a visa-free travel regime. European
Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström said this in Strasbourg on Monday.
She added that each year ever more Russians get all the necessary documents to travel to
Europe.
Experts note that the abolition of visas between the EU and Russia is not likely to happen
earlier than 2020.
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan consider lifting border passport controls
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/92776/
Today at 10:18 | Interfax-Ukraine
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan may lift passport controls on the joint borders within the
framework of the trilateral Customs Union under a decision passed at a top-level meeting
of the Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) and posted by
the Customs Union Commission (KTS) on its web site.
The document urges the Customs Union member states to study prospects for the
unification and subsequent gradual lifting of passport-visa controls.
KTS Responsible Secretary Sergei Glazyev said, in a report published on its web site,
that the lifting of customs formalities within the union's framework resulted in tougher
passport and border controls at some checkpoints on the Russian-Kazakh border.
"We need to look into how to ease border controls at checkpoints," he said.
Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/92776/#ixzz184nm9myF
Russians recognize Kazakhstan as most reliable partner in CIS
http://engnews.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=329191
14:28 14.12.2010
Russians recognize Kazakhstan as the most reliable partner in the CIS (37%). The leader
of the last year Belarus takes the second place now (23%). These are results of a pole
held by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center defining which of the CIS states
Russians recognize as the most reliable partners.
According to the poll, Kazakhstan is the most stable and successful state in the CIS space
(34%). Belarus which is the leader of the last year takes the second place (31%). Ukraine
that strengthened its positions in the ranking during the whole period from 5 to 19% is on
the third place. It is followed by Armenia (9%), Azerbaijan (6%), Moldova and
Turkmenistan (by 5%), Uzbekistan and Georgia (by 3%). Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are
the less stable states and have 2% and 1% respectively.
Russians also recognize Kazakhstan as the most reliable partner in the CIS space (37%),
moreover, the number of such respondents increased from 31% in 2009. the leader of the
last year Belarus was mentioned mush less (23% compared to 43% in 2009). Ukraine, on
the contrary, climbed in this ranking to the third place (from 4 to 21%).
Taking into account the rating of the most reliable partners of Russia, the rating of the
CIS most trusted leaders looks natural. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev
leads the rating with 32%. Ukrainian President V.Yanikovich takes the second place
(17%) essentially increasing the last year rate. The position of the Belarusian Leader
A.Lukashenko reduced from 33 to 16%.
Regarding the CIS states where the political, social, civil and other rights of Russianspeaking population are provided to a greater extent the Russians give priority to Belarus
(27%), Kazakhstan (21%) and Ukraine (17%).
Russia space chief calls satellite crash "heavy loss"
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINTRE6BC4X020101213
2:43am IST
SEVERODVINSK, Russia (Reuters) - Satellite infrastructure for Russia's challenge to
the U.S. global positioning system (GPS) will be ready by March despite the "heavy loss"
of a failed launch, the country's space agency chief said on Monday.
Three satellites plunged into the Pacific Ocean last week after a rocket launch went
wrong, setting back the Kremlin's plans to complete its GLONASS navigation system.
"This for us was a very heavy loss," agency head Anatoly Perminov said. However,
Russia has activated two satellites previously in reserve and will launch two more -- one
in December and one in March.
"We can launch the last satellite in March; we are resolving the last remaining issues with
the Defense Ministry ... The satellites group will then be fully operational, with only a
three-month delay," he said.
Analysts estimated the loss of the three satellites at $160 million. The state has spent over
$2 billion in the last decade on achieving what Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called
"satellite navigation sovereignty."
Russia had 20 active satellites of the needed 24 to complete the system, and analysts had
said the failed launch would delay operations by up to six months.
Russia has high hopes that the technology will lead a domestic revolution in consumer
devices such as smartphones and vehicle sat-navs.
Russia's rocket and space company Energia said on Monday the rocket had veered off
course due to human error and overloading.
Perminov said that a government commission was investigating the crash and would
deliver a report on Dec 20.
(Writing by Gleb Bryanski and Thomas Grove; editing by David Stamp)
Russia-Greece-Cyprus congress highlights the future prospects between the
countries
http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=84575
ana - 14.12.2010
Hellenic-Russian Society
The future prospects in relations shared by Russia, Greece and Cyprus were underlined
in the Hellenic-Russian Society Conference on “Russia-Greece-Cyprus: Political
Economic and Cultural Partnerships, Present and Future” held on Monday under the
auspices of the Greek foreign ministry.
The importance of the materialization of the South Stream pipeline and the BurgasAlexandroupolis oil pipeline in the current difficult conjuncture was highlighted in a
message by Republic President Karolos Papoulias read in the opening of the conference.
President Papoulias’ message referred to the close relations shared by the two peoples
reflected in their centuries-old ties.
Speaking in the conference, government vice-president Theodoros Pangalos stated that
Greece’s relations with Russia are of major and strategic importance and referred to
tourism, stressing that in a period of crisis, tourist arrivals from Russia increased 50 pct,
predicting a further increase in the coming year.
He criticized Bulgaria as regards the issue of the construction of the BurgasAlexandroupolis pipeline, stressing that it is a project of major importance for the Greek
government.
Referring to the stance adopted by the Bulgarian government, he said that
implementing the project appears to be difficult. He maintained that pressures are being
exerted by oil companies trying to block the construction of the oil pipeline adding,
however, that the dead end is not insurmountable. “The Bulgarian leadership should
realize that it is against the interest of the Bulgarian people to adopt a policy that isolates
the country,” he stressed.
On behalf of main opposition New Democracy (ND) party, the conference was
addressed by Hellenic-Russian Society 2nd vice-president MP Simos Kedikoglou, who
stressed that the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline is an environmentally-friendly project
contributing to a reduction in oil-tanker traffic in the Dardanelles Strait, underlining that
this argument should be taken under serious consideration.
The conference was addressed representatives of the opposition Popular Orthodox
Rally (LA.O.S) and Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) parties, the ambassadors of Russia
and Cyprus to Athens, a Russian Duma representative and other Russian officials.
According to Culture and Tourism Minister George Nikitiadis, meanwhile, Greece
could well become the top European destinations for Russian tourists in the next two
years, following Greek initiatives to hasten the issue of visas to visiting Russians and
policies to attract Russian tourists to Greece.
Greece: Bulgaria Serves American Interests by Blocking Oil Pipeline
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=123152
Energy | December 13, 2010, Monday
Bulgaria has been slammed by senior Greek government officials over its stalling of the
construction of Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.
Statements by members of the Greek Cabinet during a Hellenic-Russian Society
Conference on "Russia-Greece-Cyprus: Political Economic and Cultural Partnerships,
Present and Future" held on Monday under the auspices of the Greek foreign ministry
indicated much criticism for Bulgaria over the pipeline that should be transporting oil
from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via Bulgaria and Greece.
During the Russian-Greek forum, the importance of the materialization of the South
Stream pipeline and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline in the current difficult
conjuncture was highlighted in a message by Republic President Karolos Papoulias read
in the opening of the conference, reported the Greek news agency ANA-MPA.
Speaking in the conference, Greece's Deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos was
especially critical of Bulgaria as regards the issue of the construction of the BurgasAlexandroupolis pipeline, stressing that it is a project of major importance for the Greek
government.
Referring to the stance adopted by the Bulgarian government, he said that implementing
the project appears to be difficult.
He maintained that pressures are being exerted by oil companies trying to block the
construction of the oil pipeline adding, however, that the dead end is not insurmountable.
"The Bulgarian leadership should realize that it is against the interest of the Bulgarian
people to adopt a policy that isolates the country," he stressed as cited by ANA-MPA.
"Every time political forces which are under strong Western influence win in Bulgaria,
Burgas-Alexandroupolis reaches a dead end," Pangalos said probably referring to the
fact that the negotiations for the project have been dragging on since the early 1990s, and
that it was usually revived when pro-Russian Socialists were in power in Bulgaria unlike
the term of the rightist Kostov government in 1997-2001.
In his words, as cited by the Russian RBK Daily, multinational oil companies connected
with the American government use all means to prevent the realization of the BurgasAlexandroupolis oil pipeline.
He said that the stalemate could be overcome but "that Russia and Greece will have to
use whatever means they have at their disposal to help the Bulgarian leadership
understand that policies leading to isolation of the countries in the Balkans with respect to
private, Trans-Atlantic interests, does not serve the interests of the Bulgarian people."
A Greek MP, Simos Kedikoglu, representing the parliamentary opposition, supported the
opinion of the government member by saying he deemed unconvincing the argument of
the Bulgarian government that the oil pipeline project is environmentally unsafe because
it will reduce the traffic of oil tankers through the Turkish Straits.
Russian Ambassador to Greece Vladimir Chikvishvili is quoted as being more optimistic
about the oil pipeline saying he hoped that projects that are important for the energy
security of Europe will be realized.
Bulgaria: Russia re-offers 2.0 bln euros financing for Belene plant- Major foreign
investor expected to join the project
http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=84684
Tsvetelia Tsolova, GOVEDARTSI - 14.12.2010
Bulgaria needs to reach a deal with Russia on the price of a planned nuclear plant at
Belene before it decides how to proceed with the 2,000 megawatt project, the executive
director of state power utility NEK said.
Krasimir Parvanov said Moscow, eager to expand its nuclear presence into the European
Union, has renewed its offer to extend 2.0 billion euros ($2.64 billion) to start off the
project, which Bulgaria put on hold last summer.
"We have been offered an option envisioning financing of 2.0 billion euros by the
Russians, but there will be no movement on the project before we can agree on a final
price," Parvanov told Reuters in an interview.
The EU and the United States have urged Bulgaria to take stock of its already heavy
dependence on Russian gas and oil and encouraged the Balkan country to seek Western
investors for the nuclear project at Belene on the Danube River.
In April, Sofia rejected a similar funding offer by Moscow, saying it wanted instead to
focus on finding other investors for the plant.
Since then the centre-right government has indicated it is willing to push ahead with the
project, which it put on review in July 2009, along with other Russian-backed projects, to
check whether they met national interests and the EU agenda
After a series of meetings with senior Russian officials, in November the cabinet decided
to proceed with the Moscow-backed South Stream gas pipeline and signed a deal to set
up a project company for the Belene plant in four months.
Bulgaria's attempts to attract western interest for Belene have been largely unsuccessful
so far, although Finland's top utility Fortum Corporation and French technology
consultancy Altran, have each considered a 1 percent stake.
MORE TALKS
The government is unwilling to give the project up, as it has already invested over 900
million euros in it and may be forced to pay hefty compensation to Russia's
Atomstroyexport, which NEK contracted to build the reactors in 2006.The price for
Belene was set at 4 billion euros then but the two companies now disagree over how
much the sum has risen since then. Moscow says it should reach 6.3 billion euros, while
Sofia argues it should be in the range of 5 to 5.5 billion.Parvanov said a new round of
talks over the construction price will be held in Sofia this week and Bulgaria has said it
does not plan to invest new funds.
