Russia 110622

Basic Political Developments Itar-Tass news digest for Wednesday, June 22 .

o MOSCOW — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to present certificates awarding the honorary title of City of Military Glory to officials representing Stary Oskol, an administrative center in Belgorod Region, Kolpino, a municipal entity which is part of Kolpino District of St Petersburg, and Anapa in Krasnodar Territory, at a ceremony in the Kremlin here on Wednesday, the day of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

o MOSCOW — Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin sent an address to Moscow war and labour veterans on the Day of Memory and Sorrow. He expressed gratitude to the elder generation and pledged to continue the support to the war veterans. “The Great Patriotic War broke out on this day 70 years ago. The war became the hardest ordeal, which befell on our homeland, claimed millions of lives and brought pain and mischief to each family,” the address runs.

o PETROZAVODSK — A nine-year old boy surviving the Tu-134 crash near Petrozavodsk dies in hospital, chief doctor of the children’s republican hospital, Inga Lepiseva, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. Anton died of multiple fractures and injuries. Over the past time he remained unconscious. His fourteen-year-old sister Anastatsia was also injured in the crash and taken for treatment to Moscow.

o PETROZAVODSK — Seven people who died on the night from Monday to Tuesday when a Tu-134 airliner crashed near Petrozavodsk have been identified, an official at the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (RME) center for the Republic of Karelia announced. The RME official said, "There were nine residents of Karelia on board the Tu-134 airliner that crashed near the airport located 12 km from Petrozavodsk. One person is listed as injured. Seven aircrash victims from the Republic of Karelia were identified by 22:00 on Tuesday".

o MAKHACHKALA— Five servicemen of the Interior Troops were killed and another 12 were injured in a special operation in the Kizlyar district of Dagestan, a source in the republican Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The special operation to destroy up to ten gunmen was launched on Tuesday morning near the settlements of Bolshakovka and Kuznetsovka.

o NALCHIK — A deputy chief detective in Kabardino-Balkaria Albert Sizhazhev was killed in the city of Baksan overnight to Wednesday. He was killed in the fire at his private house, a source in the republican branch of the Russian Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

o BAKU— The role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe will be discussed during President Ilkham Alieyev's visit to Brussels. The visit begins on Wednesday. According to diplomatic sources, Azerbaijan's Head of State, when in Brussels, will meet with Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Union (EU), Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Stefan Fuele, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy.

o MOSCOW — Russia and Tajikistan have already prepared for signature an agreement "which is to regulate a bilateral format of cooperation on border-related matters". It is not ruled out that the document will be signed shortly, a source at Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry announced. The source told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russian advisers would continue, as before, to give assistance in consulting and training of junior officer personnel from among Tajik servicemen.

o IRKUTSK — A three-month abandoned child was kidnapped from the children’s hospital in Irkutsk. An unknown woman took the little boy from the ward, where abandoned children are being kept, a source in the Irkutsk regional branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The video cameras at the hospital and the testimony allowed making an identity kit of a 30-year-old woman, who kidnapped the child. The mother, who abandoned the child, stated that she is not involved in the kidnapping.

o YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK — Governor of the Sakhalin Region Alexander Khoroshavin instructed to give all necessary assistance to the relatives of people, who died or were injured in the Tu-134 air crash outside Petrozavodsk. Alexander Khoroshavin instructed the regional government, including the chiefs of the ministries of health and social security to tackle this problem immediately, the press service of the Sakhalin governor reported on Wednesday.

o MAGADAN — The chief editor of the Kolyma+ television company Anatoly Bitkov was killed here overnight to Wednesday. The journalist was found dead in his flat. Several murder theories are being investigated, including that related with Bitkov’s professional activities, but household motives behind the murder are considered as the main theory, a source in the Magadan branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

o MOSCOW — Inter RAO UES granted a deferral to Belarus until Monday to pay the electricity bill for March-May 2011, and promised not to cut the power supply at midnight on June 22. "We've given a new deferral to Belarus; the supplies will continue until Monday," a company representative told Itar-Tass, noting that Inter RAO UES had not yet named the date of possible suspension of electricity supply. The company hopes Belarus would be able to pay the debt, the official said.

o VLADIVOSTOK — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 occurred off the eastern coast of Japan's Honshu Island early on Wednesday. The epicenter of the quake was 110 km east of the city of Mito while the focus of the temblor was at a depth of 32.5 km beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, the US Geological Service reported. According to Russian seismologists, earth jolts of the same magnitude also shook the Japanese islands of Ryukyu and Bonin. The quakes occurred at a depth of 33 km.

o MINSK — The VI Belarus international media forum, which opens here on Wednesday, has drawn journalists and media experts from 21 countries. The forum will be held under the motto "Partnership for Future: Patriotism, Spirituality, and Unity."

o VLADIVOSTOK — The maritime city of Nakhodka and the Japanese city of Maizuru, which mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of twinning ties, have signed a joint declaration on stepping up economic cooperation. The port infrastructure of the two cities is to be used for this purpose.

Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia - 70 years ago, at dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The war claimed a toll of 27 million Soviet lives.

o 19 cities of ex-USSR to hold vigil in memory of outbraeak of waro Medvedev to present City of Military Glory certificates Wed. o Most Russians believe USSR could have won WWII even without Allies –

poll Russian Foreign Ministry expresses regret for continual acts of vandalism against

Soviet Army Monument in Sofia Russia won't cut off power supplies to Belarus today

o Belarus may defer payment of electricity bill until Monday. NRC meeting to be held in Sochi on July 3-4 - Rogozin (Part 2) - The NATO-Russia

Council (NRC) is due to meet in Sochi on July 3-4, Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said.

Envoy Conveys Russian FM's Message to Iran's Salehi - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent a message to his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday.

Iran, Russia Welcome Formation of National Gov't in Lebanon - High-ranking Iranian and Russian foreign ministry officials in a meeting in Tehran underlined the importance of establishment of security and stability in the region, and welcomed formation of the new national government in Lebanon.

Kyrgyzstan's main strategic partner is Russia - Prime Minister - Kyrgyzstan’s main strategic partner is Russia, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev said at today’s round table conference "Victory, obtained by unity: 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II", 24.kg reported.

Russia,Tajikistan likely to sign border accord shortly. - Russia and Tajikistan have already prepared for signature an agreement "which is to regulate a bilateral

format of cooperation on border-related matters". It is not ruled out that the document will be signed shortly, a source at Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry announced.

Russia ratifies agreement between Azerbaijan and Russia on state borders Russia ratifies extension of military base deal in Armenia Armenian Armed Forces will get the part of dislocated weapons of the Russian

military base in Armenia MOSCOW REGRETS THAT OFFICIAL TALKS ON SETTLING TRANSDNIESTRIA

PROBLEM HAVE NOT BEEN RESUMED - FOREIGN MINISTRY RF FM, OSCE Sec-Gen to discuss coop'n prospects in Moscow. Russia plans to sell more than $11 bln of weapons in 2011 - FSMTC (Part 2) First public flight of Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter in August India will get Russian n-sub by December India, Russia sign MoU for GCNEP promotion Moscow and Delhi want to quadruple trade - India gets a share in petroleum

production in Russia Vladimir Skosyrev Russia Considers Importing Australian Uranium for Processing - A source

speaking on condition of anonymity said that the MoU allows Russia to export Australian uranium for processing at Russian enterprises, commenting, "By exchanging letters, we are setting the memorandum of understanding in motion. All this has created the legal basis for our cooperation," Russia’s news agency Interfax reported.

Russian Envoy Sees Role Rebuilding Afghanistan - Strengthening this relationship, Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal just wrapped up a 12-day trip to Russia, where he held meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev and other high-ranking officials.

Nakhodka, Maizuru sign declaration on wider econ coop'n. Four-five Soyuz launches to be made from Kourou before yearend. Justice Ministry denies registration to People's Freedom Party. - The Ministry is

expected to forward a written explanation to the Party shortly, Dikun said. o Parnas Party's registration application rejectedo Russian opposition says denied party registration - "The upcoming

elections cannot be regarded as free," former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was quoted as saying.

o Russian opposition says denied party registration Moscow court fines political opposition leader Nemtsov $18 Fed Council reconfirms Chaika as Prosecutor General Former Magadan regional TV channel editor-in-chief found dead

o Russian journalist killed in Far East o Chief editor of Kolyma+ television company killed in Magadan.

Investigator killed in Dagestan Five servicemen killed, 12 injured in Dagestan. Kabardino-Balkaria probes republican deputy chief detective murder. Passenger Boeing makes forced landing in Rostov-on-Don.

Prime Minister Offers Condolences Over Air Crash in Russia - Prime Minister Donald Tusk offered condolences to Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin over the tragic air crash near Petrozavodsk.

o President Sargsyan extends condolences to Medvedev on plane crash

o Nine-year-old boy surviving Tu-134 crash dies in hospital. o 25 out of 44 Tu-134 crash victims to be identified visually. o Records from crashed Tu-134 flight recorders decryptable - IAC. o Sakhalin governor instructs to help relatives of air crash victims. o Mourning for plane crash victims as death toll riseso 'Pilot error' blamed as Petrozavodsk disaster probe starts

Another Russian dies from alcohol poisoning in Turkey. RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Wednesday, June 22, 2011 In Paris, Putin Says Sorry and Sells 12 SuperJets - By Roland Oliphant Shale Gas and the Putin Puzzle – WSJ COMMENT: Is Khodorkovsky Russia's Al Capone? - This is a copy of a letter sent

to the Wall Street Journal on June 15 from Steve Allen, an oil analyst of some two decades in Moscow and current co-head of investor relations at Lukoil. He discusses another purported letter from the mayor of Nefteyugansk to the late president Boris Yeltsin slamming the oil firm Yukos and its now jailed founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

National Economic Trends Russia RTS Futures Advance as Oil Gains, Unemployment Falls 10 steps to improve the investment climate: What has been done? - RenCap

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions Minister of Energy Shmatko comments on new risk of system power being more

expensive than the cost of constructing own capacity Kamaz-Maz merger talks stall - Negotiations over a proposed merger between

Russian truck producer Kamaz and Belarusian truck maker MAZ have stalled due to political reasons, Rostekhnologii CEO Sergei Chemezov said on Tuesday, reports Prime.

Alstom signs series of agreements in the Russian energy sector Russian Helicopters, AugustaWestland sign 20 mln euro JV deal Alrosa posts 42 pct Q1 net profit growth UPDATE 1-Highland Gold upbeat on Khabarovsk projects Blow for Rusal in Norilsk board elections – FT Korea's Posco, Russia's Mechel ink resource deal O1 Properties realty firm plans 2012 IPO for 45 pct of stock

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Ukraine promises to take full contracted volume of Russian gas this year

LUKOIL to quit project in Columbia - Russian upstream is a more lucrative story Russia's Zarubezhneft Seeks to Develop Fedinsky High TNK-BP approves two energy efficiency contracts with DNV in Moscow Petroneft lowers short-term targets Petroneft reduces production target again Tatneft estimates losses in Libya at $200m Petroleum Conference Talks Business, Image - By Howard Amos

Gazprom Gazprom May Lower Gas Price for Naftogaz Merger, Kommersant Says Naftogaz Ukrainy to continue talks with Gazprom on optimization of gas price Russia's Gazprom could invest 367 bln roubles in electricity More LNG tankers for Russian Arctic Aker Solutions Backs Out Of Shtokman Contract BP, Gazprom discuss LNG Germany, Poland: Nord Stream Pipe Won't Block Polish Port Expansion Gazprom, Ukraine's Naftogaz start work to set up Black Sea shelf JV

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

11:16 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Itar-Tass news digest for Wednesday, June 22 .

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170572.html

22/6 Tass 160

MOSCOW — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to present certificates awarding the honorary title of City of Military Glory to officials representing Stary Oskol, an administrative center in Belgorod Region, Kolpino, a municipal entity which is part of Kolpino District of St Petersburg, and Anapa in Krasnodar Territory, at a ceremony in the Kremlin here on Wednesday, the day of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

MOSCOW — Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin sent an address to Moscow war and labour veterans on the Day of Memory and Sorrow. He expressed gratitude to the elder generation and pledged to continue the support to the war veterans. “The Great Patriotic War broke out on this day 70 years ago. The war became the hardest ordeal, which befell on our homeland, claimed millions of lives and brought pain and mischief to each family,” the address runs.

PETROZAVODSK — A nine-year old boy surviving the Tu-134 crash near Petrozavodsk dies in hospital, chief doctor of the children’s republican hospital, Inga Lepiseva, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. Anton died of multiple fractures and injuries. Over the past time he remained unconscious. His fourteen-year-old sister Anastatsia was also injured in the crash and taken for treatment to Moscow.