He said Sofia expects a strategic foreign investor to join Belene in the next few months
and argued that the funds Bulgaria has invested so far should secure it a 20 percent stake.
Prime Minister Boiko Borisov has suggested that Germany's Siemens, which is also a
subcontractor to Atomstroyexport for Belene, will be willing to take a stake. NEK plans
to invest only 27 million euros for Belene in 2011 and is not considering taking loans for
the plant.
Sofia has contracted British bank HSBC to seek foreign investors and help streamline its
financing, which analysts say could jump up to 9-10 billion euros.
Source Reuters - Balkans.com.
Jeremic and Lavrov on several topics
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/serbia/141549.html
14. December 2010. | 09:30
Source: Emg.rs
Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Russia and their cooperation in the
international domain, including the Kosmet issue, will be in the focus of attention
during the talks of the two heads of diplomacy, communicated the Russian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, on the eve of Vuk Jeremic’ visit to Moscow on Wednesday.
Bilateral cooperation between Serbia and Russia and their cooperation in the international
domain, including the Kosmet issue, will be in the focus of attention during the talks of
the two heads of diplomacy, communicated the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on
the eve of Vuk Jeremic’ visit to Moscow on Wednesday.
In view of the Russian-Serbian cooperation in the international plan it relates mostly to
the solving of problems in the West Balkans.
Russia and Serbia are adhering to the principled stance that the solution for Kosmet must
be found through the dialog of Belgrade and Pristina, in line with the UN Security
Council’s resolution 1244, it is underlined in the statement of the Russian ministry.
Serbia Doesn't Want Russia
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/serbia-doesnt-want-russia/426283.html
14 December 2010
Serbia hopes billionaire Mikhail Fridman won’t prevail in the tender for the national
phone company Telekom Srbija, after he showed preliminary interest in it through
VimpelCom Ltd. and Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri, Blic reported, citing an unidentified
government official.
The government “does not have the best experience with Russian management” after it
sold its national oil company to Gazprom Neft two years ago, the newspaper reported. It
also quoted the government’s economic adviser, Jurij Bajec, who denied that there would
be any bias in the sale of 51 percent of Telekom Srbija.
Other potential bidders include Deutsche Telekom, Telekom Austria, France Telecom,
America Movil and Orascom Telecom Holding through Weather Investments.
(Bloomberg)
Serbia to sign Letter of Intention with Russia, Belarus
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/serbia/141525.html
14. December 2010. | 08:53
Source: Emg.rs
Sasa Dragin and the directors of Russia’s Agromed and Belarus’ Ost Import will
sign a Letter of Intention on cooperation in cattle breeding at the government press
room.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Sasa Dragin and the directors
of Russia’s Agromed and Belarus’ Ost Import will sign a Letter of Intention on
cooperation in cattle breeding at 10.00 on 14 December, at the government press room,
Nemanjina 11.
Russian Ambassador Alexander Konuzin and Belarusian Charge d’Affairs Siarhei
Chichuk will also be present at the signing.
Monday, December 13, 2010
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Purchase of Helicopters
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=68460
A contract for the procurement of 80 Mi 17-V5 helicopters along with spares and the
associated equipment was signed between Ministry of Defence and M/s
Rosoboronexport, Russia on 5th December 2008 at a cost of US $ 1,345,836,495.83.
The Mi-17-V5 helicopters will be utilised for Special Heliborne Operations, airmaintenance, transportation of troops and equipment, search and rescue, casualty
evacuation and in armed helicopter roles. The delivery of these helicopters is likely to
commence by March 2011.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to
Shri Sonawane Pratap Narayanrao in Lok Sabha today.
Atomstroyexport and L&T to manufacture equipment for nuclear power plants
http://machinist.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2932&Itemid=2
Written by Viswanath
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
New Delhi: A subsidiary of Russia's Nuclear Energy State Corporation Rosatom,
Atomstroyexport, is currently holding negotiations with infrastructure major Larsen and
Toubro for setting up a manufacturing unit for production of equipment required for the
construction of nuclear power plants.
Atomstroyexport has decided to set up an equipment manufacturing facility in India
taking into account the huge potential in India’s nuclear sector and to speed up
constuction of atomic reactors through localization. L&T and Atomstroyexport will
initially focus on the manufacture of non-core equipment.
Atomstroyexport is completing the first stage of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
(Tamil Nadu), which includes two reactors with a capacity of 1,000 MW each. The first
of the two units is scheduled to become operational early next year.The equipment
manufacturing unit to be set up in a JV with L&T is expected to be operational before
Atomstroyexport starts construction of the third and fourth units at Kudankulam.
According to Georgy O Kumani, vice president of Atomstroyexport, the proposed
facility will initially manufacture non-core equipment before proceeding to make critical
parts of nuclear power plants. With the setting up of an equipment manufacturing facility
in the country , Atomstroyexport will be able to commission one nuclear power plant
every year.
Larson and Toubro has been involved with the Indian nuclear power plant program
supplying reactor vessels for Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and Fast
Breeder Reactors (FBRs) and critical equipment and systems for heavy water plants, fuel
re-processing plants and plasma reactors.
During Vladamir Putin's visit to India in March this year, the two countries had agreed on
a roadmap for nuclear cooperation, including the construction of nuclear power plants in
India and cooperation in the area of mechanical engineering and uranium production.
The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) is in discussion with Russia's
Atomredmetzoloto for the exploration of uranium in Russia and third countries as India's
domestic uranium reserves are small.
India has already been offered a stake( up to 49%) in one of Russia's largest uranium
deposits, Elkon. Located in Eastern Siberia, the Elkon deposits is the second largest
source of uranium in the world, second only to Olympic Dam in Australia.
11:28
200 fight over grazing land in Dagestan
http://rt.com/news/line/
A huge fight between the inhabitants of two villages over grazing-lands has taken place
in the Republic of Dagestan, southern Russia. Some 200 people were fighting over the
unsettled land issue. Police report that two men were injured and 20 detained.
Police officer shot dead in Dagestan
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101214/161765780.html
09:06 14/12/2010
Police in Dagestan are searching for a gunman who shot dead a police officer in the
volatile North Caucasus republic’s Kizlyarsky district, a police spokesperson said on
Tuesday.
“An unidentified person shot a police officer through the window of his house in the
village of Krasny Voskhod,” the spokesperson said, adding that the officer had “died at
the scene of his injuries.”
The attack happened on Monday evening.
According to the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, more than half of all terrorist
attacks in the North Caucasus in 2010 have occurred in Dagestan.
MAKHACHKALA, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
Ingush president says some 30 militants still active in his republic
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101214/161765227.html
07:59 14/12/2010
Over 30 militants are still registered as active in Russia's North Caucasus republic of
Ingushetia, the republic's president said.
President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, who was a victim of a terrorist attack against him last
year, said various media sources place the number of active militants in the republic
between 40 and 60.
"However, the real data, proved by our observations and police information, is about 30,"
he said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.
"Unfortunately, they have supporters. They [supporters] are not taking part in military
actions, but they supply the militants with weapons and food," Yevkurov added.
Yevkurov was badly injured on June 22, 2009, when his motorcade was hit by a car
packed with explosives driven by a suicide bomber.
Russia's North Caucasus republics, in particular, Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia,
have seen a dramatic rise in militant activity of late, with attacks on police, federal forces
and officials reported almost daily.
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
04:37
New opposition party formed in Russia
http://rt.com/news/line/
Russian opposition leaders have set up the Party of People’s Freedom. The party was
established by a newly formed democratic coalition called For Russia Without Abuse of
Power and Corruption. The leaders of the coalition – Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov,
Vladimir Milov and Mikhail Kasiyanov – say that if the party does get registered, it will
be taking part in future parliamentary, presidential and regional elections.
Kremlin critics form new opposition party
http://www.euronews.net/2010/12/14/kremlin-critics-form-new-opposition-party/
14/12 01:15 CET
Russia’s prominent opposition leaders have set up a coalition party to challenge the
government in the 2011 parliamentary elections.
But the newly-named ‘Party of Popular Freedom’ expects to have a rough ride. In the
past, the Kremlin has used various technicalities to prevent opposition parties from
getting their candidates listed on ballot papers.
Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov warned: “If they dare not register us, they will confirm
the illegitimacy of the elections.” He added: “Russia is a member of the OSCE and we
are committed to holding fair and transparent elections. During the years of the rule of
Medvedev and Putin, we have not been able to do this.”
The new party hopes to get the support of at least one famous political figure, former
Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev. He has recently aligned himself with the country’s
liberals.
At the weekend, hundreds of critics of Prime Minister Vladirmir Putin gathered in
Moscow to accuse him of trampling on the country’s Constitution.
Moscow mayor threatens tough response to destabilization attempts
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15776762&PageNum=0
14.12.2010, 11.16
MOSCOW, December 14 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that the
authorities would not allow to unsettle the situation in the Russian capital.
"Any violations of law and the attempts to provoke violence and riots will meet with a
tough response," Sobyanin said in comments on the riots in the Manezhnaya Square on
December 11, in which more than 5,000 young people demanded an investigation into
the murder of Spartak fan Yegor Sviridov.
"If somebody thinks that one can go on rampage in our city and beat and kill innocent
citizens, they err. The authorities' reaction will be tough; Moscow will secure order," the
mayor said.
12/14 10:48 Reports emerge protesters making their way to Moscow from N
Caucasus for "participation in mass riots"
http://www.interfax.com/news.asp
12/14 11:11 Moscow police on high alert over new far-right youth rallies
http://www.interfax.com/
December 14, 2010
New disorder possible in Moscow
http://actualcomment.ru/news/18035/
GOOGLE TRANSLATION
Moscow police checks the information received from a resident of Zelenograd, that
a group of citizens from the Caucasus is coming to Moscow for the riots.
"Around noon, the duty of the metropolitan police department from the Office of Internal
Affairs in Zelenograd, it was reported that appealed to them 50-year-old local woman,
who said that when she followed in the train from Moscow, Zelenograd, heard talking on
the phone an unknown male. During the conversation, the unknown reported that on
Monday evening in Moscow was to arrive in two carriages of the train from Makhachkala
group of citizens for the riots, "- said a source in law enforcement, according to Interfax.
According to the woman, a meeting place for citizens coming from the republic of
Dagestan, has been designated an area of the Kursk railway station.
At the same time, Moscow police are interested in information on the Internet that
December 15 night on the square of the Kiev railway station in the shopping center
"European" natives of the North Caucasus region will be a rally. "The site has the appeals
addressed to the inhabitants of the region, that they were armed," - said a source.
As reported by "Current Comments", December 13, Moscow police closed the Manege
Square in Moscow in connection with the appearance of information on a possible new
mass rally at this point. To the area arrived a few dozen buses with riot police. However,
no incidents were reported.