PETROZAVODSK — Seven people who died on the night from Monday to Tuesday when a Tu-134 airliner crashed near Petrozavodsk have been identified, an official at the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (RME) center for the Republic of Karelia announced. The RME official said, "There were nine residents of Karelia on board the Tu-134 airliner that crashed near the airport located 12 km from Petrozavodsk. One person is listed as injured. Seven aircrash victims from the Republic of Karelia were identified by 22:00 on Tuesday".

MAKHACHKALA— Five servicemen of the Interior Troops were killed and another 12 were injured in a special operation in the Kizlyar district of Dagestan, a source in the republican Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The special operation to destroy up to ten gunmen was launched on Tuesday morning near the settlements of Bolshakovka and Kuznetsovka.

NALCHIK — A deputy chief detective in Kabardino-Balkaria Albert Sizhazhev was killed in the city of Baksan overnight to Wednesday. He was killed in the fire at his private house, a source in the republican branch of the Russian Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

BAKU— The role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe will be discussed during President Ilkham Alieyev's visit to Brussels. The visit begins on Wednesday. According to diplomatic sources, Azerbaijan's Head of State, when in Brussels, will meet with Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Union (EU), Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Stefan Fuele, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy.

MOSCOW — Russia and Tajikistan have already prepared for signature an agreement "which is to regulate a bilateral format of cooperation on border-related matters". It is not ruled out that the document will be signed shortly, a source at Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry announced. The source told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russian advisers would continue, as before, to give assistance in consulting and training of junior officer personnel from among Tajik servicemen.

IRKUTSK — A three-month abandoned child was kidnapped from the children’s hospital in Irkutsk. An unknown woman took the little boy from the ward, where abandoned children are being kept, a source in the Irkutsk regional branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The video cameras at the hospital and the testimony allowed making an identity kit of a 30-year-old woman, who kidnapped the child. The mother, who abandoned the child, stated that she is not involved in the kidnapping.

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK — Governor of the Sakhalin Region Alexander Khoroshavin instructed to give all necessary assistance to the relatives of people, who died or were injured in the Tu-134 air crash outside Petrozavodsk. Alexander Khoroshavin instructed the regional government, including the chiefs of the ministries of health and social security to tackle this problem immediately, the press service of the Sakhalin governor reported on Wednesday.

MAGADAN — The chief editor of the Kolyma+ television company Anatoly Bitkov was killed here overnight to Wednesday. The journalist was found dead in his flat. Several murder theories are being investigated, including that related with Bitkov’s professional activities, but household motives behind the murder are considered as the main theory, a source in the Magadan branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

MOSCOW — Inter RAO UES granted a deferral to Belarus until Monday to pay the electricity bill for March-May 2011, and promised not to cut the power supply at midnight on June 22. "We've given a new deferral to Belarus; the supplies will continue until Monday," a company representative told Itar-Tass, noting that Inter RAO UES had not yet named the date of possible suspension of electricity supply. The company hopes Belarus would be able to pay the debt, the official said.

VLADIVOSTOK — An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 occurred off the eastern coast of Japan's Honshu Island early on Wednesday. The epicenter of the quake was 110 km east of the city of Mito while the focus of the temblor was at a depth of 32.5 km beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, the US Geological Service reported. According to Russian seismologists, earth jolts of the same magnitude also shook the Japanese islands of Ryukyu and Bonin. The quakes occurred at a depth of 33 km.

MINSK — The VI Belarus international media forum, which opens here on Wednesday, has drawn journalists and media experts from 21 countries. The forum will be held under the motto "Partnership for Future: Patriotism, Spirituality, and Unity."

VLADIVOSTOK — The maritime city of Nakhodka and the Japanese city of Maizuru, which mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of twinning ties, have signed a joint declaration on stepping up economic cooperation. The port infrastructure of the two cities is to be used for this purpose.

Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russiahttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/22/52216911.html

Jun 22, 2011 09:17 Moscow Time

Today is Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia, marking the day when the Great Patriotic War, the bloodiest in the country’s history, broke out.

70 years ago, at dawn on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The war claimed a toll of 27 million Soviet lives.

Thousands of Moscow residents lit candles at 4 a.m. today in commemoration of the war dead.

On the anniversary of the outbreak of the war, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev confers the honorary title of City of Military Glory on three Russian cities - Stary Oskol, Kolpino and Anapa.

Remembrance events are under way in cities across Russia and in post-Soviet republics. In Moscow,  people will gather at the Vorobyovy Hills, at the Poklonnaya Gora War Memorial and in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin.  

01:04 22/06/2011Top News

19 cities of ex-USSR to hold vigil in memory of outbraeak of war

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/170496.html

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — People in Moscow, St Petersburg, the capitals of ex-Soviet republics and other cities are to hold a vigil of memory on Wednesday.

Yekaterina Abramova, director of the Interstate TV and Radio Network MIR (peace), has told Itar-Tass, "The vigil, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the (1941-1945) Great Patriotic War, is to begin at 04:00, Moscow time -- at the hour when Nazi Germany perfidiously attacked the Soviet Union (in the June of 1941). On this sorrowful date, people who support our idea will go out to squares of their cities, visit Eternal Flame monuments, light candles, and honour by a minute of silence the memory of all those who perished in that war."

The Vigil of Memory is to be held in nineteen cities as follows: Moscow, St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), the capitals of ex-Soviet republics -- Tbilisi, Baku, Almaty (formerly Alma Ata), Dushanbe, Bishkek, Yerevan, Minsk, Vilnius, Chisinau, as well as s in Penza, Vitebsk, Lugansk, Kostroma, Tula, Odessa, Mogilyov, and Simferopol.

"Cityfolk can take part in the vigil in person or via the Internet," Abramova said. For this purpose, a www.vahta-pamyati.ru website is open for people to be able to tell about their relatives who fought at the frontline or worked on the home front during the war, and

post their photos.

"People of the senior generation, whose fathers fought at the front, know well and remember our history. To young people, the vigil of memory is a fine opportunity to request their parents and grandparentsto tell them about that war and look through the old photo albums," Abramova pointed out.

The Memory Vigil has been organized by by the MIR network, the Itar-Tass news agency, and the Social Networks agency.

02:08 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Medvedev to present City of Military Glory certificates Wed.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170349.html

22/6 Tass 5

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is to present certificates awarding the honorary title of City of Military Glory to officials representing Stary Oskol, an administrative center in Belgorod Region, Kolpino, a municipal entity which is part of Kolpino District of St Petersburg, and Anapa in Krasnodar Territory, at a ceremony in the Kremlin here on Wednesday, the day of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Prior to the ceremony, the Head of State is to lay a wreath at the Unknown Soldier's Tomb near the Kremlin wall.

The President signed the honorary title awarding decrees on May 7, thereby citing, the documents point out, "The courage, fortitude, and mass heroism manifested by the defenders o the cities in the battle for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland".

Stary Oskol, Kolpino, and Anapa have been added to the list of Cities of Military Glory, of which there are now 33.

June 22, 2011 11:23

Most Russians believe USSR could have won WWII even without Allies – pollhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=253679

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - Most Russians believe that the Soviet Union could have won WWII even without assistance from the Allies, the Yury Levada Analytical Center told Interfax based on the results of a public opinion poll.

As many as 60% of Russians are sure that the USSR would have won in WWII without support from the Allies, while 32% hold the opposite view.

Asked to explain the Soviet Union's huge losses at the beginning of the war against Nazi Germany, 29% said this happened because the enemy's aggression was unexpected, 26% mentioned Germany's military and technological superiority, and 21% said this happened because of unskillful actions by the Soviet military and political leadership.

In the view of 48% of those polled, Germany's aggression against the USSR on June 22, 1941, was not unexpected by the Soviet leadership, while 46% disagree with this.

Russia marks the Day of Memory and Grief on June 22, the date when the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany began in 1941. In the run-up to this date, specialists from the VTsIOM sociological service asked Russians about their attitude toward the key nations participating in WWII.

The poll has shown that 39% of Russians like the Italians and the Frenchmen each, 38% the Japanese, 35% the Britons, 36% the Germans, 34% the Finns, 31% the Americans, and 26% the Poles.

In general, from 52% to 60% of Russians have indifferent attitudes to all the said nations that were involved in WWII.

va jv

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

Russian Foreign Ministry expresses regret for continual acts of vandalism against Soviet Army Monument in Sofia http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n252889

22 June 2011 | 11:03 | FOCUS News AgencyHome / WorldMoscow. Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed regret for continual acts of vandalism against the Soviet Army Monument in Sofia and attempts of some Bulgarian political parties to remove it.“One more disgraceful incident happened a few days ago – hooligans defiled with paint the statues of the soldiers in one of the bas-reliefs of the monument.We are certain such acts do not correspond to the moods among Bulgarian nation, with whom we have centuries-old historical ties of friendship, cooperation and mutual

assistance.We believe the country’s official authorities will finally take measures to prevent any other insults to the memory of Soviet soldiers who died in the name of Bulgaria and Europe’s liberation from Nazism and that those who defiled the memorial will be identified and penalized,” the ministry says in an official statement.

Russia won't cut off power supplies to Belarus today

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110622103807.shtml

      RBC, 22.06.2011, Minsk 10:38:07.Russian electric power export and import operator Inter RAO UES has agreed that Belarus' Belenergo will postpone debt repayment until June 28 and will not cut off power supplies today, Belarusian Energy Minister Lyudmila Zenkovich said.

      On Tuesday, Inter RAO UES said it would halt supplies on Wednesday because Belarus is unable to repay its RUB 1.5bn (approx. USD 54m) debt for power purchases. Belarus faces difficulties in paying for power imports due to a shortage of foreign currency, which has continued for a third month.

10:10 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Belarus may defer payment of electricity bill until Monday.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170518.html

22/6 Tass 12

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Inter RAO UES granted a deferral to Belarus until Monday to pay the electricity bill for March-May 2011, and promised not to cut the power supply at midnight on June 22.

"We've given a new deferral to Belarus; the supplies will continue until Monday," a company representative told Itar-Tass, noting that Inter RAO UES had not yet named the date of possible suspension of electricity supply.

The company hopes Belarus would be able to pay the debt, the official said.

Previously, Inter RAO UES stated that "transmission will stop at 00:00, on June 22." Belarus failed to foot its 1.5 -billion-rouble on time, as the company did not receive the second installment.

However, Inter RAO UES representative underlined that the company was ready to resume supplies as soon as the money was transferred.

"We're worried about the situation; it clouds our relations; we've granted them several deferrals already. Belarus sent a letter to Inter RAO UES saying it is "making all the possible efforts towards paying the debt but that it has no opportunity to pay in Russian roubles at present."

"We understand: it's a currency crisis," Inter RAO UES said.

It cut electricity supplies to Belarus for the first time on June 9, from 400 to 500 megawatt to 200 megawatt because Belenergo, the republic's electric utility, had not paid from March, with the debt totaling 1.5 billion roubles.

At that time, the parties agreed that the debt would be repaid by July 5 in several tranches, and Russia resumed power supplies in full measure. The first tranche came on June 14 in the amount of one-third of the sum of the debt. Belarus then failed to effect the transfer of the second trance on June 20 because of financial problems.

Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko noted that a cut in Russian power supply to Belarus was not critical because Russia's share in Belarus' imported energy was insignificant. According to statistics, it is around 12 percent.

On Tuesday, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the first tranche of the loan from the anti-crisis fund of the Eurasian Economic Community had been sent to Belarus. The sum of the first tranche is 800 million dollars, and the whole credit is worth 3 billion dollars.

Spokesman for the Belarussian National Bank Mikhail Zhuravovich told Tass in Minsk that the money transfer from Alma-Ata had come to Belarus. The government will decide on how to disburse the money. For example, it might use part of it to pay the gas bill, Zhuravovich said.

It is the first conflict between Russia and a neighboring country over electricity supply, whereas there have been several oil crises and "gas wars" in the past decade.

In June 2010, Gazprom reduced gas supplies to Belarus by 60 percent; during the New Year holiday in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009, the Russian gas giant closed the gas valve for Ukraine which had not signed the gas supply contract because of disagreements over the price.

In late 2006, a gas conflict broke out between Russian and Belarus and nearly escalated to an oil crisis, as Russia stopped oil exports through the Druzhba pipeline because of unsanctioned tapping by Belarus.

Another gas war occurred between the two countries in 2004, when Russia suspended gas supplies. However, the parties managed to find acceptable solutions in all these cases.