Recall, 11 December this year, several thousand fans gathered at the Manege Square in
downtown Moscow. Unauthorized action was devoted to the memory of a fan of the
Moscow "Spartak" Yegor Sviridov, who was killed in a scuffle with Caucasians
December 6 at Kronstadt bulvare.Vo the campaign there was a mass scuffle with riot
policemen, were also beaten several are at the moment at the Manege Square emigrants
from the Caucasus. Then the riots continued for several metro stations, where the youth
was beaten from the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the crime of those who committed the
weekend riots in Moscow and demanded to prosecute them.
Another criminal case opened over Manezhnaya Square riots
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15776413&PageNum=0
14.12.2010, 10.07
MOSCOW, December 14 (Itar-Tass) - A criminal case has been opened over the use of
violence on police in Manezhnaya Square on December 11, spokesman for the
Investigation Committee Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
"The SK department for the central administrative district opened a criminal case over the
fact of the use of violence on police, during the unsanctioned actions in Manezhnaya
Square on December 11 (Article 318, Part 1 of Russia's Criminal Code)," Markin said.
"The investigators said five special task force police received first aid treatment at the
scene, as hospitalization was not necessary," Markin noted.
"The investigators and detectives are carrying out the necessary actions aimed at
ascertaining the circumstances of the crime and the persons involved in it," the
spokesman said.
Earlier, Moscow police opened 11 criminal cases over hooliganism and inflicting
medium severity harm to health to 11 natives of the Caucasus and Central Asia during the
unsanctioned rally in Manezhnaya Square on December 11.
Riots in Russia rooted in nationalism, hatred of immigrants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/12/13/AR2010121305794.html
By Will Englund
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
MOSCOW - Street melees here over the past few days, sparked by the killing of a soccer
fan and fueled by nationalists' hatred of immigrants from the Caucasus, have caught the
police and other authorities unprepared for an upsurge of rage that appears to reflect a
larger sense of anger in Russian society.
The riots by right-wing nationalists and extremists have put political leaders on the spot:
How should they go about cracking down on a movement that until now typically has
been a useful right flank for those in power?
The Kremlin has spent the past decade nurturing nationalist sentiment in Russia,
especially among the young. Now, hundreds and sometimes thousands of furious young
men have been gathering around Moscow and other cities, shouting nationalist slogans,
making fascist salutes and beating up darker-skinned people who appear to be from the
Caucasus or Central Asia.
A man from Central Asia was stabbed to death in the southern part of Moscow by a
group of about 15 young people Sunday night or Monday morning, police reported.
On Saturday, several thousand young men clashed with police at Manezh Square, just
outside the Kremlin. Eighty were detained briefly, but riot police chased most of the
crowd into the subway, where they rampaged through the cars threatening non-Russians.
Three natives of the Caucasus were stabbed and had to be hospitalized, police said. On
Sunday, crowds appeared at Pushkin Square and at Sokolniki Park. Web sites promised
more to come.
Critics across the political spectrum called the government's response inadequate or
counterproductive.
"Very strong political statements should have been made" against the rioters, Galina
Kozhevnikova, deputy director of a human rights group called Sova, said Monday. "If the
state is still silent, then the participants look at this as silent permission for more."
But right-wing leaders denounced the government for cracking down on them.
On the Web site of the National-Sovereign Party of Russia, Alexander Sevastyanov
argued that "the head-on, tough, forceful attack on nationalism (which is falsely
interpreted by the authorities as extremism) did not achieve anything other than an
escalation of violence and social tension. Sow the wind - reap the whirlwind!"
On Sunday, Russia's interior minister, Rashid Nurgaliyev, sought to blame the riots on
left-wing radicals, but the chants and slogans point to the right. At the same time, they
speak to a broader sense of anger in Russian society that turns up regularly in polls and
private conversations but rarely finds a way to express itself.
The government clearly is worried about extremism, but police tend to pick on graffiti
writers rather than organizers, Kozhevnikova said.
On Monday, President Dmitry Medvedev appeared on the Rossiya television channel to
address the riots. "The recent events in Moscow, pogroms and attacks on people should
be classified as crimes, and their perpetrators should be punished," he said.
But his government seems to be walking a fine line. On Saturday, Medvedev's deputy
chief of staff told a meeting of Kremlin-sponsored youth groups, "Prepare yourselves for
the polls, and train your brains and your muscles. You can always count on our support."
The most recent riots began after a fan of the Spartak soccer team, Yegor Svidorov, died
after being shot with rubber bullets a week ago during a fight that involved at least 10
people, police said. Four suspects, at least three of whom are from the Caucasus, were
arrested.
Spartak fans blocked Leningradsky Highway last week to mourn his death, but since then
they have been overtaken by rightist political groups. "
Late Monday afternoon, riot police in helmets and body armor blocked off Manezh
Square. The square remained calm Monday night, the news agency Interfax reported.
Putin Cousin Quits Bank Job, Kommersant Says (Correct)
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aOQfqPNwbefA
By Jason Corcoran
(Corrects newspaper attribution throughout.)
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s cousin Igor has left his
position as vice president at OAO Master Bank after just three months to join a pipeline
construction company, Kommersant reported, citing an unidentified senior executive.
Putin joined Master Bank at the end of September to help the lender expand and become
one of the country’s biggest 50 banks. He was hired on Dec. 6 by a pipeline construction
company linked to the businessman Gennady Timchenko, the newspaper said.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]
Last Updated: December 14, 2010 00:44 EST
Russian spy will take Abkhazia under control
http://eng.expertclub.ge/portal/cnid__7046/alias__Expertclub/lang__en/tabid__2546/defa
ult.aspx
13/12/2010 13:53
One of those involved in the US-Russian "spy scandal" Andrei Bezrukov, also known as
Donald Howard Heatfield, has been appointed advisor to the president of Russia's biggest
oil company Rosneft and can take up the post of vice president for international projects.
As several sources familiar with the situation told Kommersant newspaper, Bezrukov
advises the head of the company about international projects.
According to Infoks.ru, Bezrukov will lead unit of international projects of Rosneft which
has already been recruiting new staff. One of the company's international projects is
carried out in occupied Abkhazia, where Rosneft is founding a network of petrol stations
and plans to produce oil. This direction, along with others around the world, will be
overseen by the Russian intelligence officer.
It should be noted that the position of vice president for international projects oil
company is an excellent cover for continuation of intelligence activities in various
countries, including recruitment of new spies abroad.
08:33
Khodorkovsky awarded for human rights activities
http://rt.com/news/line/
Russia’s former oil magnate and Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been awarded a
Rainer Hildebrandt International Human Rights Award for his human rights activities on
Monday, AFP reports. The award was presented to his mother, Marina, as Khodorkovsky
could not attend the ceremony in Berlin. He is serving an eight-year prison term for fraud
and tax evasion in Russia. The ceremony took place at the Check-Point Charlie Museum,
a symbol of the Cold War, with German parliamentary speaker Norbert Lammert and the
government commissioner for human rights policy and humanitarian aid Markus Loening
present. A Moscow court is currently examining new charges of embezzlement and fraud
against Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, with verdict to be given
on December, 15.
Western political figures appeal to Medvedev on Khodorkovsky
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101214/161767155.html
11:15 14/12/2010
A number of Western politicians urged Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to "end the
persecution" of jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky in a letter published by the
Financial Times on Tuesday.
The letter, released a day before the verdict in trial on a second set of charges against
Khodorkovsky, was signed by two former British foreign ministers, Sir Malcolm Rifkind
and David Miliband, and former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, among
others.
The open letter said the campaign against the former head of the Yukos oil company and
his business partner, Platon Lebedev, was political and "not truly motivated by law."
It also said that the trial had "shaken confidence in the Russian legal system."
The two men were arrested in 2003 on charges of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to
eight years in jail. A year before their scheduled release, they are facing fresh charges of
embezzling 218 tons of oil from Yukos and laundering over 3 billion rubles ($97.5
million) in revenues that could extend their jail terms until 2017.
Although Medvedev is largely seen as the junior partner in the ruling tandem with Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin, and is expected to hand back the keys to Kremlin to his
powerful mentor at the 2012 presidential polls, a number of analysts believe he is
beginning to forge his own political identity. The release of Khodorkovsky ahead of the
polls would give the president a powerful boost should he buck expectations and
challenge Putin, analysts suggest.
Others have said, however, that Khodorkovsky remains disliked by the vast majority of
the population for his perceived role in the 1990s carve-up of Russia's natural resources
and that Medvedev would have little to gain politically by the release of once Russia's
richest man.
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
Plea for end to Khodorkovsky ‘persecution’
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/72e313e8-06ed-11e0-8c2900144feabdc0.html#axzz184UojtFV
By Catherine Belton in Moscow
Published: December 14 2010 00:01 | Last updated: December 14 2010 00:01
A group of western politicians has urged Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, to “end
the persecution” of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed Yukos oil tycoon, just days before
a Moscow judge begins reading the verdict in his second trial.
In an open letter, the politicians – led by Sir Malcolm Rifkind and David Miliband, two
former UK foreign ministers, and Bernard Kouchner, the former French foreign minister
– said the seven-year legal campaign against Mr Khodorkovsky and his business partner
Platon Lebedev had “shaken confidence in the Russian legal system” because it was seen
as “not truly motivated by law”.
Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy
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“As strong supporters of the drive to modernise Russia we cannot stand idly by when rule
of law and human values are being so openly abused and compromised,” the letter said.
“Stable and reliable partnerships with Russia can exist only where our fundamental
common values are shared and applied: where human rights are protected, property rights
are secure and justice prevails over corruption.”
The strongly worded call came after last week’s award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu
Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident serving an 11-year jail sentence for subversion, prompting
vitriolic criticism from the government in Beijing.
Until his arrest in 2003 on tax fraud charges, Mr Khodorkovsky was a rich oligarch who
built up a vast business empire in the 1990s, rather than a political dissident. But his
treatment has been seen as emblematic for the stifling of political opposition and the state
takeover of the economy under Vladimir Putin’s leadership.
The judge will start delivering the verdict on Wednesday in Mr Khodorkovsky’s second
trial, in which he and Mr Lebedev stood accused of stealing all the oil that their Yukos oil
company produced between 1998 and 2003 and laundering the proceeds.
Sir Malcolm told the Financial Times that Mr Khodorkovsky had been in prison so long
it was “hard to believe his continued imprisonment is the consequence of an independent
legal proceeding” but instead was “the consequence of a political decision by the
president or the prime minister” to keep him behind bars.
Mr Putin, the former president and now prime minister, has shown no sign of softening
his stance on Mr Khodorkovsky, telling an investor conference in October that “corpses
were hanging” on “people” in Yukos, once Russia’s biggest oil producer and now
bankrupted and taken over by state-controlled Rosneft.
Critics said the charges, for which the two former business partners face a maximum
potential sentence of 14 years in jail, are aimed at keeping Mr Khodorkovsky, once a
political rival to Mr Putin, behind bars long beyond presidential elections in 2012. The
legal campaign against Mr Khodorkovsky has been seen by observers as political revenge
for the tycoon’s financing of opposition parties and lobbying to build private pipelines
independently from the state.
The case is being closely watched as a test of whether Mr Medvedev is capable of
making the court system independent and forging a separate path to Mr Putin, whose
power as the theoretically more junior prime minister is still seen as eclipsing his.
The foreign political leaders, in their open letter to Mr Medvedev, said the fresh trial
against Mr Khodorkovsky presented the president with an opportunity to “demonstrate
that Russia is truly a regime of law today.”
William Hague, Britain’s foreign minister, did not mention Mr Khodorkovsky’s trial
directly during a meeting with Mr Medvedev during his first visit to Moscow last month
but raised concerns over the “culture of impunity and corruption” that mars Russia’s
investment climate.
Russia approves controversial road plan
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101214/161768192.html
12:13 14/12/2010
A controversial new road through an endangered forest near Moscow will go ahead as
initially planned, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.
The road, which would see part of a new motorway linking Moscow to St. Petersburg
cutting through a centuries-old oak forest near the town of Khimki, prompted an outcry
that led President Dmitry Medvedev to freeze construction in August.
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti)
A Pyrrhic victory in Khimki?
http://themoscownews.com/local/20101213/188275873.html?referfrommn
by Vladimir Kozlov at 13/12/2010 18:46
Last week, a Khimki court overturned an earlier libel conviction against Mikhail
Beketov, editor-in-chief of the Khimkinskaya Pravda newspaper. However, observers say
that what is essentially a fair verdict must have nevertheless been influenced by extensive
public attention to the issue and by recent attacks on journalists.
On December 10, the Khimki court threw out an earlier verdict under which Beketov was
found guilty of libel against Khimki Mayor Vladimir Strelchenko and fined 5,000
roubles, saying there was no corpus delicti, RIA Novosti reported.
The case against Beketov was opened in 2007. In November 2008, Beketov, who is
known for writing articles about the controversial highway being built through Khimki
Forest, was severely beaten. As a result of the beating, Beketov has become permanently
disabled and has not yet regained the ability to speak. Many believe that the attack was
directly linked to Beketov’s publications about Khimki Forest and against mayor
Strelchenko.
Human rights activists hailed the court’s decision, but noted that it should have been
made earlier. “Beketov’s activities as a journalist led to threats against him,” Alexander
Cherkasov, a member of the board of the Memorial human rights society, told The
Moscow News. “First his dog was killed, then his car was burnt out. The threats were
never investigated.”
According to Cherkasov, the libel case was prompted by Beketov’s speculation that
Strelchenko could have been behind the actions against him. “But to prove that Beketov
was guilty, the court had to prove that he deliberately spread incorrect information about
Strelchenko,” Cherkasov said. “It had to prove that Beketov himself believed that what
he was saying was not true, and that was impossible.”
Environmental activists who have defended Khimki Forest said they were happy with the
verdict, but pointed out that it’s unfortunate that it took more attacks on journalists and
activists to achieve a fair trial for Beketov.
“This is a victory,” Yevgenia Chirikova, head of the movement In Defence of Khimki
Forest, told The Moscow News. According to Chirikova, the decision was influenced by
heavy public attention to the case, which in turn was triggered by recent attacks on
journalist Oleg Kashin, who also covered the Khimki Forest controversy, and
environmental activist and opposition member Konstantin Fetisov. “It’s bad that two
more broken skulls were needed to achieve justice,” Chirikova stated.
Chirikova also pointed out that Khimki Forest activists are still being harassed. “The
small engineering company I run with my husband is being examined for extremism,”
she said. “The company deals with lightning protection, and couldn’t possibly have
anything to do with extremism. All of this is happening in order to exert pressure on me
and my husband, who has also recently been very active in the Khimki Forest affair.”
Cherkasov appeared slightly more optimistic than Chirikova. “Better late than never,” he
said. “The decision is in line with legal standards that Russia must strive to achieve – as it
signed the European Convention on Human Rights back in 1998.”
“Had the decision [on Beketov] been different, a lawsuit with the European Court of
Human Rights would have been filed, and it would have been won,” Cherkasov went on
to say.
Cherkasov did admit that there was extra attention paid to Beketov’s libel case thanks to
other shocking events related to Khimki Forest.
“Attention to Khimki has increased since the early summer,” he said. “And the attack on
Kashin certainly drew extra attention to other attacks against journalists.”
PRESS DIGEST – Russia – Dec 14
http://www.lse.co.uk/FinanceNews.asp?ArticleCode=gt4uwd2e8in6f15&ArticleHead
line=PRESS_DIGEST__Russia__Dec_14
Tue, 14th Dec 2010 08:20
MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's
newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for
their accuracy.
KOMEMRSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- Russia's developers could lose up to $200 million as Moscow city authorities have
banned the construction of new shopping malls in the centre of the capital, on the
territory of 400,000 square meters.
- Russia still hopes to attract foreign companies to take part in construction of a Silicon
Valley-like project near Moscow, in Skolkovo, head of the Skolkovo Fund Viktor
Vekselberg says in an interview as the decision was taken to attract Russia's Lukoil oil
company to become the main investor in the project.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- U.S. retail group Wal-Mart Stores Inc is leaving Russia's market after it failed to
purchase one of the local retail chains Kopeika, bought by Russia's leader X5.
- Russia could use the money of state-controlled pensions funds to boost the development
of high technologies, according to a presidential adviser Arkady Dvorkovich.
- Shareholders of the Caspian pipeline consortium could decide on Wednesday on
doubling the amount of oil to be shipped through the Tengiz-Novorossiisk pipeline.
ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA
www.rg.ru
- Russia's brewery Baltika is offering the use of gas emerging in the process of beer
production as a biological fuel, the daily reports from a forum on energy saving
problems, which took place in Yaroslavl.
- St.Petersburg authorities are ready pay one million roubles to the company which will
win a nano-tender on finding the way to fight icicles in the city.
VREMYA NOVOSTEI
www.vremya.ru
- Leaders of Russian opposition movements have united to register a new political party
to fight the seats in Russia’s parliament in December 2011.
IZVESTIA
www.izvestia.ru
- Russia will spend 20 trillion roubles to ensure a 70 percent rearmament of its armed
forces by 2020.
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
www.ng.ru
- The daily suggests that aggressive (militant) extremists were behind the clashes of
young men with police on Saturday, as more rallies are expected to be held on Dec. 15 in
the capital.
Russian Press at a Glance, Tuesday, December 14, 2010
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20101214/161765659.html
08:54 14/12/2010
A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered police to identify and punish those responsible for
violent, racist rioting just outside the Kremlin's walls over the weekend
(Vremya Novostei, Vedomosti, the Moscow Times, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
United Russia should attract more opposition members, while maintaining its ideological
path of “Russian Conservatism”
(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Vedomosti)
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to create a unified document
defining Russia’s energy security
(Kommersnat)
BUSINESS
LUKoil will become one of the core investors of the technology hub in Skolkovo and will
locate its research center there beginning in 2014
(The Moscow Times)
Russia's top mobile phone operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is set to borrow from
country’s top lender Sberbank 100 billion rubles ($3.3 billion
(Vedomosti)
AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Presenting the prototype for the “yo-mobile” car on Monday, Mikhail Prokhorov, head of
Onexim Group, said that the joint venture Yo-Avto (formerly Gorodskoy Avtomobil City Car) is planning to establish auto assembly plants to produce the cars abroad
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
OIL & GAS
The latest restructuring at state-owned oil giant Rosneft took a high-profile twist
Monday, as a sleeper agent in July's infamous spy swap was appointed to a top position
in the company
(The Moscow Times)
Igor Putin, a cousin of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left the post of MasterBank vice-president to head Russian pipeline construction company
Surguttruboprovodstroi
(Kommersant)
DEFENSE
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov says he hopes a WikiLeaks report about
NATO's contingency plan to defend the Baltic states from potential Russian aggression is
false
SOCIETY
The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, considers introducing new
harsher amendments to anti-tobacco regulations
(Vremya Novostei, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The Moscow City Court is set to announce on Tuesday its verdict in regard to Alexander
Bulbov, a former senior Federal Drug Control official charged with fraud and abuse of
office. Bulbov pleaded guilty to charges
(Kommersant)
SPORTS
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club SKA tore up a contract with 35-year-old
goaltender Yevgeny Nabokov
(Kommersant)
Transdniester’s fate to be decided by oligarchs
http://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/ng-ru-cis-2010-12-14-6-pridnestrovie-html/en/
Published: 14 December, 2010, 03:15
Edited: 14 December, 2010, 06:21
Nezavisimaya
Elections on the two banks of Dniester showed that big business has come to power
Svetlana Gamova
In Transdniester, a new Supreme Council has been elected and will soon begin its work –
unlike Moldova’s parliament, which is still unable to form a ruling alliance and is risking
finding itself on the brink of another dissolution. The only thing that unites the elections
on the two banks of Dniester is the coming to power of big business representatives in
both the legitimate Moldova and the unrecognized Transdniester.
The acting president of Moldova, Mihai Ghimpu, argues that the Moldovan people will
be given a gift before the New Year – a new ruling alliance. Meanwhile, experts in
Chisinau are predicting the alliance to be short-lived, and for the voters, another early
election in the next year.
Recall that Moldova has had three parliamentary elections in the last two years. But each
time the parliament failed to elect a president (direct presidential elections have been
abolished in the republic) and was dissolved by the temporary head of state. After the
November 28 election, Communists have the biggest faction in the Legislative Assembly
with 42 of the 101 seats. The Liberal Democrats came in second place with 32 seats.
Fifteen seats went to the Democrats and 12 to the Liberals. Because not one of the
parliamentary parties is able to create a parliamentary majority, they are all holding
intense negotiations with each another.
Recently, the head of Russia’s presidential administration, Sergey Naryshkin, traveled to
Chisinau, where he met with the leaders of the three winning parties (except for the head
of the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Vladimir Filat). After this, the Moldovan
capital began talking about the creation of a center-left alliance with the Communist and
Democratic Parties. However, the honorary chairman of the Democratic Party, Dumitru
Diacov, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) that the Democrats are holding negotiations with
all parties and are considering various proposals. Today, Moldova is guessing as to who –
Communists or the Liberal Democrats – has a better chance to form a ruling alliance with
the Democrats.
According to Arkady Barbarosh, director of the Chisinau-based Public Policy Institute,
the most probable outcome is “an alliance without a president.” Communists are ready to
vote for “an impolitic president,” but this option does not suit the Democratic Party
leader, Marian Lupu – who is known to have his sights set on that position. On the other
hand, if the center-left alliance is formed, then the Liberals and Liberal Democrats will
not participate in the presidential election.
Meanwhile, contrary to today’s arguments, the Communists will not be unable to buy
their votes, argues the political analyst.