June 22, 2011 12:30

NRC meeting to be held in Sochi on July 3-4 - Rogozin (Part 2)http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=253709

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) is due to meet in Sochi on July 3-4, Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said.

"Preparations for the NRC meeting in Sochi (July 3-4) are nearing the finish," Rogozin wrote on his blog.

Preparations for the upcoming meeting are due to be discussed at a NRC Ambassadorial meeting in Brussels, he also said.

The attendees of the NRC's Sochi meeting could meet with the Russian president, Rogozin said in an interview with Interfax earlier.

"I think NATO should seriously prepare for the meeting with the Russian head of state. In any case, an event such as an offsite meeting of the NRC cannot end in nothing. And because deployment of the missile-defense system was initiated by our partners, not us - then the flag is in their hands! A flag that is bright and understandable," the Russian ambassador said.

Preparations have already begun for the visit by the NATO Secretary General and member states' ambassadors who are attending the NRC meeting in Sochi on July 3-4, he said.

"I think this conversation will not be hollow or very easy. It will touch upon primarily the issues on which we have failed to reach mutual understanding," the Russian ambassador said.

Hopefully, "all these winks, whispers and gossip," accompanying U.S.-Russia and NATO-Russia consultations on the missile defense issue, will "still stream into some sort of a more or less acceptable answer to the questions with which we overwhelmed our partners," he said.

At the NATO-Russia meeting of defense ministers in Brussels last week, the parties failed to reconcile their positions on cooperation in creating a European missile-defense system.

NATO rejected Russia's proposal to create a sectoral missile-defense system, having reaffirmed its position in favor of the co-existence of two separate missile-defense systems. Moscow considers such a scenario unacceptable.

kk jv

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

Envoy Conveys Russian FM's Message to Iran's Salehi http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004010654

TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent a message to his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi on Wednesday.

News number: 9004010654

12:19 | 2011-06-22

The message was submitted by Lavrov's special envoy Sergei Vershinin, who is also Head of the Middle-East and North Africa Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Middle-East and Common Wealth Affairs Mohammad Reza Sheybani.

During the meeting between Vershinin and Sheybani here in Tehran today, Vershinin pointed to the recent developments in the region, and stressed that people should enjoy the right to determine their fate without foreign interference.

He added that solution to the current regional crises lies in dialogue between different political groups and the ruling systems, and urged an end to the adoption of military option for such crises.

Sheibani, for his part, blasted the West's double-standard policies towards developments in the Middle-East and North Africa, and said people's demands are in line with countries' sovereignty and independence.

The two officials also expressed pleasure in the formation of the new government in Lebanon as well as reconciliation among Palestinian groups.

In recent months, a wave of revolutions and anti-government uprisings has been sweeping the Arab world.

In January, a revolution in Tunisia ended the 23-year-long ruling of former President

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In February, another Arab revolution led to the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after three decades of his authoritarian rule.

Since then, other revolutions have also erupted in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain, while anti-government unrests are spreading in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait and Algeria.

Iran, Russia Welcome Formation of National Gov't in Lebanon http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9004010487

News number: 9004010487

11:06 | 2011-06-22

TEHRAN (FNA)- High-ranking Iranian and Russian foreign ministry officials in a meeting in Tehran underlined the importance of establishment of security and stability in the region, and welcomed formation of the new national government in Lebanon.

The issue was raised during a meeting between special envoy of Russian Foreign Minister and Director-General of the Middle-East and North Africa Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Vershinin and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheybani on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Vershinin reiterated that people of the region have the right to determine their own fate without interference of others, and said that different groups' dialogue with the government is the only solution to the current crises, and called for ceasing military operation in all countries facing crises, including Libya.

Sheybani, for his part, criticized the dual behavior of the West with developments in the Middle-East and North Africa, and said the legitimate demands raised by the people in the region are in the direction of independence and sovereignty of their own countries.

Kyrgyzstan's main strategic partner is Russia - Prime Ministerhttp://en.trend.az/regions/casia/kyrgyzstan/1894978.html

22.06.2011 11:13

Kyrgyzstan’s main strategic partner is Russia, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev said at today’s round table conference "Victory, obtained by unity: 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II", 24.kg reported.

"We mustn’t become persons oblivious of our origin and home and forget our history. It is victory of our fathers and grandfathers who fought for one motherland. We cannot restore Soviet Union but we can establish single political and economic space, Customs Union. To achieve it, we must exert every effort to give opportunity to the remained veterans to travel the land they protected without any borders. Our power will be in unity and friendship of our nations," said Almazbek Atambayev.

07:31 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russia,Tajikistan likely to sign border accord shortly.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170415.html

22/6 Tass 84

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Russia and Tajikistan have already prepared for signature an agreement "which is to regulate a bilateral format of cooperation on border-related matters". It is not ruled out that the document will be signed shortly, a source at Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry announced.

The source told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Russian advisers would continue, as before, to give assistance in consulting and training of junior officer personnel from among Tajik servicemen.

"The question of a full-scale return of Russian border guards to the Tajik-Afghan border has not been considered, for Tajikistan copes with this task on its own so far," the Foreign Ministry source emphasized.

The source did not rule it out that "The border issue will be discussed during a meeting betweem a NATO representative and the leadership of the republic", linking the issue with the tense military and political situation in Afghanistan and in its northern provinces that border on Tajikistan.

At the same time the source assured that a two-day visit, beginning Wednesday, by James Appathurai, NATO Secretary-General's special representatives for South Caucasus and Central Asia, "by chance coincided with the commencement of a third round of Russo-Tajik consultations on the border (issues)".

Russia ratifies agreement between Azerbaijan and Russia on state bordershttp://en.trend.az/news/politics/1895010.html

22.06.2011 12:01

Today members of the Federation Council ratified an agreement between Azerbaijan and Russia on the state borders, setting mutual national borderline points between Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia extending to the Caspian Sea, RIA Novosti reported.

The agreement states that the line corresponds to the former administrative border between Dagestan ASSR and Azerbaijan SSR.

Russia is the first country with which Azerbaijan has signed an agreement on state borders, signed in Baku on Sept. 3, 2010.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry again confirmed that at present Russia and Azerbaijan do not have territorial claims.

The border between Russia and Azerbaijan extends 284 km. The total length of the Russian border is about 60,000 kilometers.

The Russian and Azerbaijani sides have agreed to synchronize the implementation of this agreement, for cooperation in the rational use and protection of the Sumar River transboundary water resources. The agreement was signed in 2010.