“During the last election, the Communists had also argued that it will not take much for
them to lure some of the right-wing representatives to their side, but they were
unsuccessful, despite the fact that then they were only lacking one vote. And now,
together with the Democrats, they lack four,” Barbarosh told NG.
If the Democrats decide to agree with the right-wingers, then the Communists will not
support a presidential candidate from that alliance. In any case, notes the expert, the
Democrats’ position will not so much be determined by Lupu as much as by the second
name on the party’s list: Vladimir Plahotniuc.
During the last election, he financed the left and the right, and in the current election,
became a sponsor of the Democratic Party. In Chisinau, he is talked about as a contender
for the post of the head of government. And this fact could have an effect on the
negotiations between the Democratic and Liberal Democratic Parties. The chairman of
the latter, Vladimir Filat, would like to secure this position, especially because he enjoys
considerable support from the European Union.
According to NG’s sources, his meetings with the leader of Transdniester, Igor Smirnov,
during this fall’s soccer match at the Tiraspol stadium were organized by the EU special
representative for Moldova, Kalman Mizsei.
“Football diplomacy” had unblocked relations between Chisinau and Tiraspol, political
talks between which were broken two years ago. Progress in regard to Transdniester
played to Filat’s advantage during the election campaign, and his young party, in
comparison to others, came in the second place.
The Transdniester issue is also important for all other parties with the exception of the
Liberal Party, whose leader, Mihai Ghimpu, at one time encouraged armed conflict on the
Dniester, and everyone else promised voters an early reunification of the country within
the borders of independent Moldova.
Ghimpu has always supported a different reunification – with Romania. Filat, however,
was also considered to be an advocate of this course, though in response to Romanian
President Traian Basescu’s statements made about integration, he said that Moldova was
and will remain an independent state. Nevertheless, judging from Naryshkin’s meetings
in Chisinau, Filat is not part of the Kremlin’s plans.
Meanwhile, not one of the current Moldovan authorities is part of the current
Transdniestrian leadership’s plans: during a referendum, the region’s population
confirmed its desire to pursue the policy of integration with Russia. However, the
Supreme Council elections, which were held last Sunday, showed the alignment of
political forces in the region could change. The majority of Transdniester’s new elected
officials are not from the presidential forces. According to the head of the Transdniestrian
party People’s Will, Oleg Gudymo, “most members of the Supreme Council could be
considered ultra-rightwing” and are supported by big business.
Indeed, one of the deputies is Ilya Kazmaly, who is also one of the leaders of the Sheriff
Corporation; and some deputies are members of a group known for “Initiative 16,” which
suggested the limitation of presidential powers. It was “repelled” by Igor Smirnov’s
supporters and cost Yevgeny Shevchuk his job as the speaker of parliament.
Shevchuk, who has announced his candidacy for president, entered into the current
parliament and could be used by Chisinau during the upcoming 2011 presidential
elections in Transdniester. According to Gudymo, Shevchuk “talks about Russia, but is
inclined toward the West, just as the leading Moldovan politicians.”
Critics Allege Russian Magazine Is Misrepresenting WikiLeaks Cables
http://georgiandaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20649&Itemid
=65
December 14, 2010
By Claire Bigg
Just like their peers around the world, Russian journalists have been writing extensively
about the revelations contained in the secret U.S. diplomatic cables released by
WikiLeaks.
In at least one publication, the resulting stories have been quite extraordinary. In fact,
according to some skeptical observers, the scoops appear too good to be true.
According to the magazine "Russky Reporter," for example, the famous walkout by
Western diplomats during Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's speech to the United
Nations in September 2009 was not spontaneous and had in fact been planned by
Washington.
The magazine, citing WikiLeaks documents, claimed in a December 2 article that U.S.
officials gave detailed instructions to EU representatives on when to leave the room
during Ahmadinejad's speech. The claim, if substantiated, could be deeply embarrassing
to the United States.
But unlike other media reporting on the WikiLeaks revelations, "Russky Reporter"
provided no documents to back up its allegations. An extensive search of the WikiLeaks
database fails to yield relevant U.S. cables, causing some analysts to suggest the
magazine might be exploiting WikiLeaks to propagate false information.
"The problem is that what should be backed by the cables does not actually appear in the
published cables," says Yulia Latynina, one of several Russian journalists to have voiced
doubts over the credibility of "Russky Reporter," which claims to have a privileged
relationship with WikiLeaks. "This allegation is left hanging in the air, to put it mildly."
WikiLeaks did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the existence of the
cables and its relationship with "Russky Reporter."
WikiNonsense
Russia is not the only country whose media have been accused of misrepresenting
WikiLeaks material. The growing scrutiny of "Russky Reporter" comes as several major
Pakistani newspapers admitted publishing stories based on fake WikiLeaks cables in
which U.S. diplomats ostensibly accused Indian authorities of harboring ties with Hindu
fundamentalists and supporting Islamist militants in Pakistan.
Pakistan's "Express Tribune" on December 10 apologized on its front page for publishing
the allegations "without due verification" after Britain's "The Guardian," one of the rare
media outlets to have received access to all of the WikiLeaks' cables, exposed the sham.
The "Express Tribune" apology and the growing suspicions about "Russky Reporter"
illustrate that while the WikiLeaks revelations have exposed the world to a treasure trove
of information about previously secret diplomatic maneuvers, they have also opened the
door to misinterpretation, misrepresentation, and even outright deception.
Much of the criticism against "Russky Reporter" focuses on an article analyzing secret
communications penned by U.S. diplomats in Tbilisi during the Russia-Georgia war in
August 2008.
"When I first read the utter nonsense about events in Georgia, I immediately went and
read the real cables, and I saw that this was a complete deception and falsification," says
Leonid Velikhov, the editor of Russia's "Sovershenno Sekretno" newspaper. "Everything
had been distorted."
In the article, Editor in Chief Vitaly Leibin writes that the leaked U.S. documents show
that most governments believed that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili started the
war, and that "no one in the world had any illusions" otherwise.
In reality, the cables released by WikiLeaks show the opposite. A cable sent from the
U.S. embassy in Tbilisi says "all the evidence available to the country team supports
Saakashvili's statement that this fight was not Georgia's original intention."
According to "The New York Times," the cables actually reveal that U.S. diplomats
relied heavily on the Georgian government's information and largely failed to challenge
its account of the war in their cables to Washington.
"Russky Reporter's" translation of U.S. cables posted on its website is at times also
misleading.
For example, the magazine cited a remark in the cables by the U.S. ambassador in Riga
that Latvian authorities blame Russia for starting the war but felt "Tbilisi has been
looking for a provocation to act." But when the comment was translated into Russian, it
misleadingly read: "Tbilisi provoked in order to act."
"Russky Reporter," a glossy medium-circulation magazine owned by the Kremlinfriendly Expert publishing group, has similarly been accused of withholding cables
critical of Russian leaders.
The fierce anti-U.S. rhetoric of its WikiLeaks coverage has likewise raised eyebrows; one
editorial, for instance, accuses Washington of mounting a "general persecution" against
Russia.
Leibin denies that "Russky Reporter" intentionally misled readers, although he does
concede that some "mistakes" and "translation inaccuracies" occurred.
He says the magazine does not systematically link to the original cables simply because
some of these documents have not yet been made public by WikiLeaks.
"Well, yes, we will have to publish all the cables confirming our conclusions in order to
prevent further conflicts," Leibin says. "We will do this as soon as we get authorization
from WikiLeaks."
WikiLeaks And Friends
"Russky Reporter" claims to be one of the few media outlets that were given early access
to WikiLeaks' quarter-million U.S. cables.
Only four media organizations, however, are known to be collaborating directly with
WikiLeaks: "The Guardian" in Britain, "Le Monde" in France, "El Pais" in Spain, and
"Der Spiegel" in Germany.
"The Guardian" has shared the material with "The New York Times" and the five
newspapers have been advising WikiLeaks on which documents to release, what
redactions to make, and when to publish.
Unlike "Russky Reporter," these newspapers have carried stories relating exclusively to
cables that have been simultaneously released by WikiLeaks and coordinated with the
publication in question.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service, Leibin says that his magazine's
collaboration with WikiLeaks is slightly different.
"To be accurate, we're not cooperating in the same way as 'The Guardian' or 'The New
York Times.' Their staff journalists worked together with WikiLeaks activists going
through this vast database to find things they were interested in publishing," Leibin says.
"In our case, a freelance journalist worked for us: Israel Shamir, who has been an activist
with WikiLeaks. It simply turned out that we knew an activist from WikiLeaks."
Shamir could not be reached for comment.
In an apparent attempt to dispel any doubt about its ties with the secret-leaking website,
the magazine has posted a photo of Shamir standing next to WikiLeaks founder Julian
Assange on its website.
A freelance journalist, Shamir is himself a controversial figure known for his stinging
anti-Zionist rhetoric and his conspiracy theories about the September 11, 2001, attacks in
the United States.
More recently, Shamir has turned his ire toward the women currently accusing the
WikiLeaks founder of sexual assault, branding them "pro-CIA," "castrating feminists"
and hailing Assange as "our favorite hero of the Matrix, our Captain Neo."
The accusations leveled against "Russky Reporter" and the fake U.S. cables cited in the
Pakistani media show that WikiLeaks, despite all its efforts at transparency, remains
vulnerable to falsification by unscrupulous journalists.
Media experts say the deliberate opacity of WikiLeaks, which is the subject of a U.S.
criminal investigation, and the sheer number of documents it exposes mean the public
will need to become more discerning about its reported disclosures.
"It's the same with blogging," says Charlie Beckett, director of Polis, a journalism think
tank at the London School of Economics. "When blogging started, there were loads and
loads of blogs that were highly dubious and that still are, probably. It's just that people
learned to sift out the ones that are lying all the time and the ones that aren't. I guess
something similar is happening with WikiLeaks."
RFE/RL's Russian Service contributed to this report
Any foreign investor knows Russia's been corrupt for centuries
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/14/russia-corruption-foreigninvestors
Most overseas businesses are willing to comply with its endemic mafia culture
The Guardian, Tuesday 14 December 2010
Paddy Rawlinson
So, Russia is a "virtual mafia state", according to a leaked diplomatic document (Inside
Putin's 'mafia state', 2 December). As an academic who has spent 15 years researching
organised crime in Russia, I would say what you call a "startling briefing for US
officials" is hardly revelatory.
Nearly two decades ago Boris Yeltsin publicly declared Russia to be the "superpower of
crime" and the "biggest mafia state in the world". Corruption has been a fact of life in
Russia for decades, indeed centuries, so much so that while most Russians might be
morally uncomfortable with its pervasive presence, they regard it as normal. So too, it
turns out, do most foreign businesses. Unlike most Russians, however, they are not
compelled to stay in a country where sleaze, criminality and exploitation are facets of
daily life.