Russia ratifies extension of military base deal in Armeniahttp://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110622/164761012.html

11:45 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

The Russian Federation Council, the upper chamber of the parliament, ratified a protocol on Wednesday extending Russia's use of a military base in Armenia.

In 2010, Russia and Armenia signed amendments to a 1995 bilateral treaty extending Russia's use of the 102nd Military Base in Gyumri near Armenia's border with Turkey through 2044.

The protocol stipulates that the term will be automatically extended every five years unless one of the parties notifies the other about the annulment of the treaty six months in advance.

The base is under the command of Russia's North Caucasus Military District and is part of the CIS integrated air defense system.

There are around 5,000 personnel at the base, as well as S-300 surface-to-air missile systems and MiG-29 fighters.

Russia has repeatedly said that the presence of its base in the Central Asian republic does not violate any international agreements or upset the balance of forces in the region.

Armenian Armed Forces will get the part of dislocated weapons of the Russian military base in Armenia http://times.am/2011/06/22/armenian-armed-forces-will-get-the-part-of-dislocated-weapons-of-the-russian-military-base-in-armenia/

By Times.am at 22 June, 2011, 10:52 am

“Russian military base in Armenia is passed to the brigade system. Its staff includes 4245 people and 370 of them are servicemen, 500 of them are civilian specialists,” Gusev told the senators, who examined the federal law about ratification between Armenia and Russian Federation about the Russian military base in Armenia, “Interfax” informs.

Gusev noted that the optimization of the base did not have any influence on the fighting skills of the staff. “The personal staff of the base is ready to fulfill orders also in the staff of the Armenian-Russian joint troops”, Colonel noted.

Senators asked where the dislocated weapons and the military technique would be transferred and the representative of the Ministry of Defense announced they would be given to the Armenian Armed Forces.

Viktor Ozerov, head of the committee of the Federation Council on the defense and security, noted that the ratification of the registration would assist to strengthen military cooperation between Armenia and Russia and also was interesting for Russian side.

“Our committee advised the Federation Council to assure the federal law “about ratification of the protocol between Armenia and RF about making changes in the agreement on Russian military base in Armenia, 1995, March 16”, which was accepted by the State Duma,” he said.

Russian military base is found in Gyumri according to the agreement between Yerevan and Moscow on 1995. The protocol about Russian military base in Armenia is especially

about prolonging the term of the base by 49 years. The base aims to fulfill peacekeeping activities and also is the force which will protect from the possible aggression.

/Times.am/

10:06MOSCOW REGRETS THAT OFFICIAL TALKS ON SETTLING TRANSDNIESTRIA PROBLEM HAVE NOT BEEN RESUMED - FOREIGN MINISTRYhttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

03:52 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

RF FM, OSCE Sec-Gen to discuss coop'n prospects in Moscow.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170364.html

22/6 Tass 10

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Prospects for the development of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are to be discussed here on Wednesday by Sergei Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Secretary General of the OSCE, who winds up his mission in this capacity on June 30.

Lavrov and de Brichambaut are to exchange views on the results of the OSCE work in the past six years, including matters concerning a reform of the Organization.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official pointed out, "Throughout the period, cooperation on the part of Russia at various levels has been businesslike and constructive". "Considering de de Brichambaut's experience, the sides will examine prospects for the development of the Organization, and interaction among the member-states," the official specified.

The Russian Foreign Minister and the OSCE Secretary-General will also consider, possibly, the state of affairs in Belarus, in the Transcaucasus, and the position of ethnic minorities in the (post-Soviet) Baltic States. Outlook for the Nagorno-Karabakh and Trans-Dniester peace processes, considering the incremental changes that have begun to show in efforts to settle the conflicts, are also figuring on the agenda in this or that way.

Ever since the OSCE's predecessor -- the Conference on Security and Cooperatton in Europe -- was founded in 1975, the sides have been interacting on a regular basis. The Conference was renamed into the OSCE in 1995. The key purpose of cooperation is to ensure security and stability in Europe, in the post-Soviet space, in particular.

Russia and the OSCE act as guarantors of peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh and Trans-Dniester peace processes as members of the Minsk Group and the 5 plus 2 mechanism respectively. The sides are also mediators at the Geneva discussions on security in the Transcaucasus.

The OSCE is the world's largest interregional and intergovernmental organization which tackles security issues. It currently brings together 56 countries, including all European ones, five countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), the United States and Canada. Russia confirmed its participation in the Organization as the Soviet Union's successor in January 1992.

OSCE summits are the supreme body of the Organization. They are held once in two to three years depending on the political situation. The Council of Ministers is the central directive and governing body of the OSCE. The Council's sessions at the level of Foreign ministers are held once a year in the interim between summits.

The coordinating role in the work of the Organization is played by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. The Chairman's functions are assigned to the Foreign ministers of an OSCE presiding member-state on the basis of rotation.

June 22, 2011 11:47

Russia plans to sell more than $11 bln of weapons in 2011 - FSMTC (Part 2)http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=253689

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will increase its arms and military hardware exports in 2011, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriyev told Interfax-AVN.

"This year's plan is to sell over $11 billion of weapons. And I am certain that we will fulfill this task. Arms export growth will continue," Dmitriyev said.

In 2010, Russia's arms export topped $10 billion, in excess of the projected $9.5 billion, he recalled.

In 2011, combat aircraft will play the leading part in total arms exports, as ever, Dmitriyev said. "Ground weapons and air defense systems come second. Fleet may come second but not this year," he said.

The Navy's share in the total arms export should rise sharply in 2012 because a number of large naval contracts will have been completed by that time, the FSMTC chief said. "A

very serious demand on the part of foreign customers remains for Project 636 diesel submarines," Medvedev said.

kk jv

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

First public flight of Indo-Russian fifth generation fighter in August

http://www.defenseworld.net/go/defensenews.jsp?id=5753&h=First%20public%20flight%20of%20Indo-Russian%20fifth%20generation%20fighter%20in%20August

Our BureauWed, Jun 22, 2011 07:57 CET  The T-50 fifth generation fighter ( Russian designated PAK-FA), being developed by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation(UAC) with India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) as an active partner, is expected to make its first public flight at the Moscow Air Show (MAKS) in August 2011. However, the aircraft will not be available for closer examination in the static display area, Russian sources told Defensewold.net at the Paris Air Show here.

      The aircraft is meant to transform the Russian air force’s fighter fleet from a mix of third generation fighters such as the Su-27/Mig-29 to one multi-role fighter. The PAK-FA acronym in Russian means ‘Future Air System for Tactical Air Forces’.

      The single fighter will perform air superiority, ground attack and carrier-based roles, much like the American Joint Strike Fighter.

      The T-50 PAK-FA prototype flew for the first time in 2010 and two prototypes are flying to go through various phases of the flight test.

      The first public flight in September will be performed by one of the two prototypes. The two prototypes are meant to validate the flight characteristics and will not include the full complement of onboard electronics or some specialist electronics being developed for the PAK-FA.

      The Indian contribution to the PAK-FA will be in the form of the mission computer and certain other critical electronics, roughly working out to about 25% of the total project. HAL’s experience gained from the avionics suite and mission computer

developed for India’s Su-30MKI has gone in favor of acquiring this crucial workshare.

      The T-50 PAK-FA will utilize a higher percentage of composites and radar evading stealth material than older Russian made fighters. In dimensions, the aircraft will be smaller than the Su-30 but significantly lighter enabling it to fly further and with a heavier weapons load than current generation fighters such as the Mig-29 and Su-30.

      The Initial batches of the T-50 prototypes will come equipped with a passive electronically scanned array radar while the later batches, closer to actual production are expected to have an active electronically scanned array radar.

      The partnership with India will allow Russia’s UAC access to much needed funds at the advanced development stage besides access to Indian avionics and software expertise.

India will get Russian n-sub by Decemberhttp://www.indianexpress.com/news/India-will-get-Russian-n-sub-by-December/807029/

Express news service

Posted: Wed Jun 22 2011, 02:32 hrs New Delhi:

After a long wait, India is set to get the advanced ‘Nerpa’ nuclear attack submarine on lease from Russia by the end of this year, a senior Russian official said. While India still does not officially talk about the 10-year lease that has been in the works for years, news about the delivery of the nuclear submarine comes from the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Meanwhile, reports say that China will begin sea trials of its first aircraft carrier by next week, making its entry into a select club of nations that operate aircraft carriers. The Chinese carrier — remade from a Russian carrier that was brought as scrap — hit headlines after China’s Army Chief General Chen Bingde officially acknowledged its existence last week.

The news of sea trials as early as next week has come as a surprise to India, which had estimated that the ship would be ready by 2013-14.

India, Russia sign MoU for GCNEP promotionhttp://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/india-russia-sign-mou-for-gcnep-promotion/733135.html

PTI | 09:06 PM,Jun 21,2011

Mumbai, Jun 21 (PTI) India and Russia signed a MoU for cooperation in the activities to be pursued at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) being set up by the Department of Atomic Energy in Haryana, a DAE release said today. The Department of Atomic Energy signed the MOU with M/s Rosatom of Russia at Vienna on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Ministerial meeting on Safety which began yesterday. The GCNEP will consist of 4 schools on advanced nuclear energy systems studies, nuclear security studies, radiological safety studies and studies on applications of radioisotopes and radiation technologies, the DAE release said. The MoU was signed by Dr Srikumar Banerjee, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India and S V Kirienko, DG, Rosatom, Russia.

Moscow and Delhi want to quadruple tradehttp://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/moscow-india-trade/en/

Published: 22 June, 2011, 03:35Edited: 22 June, 2011, 03:38

India gets a share in petroleum production in Russia Vladimir Skosyrev

In 2015, the annual trade volume between Russia and India is expected to amount to $20 billion. Such is the plan, approved by both states. A step toward its implementation was the merger of assets between India’s largest oil and gas corporation and Russian companies. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta’s (NG) expert, the partnership has growth potential. But the set goal can be reached only with active co-operation between the governments of the two countries.  

The two governments’ intent to bring the Russian-Indian annual trade volume to $20 billion by 2015 was announced by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma. These bilateral ties can be galvanized by a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. The parties had agreed to create a joint group to develop this document and hold a trade and investment forum in Moscow in November.   

Moscow plans to create favorable conditions for Indian investors. According to India’s newspaper, the Hindu, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin offered Indian firms, producing medicines and spare parts for cars, the territories of the non-operating factories in Russia’s capital.

Sharma stressed that co-operation should not be limited to procurement of military technologies or capital investments into the oil and gas sector. It needs to include private business. 

Nevertheless, Russia’s hydrocarbon riches continue to attract the attention of the Indian state. Recently, the Indian government had approved the merger of assets between the state-owned oil and gas corporation, ONGC, and Russian companies Bashneft and RussNeft. The joint enterprise will bring the Indian corporation one fourth of the petroleum, produced by the Russian partners, or 25 million tons, as well as a share of profits of oil refineries with capacity of 20 million tons.  

ONGC is involved in the Sakhalin-1 project, in which it owns a 20% stake, reads a message on the website of the Russian Embassy in India.

The plan to raise the trade volume and economic co-operation, agreed upon by the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina is, to put it mildly, ambitious. After all, according to the Indian statistics, in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Russian-Indian trade volume declined and amounted to only $4.54 billion. This means that it needs to nearly quadruple in the next four years.    

Is this a realistic plan? NG turned with this question to the Head of the Economic Studies Department at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Aleksandr Akimov.

“Setting this goal would not hurt. There is potential for growth. In the Soviet times, our countries co-operated quite well. Of course, since then, the structure of trade has changed. And yet, new opportunities may arise, such as to increase the import flow from India. After all, the price of Chinese goods is rising. They could, at least partially, be compensated by the Indian. But shifts won’t happen without the support of the governments.”   

The expert indicated certain fields, in which there are emerging prospects to expand co-operation. One is the pharmaceutical industry, where India’s positions are strong. Another is the agricultural sector. India plans to lease our land to grow grains. They will, subsequently, be exported to India. 

The expanding Indian economy needs steel. This means that it needs to either develop its own steel industry, or become dependent on China, where steel output is 10 times greater than in India. Co-operation between the Indian and Russian enterprises is possible in this sector.   

“The main obstacle on the way of developing bilateral relations, as paradoxical as it may seem, is globalization. The Soviet Union’s relations with India were based on political will. When it disappeared and diminished, competition came into play. It is possible to

establish relations with any country and obtain cheaper goods. That’s why it is necessary to, again, make a political effort to revive partnership,” concluded the expert.