Corruption, the oxygen of organised crime, is a two-(or more)-way process. For the
majority of foreign businesses, bribe-giving is seen as essential – the only way to get
things done. "We call it Russian business," smiled one visitor to Moscow I interviewed
recently. Taken to their logical conclusion, what these "revelations" tell us – and
embassies don't – is that most foreign operations in Russia, in some way or another, are
complicit in official and private sector corruption. The same could be said for western
politicians standing shoulder to shoulder with godfathers such as Vladimir Putin.
In all my years researching organised crime in Russia, rarely did I meet a foreign
company that had no knowledge of what your article describes as the "parallel tax system
for the personal enrichment of the police, officials and the KGB's successor, the federal
security service (FSB)", or failed to suspect that "Russia is a corrupt, autocratic
kleptocracy". For the majority of those who move their business elsewhere, profit and
loss rather than corporate ethics has been the main driver. For the rest, the business of
palm-greasing is invariably entrusted to Russian employees skilled in the intricacies of
how and who to pay.
Before his recent trip to Moscow to strengthen commercial ties between the two
countries, the business secretary, Vince Cable, stated: "The UK is consistently one of the
biggest foreign investors into Russia, and proud to be so." It seems unlikely in the light of
these leaks that Cable will discourage doing business in a country riddled with
corruption. The word "proud", however, should be replaced by "embarrassed".
Corruption benefits the powerful few at the expense of the many poor. Little, if any, of
the £11bn – and rising – invested by Britain annually in this mafia state will benefit the
population which needs it most.
It is not the (unchanged) corrupt and criminal state of the Russian political and business
elite that shocks, but rather the role played by "respectable" businesses and politicians
from rule-of-law states in supporting such a system. We need to drop the labels of
"corruption" and "mafia state" and call them by their real names: "business" and "Russia
plc". That would be a genuine leak.
Fake Faberge eggs seized at airport
http://www.windsorstar.com/Fake+Faberge+eggs+seized+airport/3972707/story.html
Postmedia News December 14, 2010 12:00 AM
French custom officials announced Monday that they had seized 350 imitation Faberge
eggs at a Paris airport, which were intended for sale during the busy Christmas season.
The fake Faberge eggs were found in a commercial cargo coming from Russia at Charles
de Gaulle airport late last month, custom officials said.
The famous House of Faberge created about 50 jewelled eggs for the Russian imperial
family, starting in 1885 with Czar Alexander III who gave his wife, Czarina Maria
Fedorovna, the first precious egg as an Easter gift.
Georgian singer rejects invitation from Moscow
http://www.news.az/articles/georgia/28316
Tue 14 December 2010 07:04 GMT | 8:4 Local Time
The posters and banners tell the residents of Moscow that famous Georgian singer Nani
Bregvadze will give a concert in the Russian capital.
Reportedly, the tickets to the concert have been already sold; however, the singer says the
concert will not take place. According to Nani, she was invited by the Moscow Technical
University to Moscow for December 22, but she did not give accept the invitation.
`Anyway, I think it`s my fault because I had to inform my refusal to the MTU. I am
refusing to hold a concert in Moscow. I am not going to go there, I will stay with my
people here in Georgia,` Nani Bregvadze said.
National Economic Trends
December 14, 2010 10:56
Rising global food prices carries inflation risks for Russia in 2011 – CB
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=208986
MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - Increasing global food prices could be threat to meeting
the inflation forecast for Russia next year, the Central Bank's director for operations on
financial markets, Sergei Shvetsov, said at a conference on REPO transactions.
Shvetsov said that the high inflation rate this year had been driven by price shocks on the
part of the foodstuff market owing to drought and rising world prices. The price increase
was the result of reviving demand as the economic crisis came to a close.
He said that the harvest forecast for the southern hemisphere for this winter is generally
low. Therefore, prices could remain high, which would, in turn, create risks for meeting
the inflation forecast for next year.
IH
Russia’s Central Bank revokes license from several banks
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15776593&PageNum=0
14.12.2010, 10.51
MOSCOW, December 14 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s Central Bank has revoked licenses from a
number of banks and credit institutions and has appointed provisional administrations to
these banks, the Prime-Tass economic news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the
Central Banks’ external and public relations department.
Licenses have been revoked from Bank Imperial, Moscow, PrivatHoldingBank, Moscow,
and Tranchetrade non-banking credit organization, Makhachkala starting from December
14.
CBR moves to a more hawkish policy, rate hikes on the way
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
Danske Bank
December 14, 2010
The Central Bank of Russia has moved to a more hawkish policy stance, indicating
clearly that rate hikes should be expected in Q1 10. We believe that the CBR will hike its
key interest rates including the deposit and refinancing rates even by end-January. Given
the current inflationary environment, we believe that fine tuning is pointless and expect at
least a 50bp hike in Q1.
RUB rates climb triggering a sell-off in government bonds
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
VTB Capital
December 14, 2010
As for yesterday's developments in the domestic market, first and foremost we spotlight
the spike in interest rates with the long end 15-20bp higher. The one- year NDF rate
jumped 15bp to 5.00%. Meanwhile, the short end was stable with 3M MosPrime closing
at 2.98%, i.e. flat to Friday. We see this as an effect of regulator's recent hawkish
comments on monetary policy (CBR Chairman Sergei Ignatiev and the Minister of
Finance Alexei Kudrin). Yesterday, the RUB traded in narrow range with pretty balanced
two-way flows, but overall activity was rather contained with the MICEX turnover at
only USD 2.5bn. The RUB/Basket closed at 35.42, i.e. flat to Friday.
The spike in interest rates was accompanied by a sell-off in OFZs. Yesterday, the longest
liquid issue, the OFZ-26203 (YTM 7.88%) shed almost 2pp in price on the back of
healthy volume. Also, the OFZ-25072 (YTM 6.75%), OFZ-25075 (YTM 7.40%) and
OFZ-25071 (YTM 7.40%) issues dipped roughly 1.0-1.5pp. Additionally, particularly
significant trading volumes were seen in the OFZ series: 46017, 46021 and 46018.
However, the number of deals was relatively insignificant and quotes actually failed to
change much. Hence, we view this as evidence that long end of the government yield
curve is fairly illiquid.
Non-government bonds took some blows yesterday as well, albeit to a lesser extent. For
example, Moscow city's mid-term and longer-dated papers slipped just 30-60bp. At the
same time, second tier bonds were rather resilient.
Maxim Korovin
Pork producers ask for government subsidies
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
Renaissance Capital
December 14, 2010
Event: Yesterday (13 December), RBC Daily reported that the National Union of Pork
Producers had applied to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture for direct government
subsidies to counter the growth in meat production costs caused by sharply
increased grain prices. The union has applied for direct compensation of at least
RUB5/kg of pork as, according to the union, production costs have increased by
RUB10/kg since 1H10. A similar mechanism was used by the government in 2008, when
average grain prices increased from RUB3,000/tonne to RUB9,000/tonne (vs RUB7,0008,000/tonne currently). In that year, RUB10bn of the federal budget was spent on direct
meat subsidies of RUB5/kg of poultry and RUB10/kg of pork.
Russia's Avtodor to hold international tender for M4 highway operators
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20101214/161768175.html
12:13 14/12/2010
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's state road-building company Avtodor
plans to hold an international tender in February 2011 to choose long-term operators of
M4 Don toll road sections, Sergei Kelbakh, Avtodor First Deputy Board Chairman, said
on Tuesday.
"Avtodor also plans to attract operators of toll road sections via an international tender.
The company has already applied to 12 largest European companies, including
enterprises from Spain, France, Italy and Austria. Each of the companies operates
thousands of kilometers of roads. Six of them have already responded to our proposal,"
Kelbakh said in an interview to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
"The contest procedure will last the whole year of 2011, while the tender itself will be
launched in the spring, probably in late February. Starting from 2012 the company will
work with foreign enterprises which will become operators of both toll and toll free road
sections. The Don highway will be divided into three operator sections, where the first
one will include the Moscow and Tula regions, the second section will consist of the
Lipetsk and Voronezh regions, while the third section will include the Rostov region and
the Krasnodar territory," he said.
The main task of the foreign operators is to establish a modern management system and
introduce European technologies, Kelbakh said.
"We want to sign long-term contracts for at least 12 years. In case a foreign company
decides to carry out capital maintenance of the section, the contract may be signed for a
longer period," he added.
Avtodor will pay operators for the tolling services and for the section maintenance, while
the operator itself will have to secure fast tolling and high-quality maintenance of the
controlled section in order to attract more users, Kelbakh said.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Polyus Gold to boost free float
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20101214104537.shtml
RBC, 14.12.2010, Moscow 10:45:37.Despite previously viewing its quasi-treasury
shares as an additional option to raise funds for new projects, Polyus Gold is now set
to sell the shares on the open market in order to bring its free float up to 25 percent
from the current 17-percent level. The company needs to increase its free float to
qualify for a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, the RBC Daily
newspaper reported today.
The stake is currently owned by Polyus Gold's subsidiary Jenington International
Inc., which obtained it as the result of a buyback of a 9-percent stake from
shareholders in 2006.
Yesterday, the stake was valued at $605m on MICEX.
Petropavlovsk’s IRC secures $340m for mine at China's border
http://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/2736271/Iron/Petropavlovsks-IRC-secures-340mfor-mine-at-Chinas-border.html
Shanghai 14 December 2010 04:05
IRC Ltd, a subsidiary of London-based Petropavlovsk, will produce more than 3 million
tpy of iron ore near Russia's border with China from 2013, the company said.
The unit has secured a $340 million loan from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
to fund...
Lukoil Yield Cut 50% Amid Quarterly Stock Rally: Russia Credit
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUPLXtcsrNtU
By Jason Corcoran and Denis Maternovsky
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s biggest quarterly stock rally this year is drawing
bondholders to the equity market, increasing the cost savings for companies selling debt
convertible into shares.
OAO Lukoil raised $1.5 billion in Russia’s biggest sale of convertible bonds last week.
The 2015 notes rose, cutting the yield to 2.037 percent compared with 4.767 percent on
its fixed- rate notes due in 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The 273 basis-point
gap compares with a discount of 150 on convertible bonds sold in February by OAO
TMK, Russia’s biggest pipemaker.
Russia’s winning bid to host the 2018 World Cup and speculation it may join the World
Trade Organization helped lift the benchmark Micex Index 15 percent this quarter,
beating a 4 percent advance for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Holders of Lukoil’s
convertible bonds can swap the securities for shares should the stock price in London
climb 30 percent before they mature, according to the offering statement.
“The recent rally in equities will trigger interest from other companies” to sell convertible
bonds, said Gregory Klumov, chief investment officer at Moscow-based Everest Asset
Management, which oversees about $300 million and bought Lukoil’s convertible bonds.
London-listed American depositary receipts from Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil
producer, added 4 percent this month to $57.50 in Moscow yesterday. The ADRs would
need to reach $73.7087 to trigger the exchange, according to the statement.
Global Sales
The rally in emerging-market equities is spurring sales of convertible debt worldwide.
The amount of the securities sold in China may surge to 100 billion yuan ($15 billion)
this year from 5.4 billion yuan in 2009, according to Citic Securities Co., China’s largest
brokerage. The S&P China Convertible Bond Index gained 3.1 percent this month
compared with a 0.2 percent advance for corporate and government notes. The Shanghai
Composite Index of shares advanced 3.6 percent in the period.
Companies in India have sold at least $1.6 billion of foreign-currency equity-linked notes
this year, compared with $3.9 billion in 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Companies with the securities to be able to issue convertible bonds include OAO Acron,
Russia’s third-largest nitrogen-fertilizer maker, and OAO Concern Kalina, a cosmetics
producer, Klumov said.
Ilya Popov, a spokesman for Acron, didn’t return calls to his office. A spokesperson for
Kalina, who declined to be identified, also didn’t provide any comment.
‘Favorable’ Terms
Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, last issued convertible bonds in 2002 when
it sold $350 million in 3.5 percent notes due in November 2007, data compiled by
Bloomberg show.
The sale was a “good opportunity to increase the cash position of the company,” Andrei
Gaidamaka, director of strategic development at Lukoil, said in a Dec. 10 telephone
interview. The terms were “favorable,” he said.
The ruble gained 0.4 percent to 30.8250 per dollar in Moscow trading yesterday. Nondeliverable forwards, or NDFs, which provide a guide to expectations of currency
movements and interest rate differentials and allow companies to hedge against currency
movements, showed the ruble at 30.9749 in three months.
The yield on Russia’s dollar bonds due in 2020 fell 6 basis points, or 0.06 percentage
point, to 4.945 percent. The price of the country’s ruble notes due in November 2016 fell,
with the yield at 7.780 percent.
Default Swaps
The cost of protecting Russian debt against non-payment for five years using creditdefault swaps declined 1 basis point to 143 on Dec. 9, down from this year’s peak of 217,
according to data provider CMA. The contracts pay the buyer face value in exchange for
the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a government or company fail to
adhere to its debt agreements.
Credit-default swaps for Russia, rated Baa1 by Moody’s Investors Service, its thirdlowest investment grade rating, cost 16 basis points more than contracts for Turkey,
which is rated four levels lower at Ba2. Russia swaps cost as much as 40 basis points less
on April 20.
The extra yield investors demand to hold Russian debt rather than U.S. Treasuries rose 2
basis points to 203, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. EMBI+ indexes. The difference
compares with 128 for debt of similarly rated Mexico and 168 for Brazil, which is rated
two steps lower at Baa3 by Moody’s.
The yieldspread on Russian bonds is 29 basis points below the average for emerging
markets, down from a 15-month high of 105 in February, according to JPMorgan
indexes.
‘Uncapped Upside’
Bondholders exercising conversion rights will receive either ADRs, cash or a
combination of both, according to the Lukoil statement. If converted, the whole issue
would be equivalent to about 2.4 percent of Lukoil’s market value, Pavel Sorokin, an oil
analyst at Alfa Bank in Moscow, wrote in a Dec. 9 note.
Lukoil’s is the first sale to raise more than $50 million since Moscow-based TMK issued
$412 million of convertible bonds in February. London-listed Petropavlovsk Plc, Russia’s
third- largest gold producer, placed a $330 million issue in January as Russian companies
sought alternative ways to refinance their debt after global financial crisis cut access to
funding.
Evraz Group SA, Russia’s second-largest steelmaker, based in Luxembourg, raised $900
million from convertible bonds and shares in July 2009.
“The bond raised $1.5 billion in one day, that’s pretty impressive,” said Jason
Manolopoulos, managing director at Dromeus Capital Management in Athens, who helps
manage $100 million of emerging-market debt and bought the Lukoil and Evraz bonds.
The debt offers “great downside protection” and “uncapped upside,” he said in e-mailed
comments.
-- With assistance from Stephen Bierman in Moscow. Editors: Alex Nicholson, Rodney
Jefferson
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]
Last Updated: December 13, 2010 16:00 EST
Stillwater Says Norilsk Nickel Sells Entire Stake in U.S. Miner
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aeP46PAiJyoU
By Jason Corcoran
Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Stillwater Mining Co. said its majority shareholder, OAO GNK
Norilsk Nickel, sold its entire stake in the U.S. metals company, in an e-mailed statement.
Norilsk’s Norimet unit sold 37 million Stillwater shares at $19.50 per share and the
remaining 9 million shares to UBS AG, said the statement.
Moscow-based Norilsk said it was selling its shares to rationalize its international
business operations and focus on its core operations, in a Nov. 29 statement.
Stillwater said it is the only U.S. producer of palladium and platinum and the largest
primary producer of platinum group metals outside of South Africa.
Credit Suisse AG, JP Morgan Chase & Co, UBS AG and VTB Capital acted as
bookrunners for the public offering of the common stock.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at [email protected]
Last Updated: December 14, 2010 00:01 EST
Signing flurry for Alstom in Russia
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/signing+flurry+for+alstom+in+russia_57415.html
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2010
Agreements to support Russia's nuclear energy market, including plans to set up a
facility to manufacture steam turbines, have figured in a list of strategic agreements
signed by Alstom and major Russian energy companies.
The agreements were signed on 9 December in Moscow at a ceremony attended by
Russian and French prime ministers Vladimir Putin and Francois Fillon. According to
Alstom, the agreements confirm the French company's strategy to become a key partner
for Russian infrastructure development. Agreements were also signed in the fields of
hydro and thermal power generation and electricity transmission.
The nuclear agreements were signed under the Alstom-Energomash joint venture, which
was established in 2007 to manufacture the conventional islands of nuclear power plants.
These include a memorandum of understanding (MoU) detailing plans to set up a local
facility to manufacture Asltom's Arabelle nuclear steam turbines and turbines for fossil
fuel applications, as envisaged when the joint venture was first set up. The enterprise will
also produce emergency diesel generators, according to Atomenergomash.
Atomenergomash CEO Vladimir Kashchenko said that building such a plant in Russia
would enable the company to become Russia's number one supplier for turbines for
nuclear power plants.
Another MoU was signed by Alstom and a joint venture between Russian energy
company Inter Rao UES and Australian engineering company Worley Parsons to set up
an engineering consortium to jointly design turbine islands for power plants based on
Russia's VVER pressurised water reactor. Under the MoU, the Alstom-Atomenergomash
joint venture will be responsible for component production, while Inter Rao-Worley
Parsons will act as chief designer. According to Atomenergomash, the project's initial
market is seen as nuclear construction projects in the Russian federation and other
countries, although future expansion to non-nuclear applications is envisaged.
Alstom chairman and CEO Patrick Kron pointed to Russian plans to expand its power
generation capacity to support the country's growing energy needs, including plans to
nearly double its nuclear energy output by 2020. In addition, the country plans to double
its hydropower capacity by 2030 and also has plans to improve energy efficiency through
retrofitting, retirement and replacement of its existing fleet of thermal power plants.
"Russia has become over the last few years a strategic market for Alstom, both in the
field of rail infrastructure and of power generation and electricity transmission," Kron
noted.
Fortum and Russian Energy Agency Strengthen Cooperation to Improve Energy
Efficiency and Innovations
http://www.vadvert.co.uk/business/6098-fortum-and-russian-energy-agency-strengthencooperation-to-improve-energy-efficiency-and-innovations.html
Kelly Dunst on 12 14, 2010
Fortum Corporation and the Federal State Organization Russian Energy Agency have
today signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of energy efficiency and
innovations. According to the agreement, the parties will endeavor to strengthen their
cooperation in preparing and fulfilling joint projects in the areas of combined power and
heat generation, environmental development and promoting energy efficient
technologies.
“Our partnership with the Russian Energy Agency allows Fortum to be even more
successful in Russia in our projects in the area of energy efficiency and sustainable
development, key building blocks in our strategy,” says Anne Brunila, Executive Vice
President, Corporate Relations and Sustainability, Fortum. “It is of utmost importance for
us to cooperate with the Government of the Russian Federation and the REA in this
significant area,” she concludes.
“Cooperation with Fortum gives the both of us an opportunity to join efforts in a number
of projects in the area of energy efficiency and innovations, and enables us to gain access
to the tremendous experience of our partners in these fields,” notes Timur Ivanov,
General Director, the Federal State Organization Russian Energy Agency.
Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications
Bank of Moscow Faces Scrutiny by Audit Chamber
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
Aton
December 14, 2010
According to Kommersant today (14 Dec), the Russian Audit Chamber initiated an
inspection of Bank of Moscow yesterday. Sources in the chamber explained this is being
done to evaluate the bank's asset quality in light of the upcoming potential deal with
VTB.
Market participants assume that if the inspection reveals any problems or discrepancies in
Bank of Moscow's business, it may provide VTB with grounds to secure a lower price for
the deal. Bank of Moscow representatives did not confirm receiving information about
the inspection yesterday.
In our view, the inspection has been initiated for both reasons: first, for VTB it is crucial
to actually evaluate the quality of Bank of Moscow; second, full disclosure from the
inspection may allow VTB to lower the deal price, as the inspection is likely to bring
more clarity on the business of Bank of Moscow, which is widely considered to lack
transparency, at least by market participants.
Bottom line
This development is negative for Bank of Moscow in our view and neutral for VTB, at
least for the moment.
VimpelCom Ltd joins race for Telekom Srbija
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
bne
December 14, 2010
Confirming last week's rumors, the Serbian government said in a statement on Monday
that VimpelCom Ltd. has filed an application to take part in the tender for a controlling
stake in Telekom Srbija, reports Prime Tass.
VimpelCom is the the vehicle being used by Mikhail Fridman's Altimo to create his
vision of a 'Vodafone of the East'. The plan to bid for assets in Serbia appear somewhat at
odds of that strategy, which is thought to target market with very large growth potential
in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
However, analysts have suggested that the Srbija bid is a back-up in case VimpelCom's
long-winded negotiations with Weather Investments - which operates GSM networks in
those target markets, as well as Wind: Italy's third largest operator - break down. The
process is being drawn out by questions over the fate of Weather's Algerian assets.
In total, seven companies - mostly from low-growth developed markets - have filed
applications to take part in the tender, the Serbian government said, with the Russian
bidder joined by Deutsche Telekom, Telekom Austria, France Telecom, America Movil,
Weather Investments, and Turkcell. Participants are expected to file binding offers by
February 21, said Serbia's secretary of finance Vuk Djokovic.
An open auction is expected to be held in late February, Djokovic said, adding that if
only one company files a binding offer, the controlling stake will be sold to this company
at the offered price.
The buyer of the controlling stake in Telekom Srbija will have to obtain permission from
antitrust bodies in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, where Telekom
Srbija has telecommunications assets, the Serbian government said. The Serbian
government currently holds an 80% stake in Telekom Srbija. The value of the controlling
stake in Telekom Srbija was set at EUR2.43bn, Kommersant reported.
Troika Dialog writes: Telekom Srbija was valued for the tender at $3.2 bln, according to
news reports. In 2009, its EBITDA was around $679.35 mln. The company's net debt as
of end 2009 was $1.08 bln, with debt standing at $1.3 bln. If we assume stable net debt
and EBITDA in dollars remaining unchanged (the Serbian dinar has weakened this year),
the preliminary reported valuation implies that the company will be offered at a 2010E
EV/EBITDA of 6.3. VimpelCom Ltd trades at a 2010E EV/EBITDA of 4.5.
Telekom Srbija is the largest telecom company in Serbia and was the sole provider of
fixed line services in the country in 2009 (Telenor Serbia was awarded licenses for fixed
line services in early 2010). On the Serbian wireless services market, Telekom Srbija has
a market share of 60% by subscribers. There are three wireless carriers in Serbia, the
second-largest being Telenor with a market share of around 28%. Mobile penetration in
the country is already around 127.7%. Telekom Srbija also operates through subsidiaries
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Montenegro. The Serbian government
currently controls 80% of the company.
We do not think that VimpelCom Ltd will participate in both the acquisition of Weather
Investments and Telekom Srbija - it is likely to choose either one or the other. However,
we think that this news will likely add pressure to the stock price, as it is an indication
that VimpelCom Ltd might immediately jump to another deal if the deal with Weather
Investments drops off the table.
Kommersant also speculated yesterday that it is not VimpelCom Ltd and Turkcell that are
interested in Telekom Srbija, but their shareholder Altimo, which plans to participate in
the tender as a consortium with one of these companies.
For the Record
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/for-the-record/426285.html
14 December 2010
Bank HSBC said in a statement Monday that it concluded its first trade transaction in
yuan in Russia for sporting goods retailer Sportmaster, without revealing the terms of the
deal. (MT)
Sberbank agreed to lend Mobile TeleSystems as much as 100 billion rubles ($3.2 billion)
to refinance existing debt and fund investment, the bank said Monday. (Bloomberg)
Russia has no “acute need” for grain imports at present, United Grain chief executive
Sergei Levin told reporters on Monday, saying the need for sales from government
stockpiles will become clear in first quarter 2011. (Bloomberg)
Canadian Beef Export Federation president Ted Haney said his country shipped Russia
4,600 tons of beef in the first three quarters of 2010, up almost 30 percent year on year.
(Interfax)
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
Russia and Vietnam extend partnership
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article239449.ece
Vietnam National Oil & Gas Group and Russia’s state-owned Zarubezhneft have agreed
to extend their joint venture co-operation in Vietsovpetro for a further 20 years.
Staff & news wires 14 December 2010 05:52 GMT
Speaking at a joint venture meeting in Vietnam, Vietsovpetro general director Nguyen
Huu Tuyen said the joint venture council had agreed to extend the partnership until 2030.
Under the agreement, Vietnam will contribute 51%, and Russia 49%, in charter capital.
Tuyen said the council had also approved to invest in several projects along Vietnam’s
continental shelf as well as other projects in Russia, Burma and Tunisia.
The Vietnam News Agency reported that the joint venture planned to achieve output of
around 130,000 barrels per day of oil, about 6700 bpd of condensate and 3.8 million
cubic metres of gas per day during the four-year period to 2015.
The state-owned news agency added Vietsovpetro’s production this year exceeded about
138,000 bpd and generated revenues of $4 billion, $2.3 billion of which went to the state
budget.
Published: 14 December 2010 05:52 GMT | Last updated: 14 December 2010 06:46
GMT
14.12.2010
Georgia Still Mulling Over Selling Russia-Armenia Pipeline to Azerbaijan
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/9965
Georgia has yet to decide whether it will sell to Azerbaijan a strategic gas pipeline
connecting Russia and Armenia through its territory, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister
Nino Kalandadze said on Monday.
Kalandadze’s made his remarks against the backdrop of statements from Baku that its
state run oil company, SOCAR, is ready to acquire the pipeline.
“The decision on the gas main may be taken with due regard for both states’ interests,”
said Kalandadze, who described the Azerbaijani company as having implemented “quite
big and successful projects in Georgia.”
SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev has repeatedly expressed the company’s intention
to buy the Georgian section of the gas pipeline, known as the North-South gas main.
Abdullayev has said he expects the purchase to help accelerate the implementation of the
Interconnector Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania (AGRI) project, which delivers liquefied
Azerbaijani natural gas to Romania via Georgia and the Black Sea.
The Georgian parliament in July voted 88-to-5 on a draft law which would facilitate the
privatization of state assets like the North-South gas pipeline, which was built in the
1970s and had been last repaired in the 1980s.
Russia’s Gazprom has reportedly offered $250 million and a 30-year supply contract of
natural gas to Georgia at a price of $30 per 1,000 cubic meters to secure the purchase of
the section inside Georgia. Nothing indicates that Tbilisi has accepted the offer.
Copyright 2010, Xinhua. All rights reserved.
ONGC reportedly interested in Bashneft stake
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
Troika Dialog
December 14, 2010
Indian company ONGC is in talks with Sistema about a stake in Bashneft and might
make an offer by year end, an unnamed source in Sistema told Kommersant. ONGC is
separately interested in partnering with Bashneft in the Trebs and Titov development.
During its pursuit of Imperial Energy back in 2008, ONGC showed that it is willing to
pay a significant premium to the share price and stick by its bid even when the markets
turn sour. Therefore, talks of a possible bid for Bashneft should help boost the acquisition
target's share price, though we caution that minority shareholders might not receive an
offer if ONGC ends up buying less than a 30% stake.
Oleg Maximov
14.12.2010
Change in Sakhalin-1 Operator Not Ruled Out
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/9971
The Russian Accounting Chamber is not yet looking to replace the operator of the
Sakhalin-1 project but does not rule out the possibility, Mikhail Beskhmelnitsyn, an
auditor on the project, told journalists, RBK reports.
Beskhmelnitsyn noted that the Accounting Chamber did not rule out the possibility of
replacing the operator of the Sakhalin-1 project. "No-one is irreplceable, we are
reviewing all issues and all proposals. Today Russian companies could take the places (of
foreign companies)", he said adding that no-one was currently reviewing the idea fo
revoking licences.
The Sakhalin-1 project covers the development of three oil and gas fields – Chayvo,
Odopta, and Arkuttun-Dagi which have combined potential reserves of about 307 million
tons of crude (2.3 billion barrels) and 485 billion cubic meters of gas.
The project is currently being led by Exxon Neftegas (30 percent), its partners Rosneft
subsidiary RN-AStra (8.5 percent), Sakhalinmorneftegaz-Shelf (11.5 percent), the
Japanese consortium SODECO (30 percent) India's ONGC (20 percent).
Copyright 2010, Russian Economy Ministry Statistics Department. All rights reserved.
Gazprom
Gazprom sees output up 12 percent in 2015-paper
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE6BD0DM20101214
Tue Dec 14, 2010 8:54am GMT
* Gazprom sees '15 output at 570-580 bcm - Vedomosti sources
* 2008 production plan saw 2015 output at 610-615 bcm
* Gazprom board to agree on 5-yr output plan on Dec. 21
MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russia's state-owned energy giant, Gazprom
(GAZP.MM), sees annual natural gas production rising to 570-580 billion cubic metres
(bcm) by 2015, a level it last reached in 1993, Vedomosti reported on Tuesday.
Two sources familiar with Gazprom's latest five-year production plan, up for board
approval at a meeting on Dec. 21, told the paper the new production targets were based
on an evaluation of future demand growth.
The forecast is up nearly 12 percent from the 515 bcm it plans to produce this year.
But it is less optimistic than the 2015 forecast that Gazprom put forward in 2008, which
envisaged production of 610-615 bcm, or 5-6.5 percent higher than the new target of 570580 bcm.
Last year, when the weak global economy lowered industrial demand for gas, Gazprom
saw its production sink to record lows of 461.4 bcm, also off 16 percent from the 550
bcm it produced in 2008.
Compounding the demand slump for Gazprom's product in Europe, is a surge in global
supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas produced from shale in the United States.
Both factors have depressed prices.
The International Energy Agency does not expect the global gas glut to recede until 2020,
but in the long-term expects the use of gas to rise much faster than other fossil fuels.
[ID:nLDE6A815R]
(Writing by Jessica Bachman; editing by William Hardy)
14.12.2010
Gazprom Sets Starting Price for Gazprom Bureniye at 4 Billion Roubles
http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/9970
Gazprom has set the starting price for Gazprom Bureniye at 4 billion roubles , the
company reported in a statement on selling the subsidiary, RBK reports. Bids are being
accepted from 13 to 21 December 2010.
The non-core asset could be put up for sale in the first half of 2011. It carries a balance
value of 2.73 billion roubles.
Gazprom Bureniye (formerly Burgaz) was established in April 1997 int he wake of
restructuring in the gas sector.
Copyright 2010, Russian Economy Ministry Statistics Department. All rights reserved.
Gazprom postpones Burgaz sale until 1H11
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text13875
Renaissance Capital
December 14, 2010
Event: Vedomosti and RBC Daily have today (14 December) reported that Gazprom
plans to sell its drilling subsidiary Burgaz during 1H11, but not before year-end as was
reported earlier. The starting price, according to the media, is RUB4bn (about $130mn),
which is at the higher end of the valuation range mentioned before. Arkady Rotenberg is
cited as being the main contender for the asset. The key financial indicators for Burgaz in
2009 were similar to the ones reported before (revenue of about $1.3bn, a net loss of
about $60mn, and net debt, as of YE09, standing at about $200mn).
Action: We regard this news as neutral for Gazprom.
Rationale: Gazprom's intention to sell Burgaz has been reported twice this year. On our
estimates, Gazprom's sum-of-the- parts valuation amounts to $16.3/share, providing a
150% upside potential, in our view. Thus, we welcome any efforts aimed at crystallising
the value of Gazprom's assets. The sale price may seem low compared with Burgaz's
turnover (we note that TNK-BP sold its oilfield services [OFS] subsidiary for about 0.8x
revenue); however, in the valuation of OFS subsidiaries, much depends on internal
pricing, which in this case seems, in our view, to favour Gazprom. We think much of the
valuation will depend on any agreement of future services that may be provided at below
market rates. We are sure that this sale is going to be closely watched by the investment
community as a test of Gazprom's level of corporate governance standards.
Ildar Davletshin
Gazprom awards Nippon Steel contract for SBD pipes
http://www.google.com/news/search?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=gazprom&cf=all
&scoring=n
Steel Business Briefing (subscription) - 5 hours ago
Nippon Steel and trader Nippon Steel Trading have received an order from Russian
energy giant Gazprom to supply 20000 tonnes of strain-based design (SBD) ...