Russia Considers Importing Australian Uranium for Processing http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Russia-Considers-Importing-Australian-Uranium-for-Processing.html

Written by Joao Peixe    Tuesday, 21 June 2011 20:29

Russia’s Rosatom atomic state corporation director-general Sergei Kirienko told reporters that he and Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office head Robert Floyd have exchanged letters that effectively constitute a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in accordance with Article 12 of a bilateral Russian-Australian intergovernmental agreement on civilian use of atomic energy.

A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that the MoU allows Russia to export Australian uranium for processing at Russian enterprises, commenting, "By exchanging letters, we are setting the memorandum of understanding in motion. All this has created the legal basis for our cooperation," Russia’s news agency Interfax reported.

Floyd said that "the juridical base in itself cannot be a productive basis for cooperation. And I hope that we will now develop our collaboration." He also noted that today's exchange of letters gives us the opportunity to embark on the widest possible cooperation.” Kirienko added that the bilateral cooperation provides a significant opportunity for Russian companies to acquire uranium for the needs of Russian enterprises.

While Russia and Australia in 2007 signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in civilian atomic energy use it is only now that they have adopted a mechanism providing safeguards regarding the civilian use of Australian uranium at Russian enterprises.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com

Russian Envoy Sees Role Rebuilding Afghanistan http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-envoy-sees-role-rebuilding-afghanistan/439277.html

22 June 2011Reuters

KABUL, Afghanistan — Russia wants to enlarge its presence in Afghanistan and rebuild the country where Soviet troops fought a disastrous decade-long war, Russia's envoy to Kabul said, describing ties between the two former foes as the best in 20 years.

Although Russia has refused to send troops to join the NATO-led war in Afghanistan, Moscow has been flexing its muscles in the region bordering much of Central Asia, which Russia views as its traditional sphere of influence.

"Relations, I think, are at their highest in the past 20 years, and they are moving and expanding. … But I would like them even wider," Russian Ambassador Andrei Avetisyan said in an interview in Russia's vast, opulent Kabul embassy late last week.

Russia has embarked on a series of infrastructure and hydroelectric projects in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Union lost 15,000 troops fighting mujahedin insurgents before trudging away from the country in 1989.

Strengthening this relationship, Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal just wrapped up a 12-day trip to Russia, where he held meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev and other high-ranking officials.

His trip follows Russia's scrapping a year ago of almost $12 billion of debt owed by Afghanistan to Russia. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in the Kazakh capital, Astana, last week praised a June 14 agreement between Moscow and Kabul to boost trade and economic ties. Karzai spoke to Medvedev at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last week.

"A country with a functioning economy, with people having jobs, is less dangerous," said Avetisyan, who worked in the Soviet Embassy in Kabul in the 1980s, becoming fluent in Afghanistan's two main languages, Dari and Pashto.

Avetisyan said Russia's quest for stability in Afghanistan stems from its fear of what he described as Afghanistan's two main threats: terrorism and drugs.

Escalating violence across Afghanistan in the 10th year of an increasingly unpopular war has sent tremors of worry across Russia, which borders mainly Muslim former Soviet republics in Central Asia and which is battling a growing Islamist insurgency in its own volatile North Caucasus.

Health officials warn that Russia's position as the world's top user of heroin, which is smuggled from Afghanistan through Central Asia's porous borders, is spurring an HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Avetisyan said Russia hopes this year to embark on constructing affordable housing, reminiscent of the Soviet occupation when Moscow built infrastructure across the country.

Each year, Russia hopes to build about 1 million square meters of housing, starting with Kabul and with an eye to expanding to other cities.

Russia also wants to be involved in hydroelectric dam projects and a proposed gas pipeline stretching from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Though Afghanistan was devastated by the Soviet Union's war here, which by some estimates killed millions and destroyed its once-thriving agriculture, both sides are looking through "rose-tinted glasses," Avetisyan said.

"The recollection [of the Soviet era] is better than I expected when I came here. The feeling among the Afghans from people on the street to the ministers is very friendly. And it is mutual," he said.

He said Russia is "not to ever be involved in any military activities here. … We are ready to come and help" on the development side.

Under a gradual transition process beginning next month, U.S. and NATO troops plan to hand over security for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Avetisyan, however, criticized that date as premature.

"In the three years that are left before 2014, I have doubt that it is indeed possible to build a strong army and police," he said, adding that such training requires at least five years.

NATO is racing against the clock to train Afghanistan's ill-equipped and illiterate army and police. Critics have warned that progress is slow and that security gains cannot be upheld.

"We support the transition as we want everything in Afghanistan to be Afghan-led. … But the situation in the country today makes us worried about the preparedness," he said.

05:12 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Nakhodka, Maizuru sign declaration on wider econ coop'n.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170377.html

22/6 Tass 52

VLADIVOSTOK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— The maritime city of Nakhodka and the Japanese city of Maizuru, which mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of

twinning ties, have signed a joint declaration on stepping up economic cooperation. The port infrastructure of the two cities is to be used for this purpose.

The Declaration was signed on Tuesday in Maizuru, where official ceremonies are being held on the occasion of the anniversary, by Nakhodka Mayor Oleg Kolyadin and his Japanese counterpart Rezo Tatami, the press service of the Nakhodka city district administration announced.

"Throughout the fifty years, our two cities have been strengthening friendly ties in many fields, such as economics, culture, education, sports, medicine, etc. and have been exchanging children's and professional delegations," the Declaration points out. It has been decided to devote special attention to giving greater scope to economic cooperation, using to advantage the port infrstructure of the two cities. "We shall advance the twinning relations between the cities, actively inviting our people to participate in the efforts," Oleg Kolyadin and Rezo Tatami stated.

The Nakhodka-Maizuru treaty on becoming twinned cities was for the first time in the history of Soviet-Japanese relations concluded on June 21, 1961, under the slogan "Let the Sea of Japan be a sea of peace and friendship."

The city of Maizuru is situated on the island of Honshu in Kyoto Prefecture. The city has a population of about 80,000 people now. Due to a large seaport, Maizuru has been maintaining an active foreign trade since long ago. Nakhodka's population is 160,000. Nakhodka is the largest port on Russia's Pacific coast. In 2010, its cargo handling capacity amounted to more than 51 million tonnes.

11:51 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Four-five Soyuz launches to be made from Kourou before yearend.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170614.html

22/6 Tass 60

LE BOURGET, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Four-five commercial launches of Soyuz rocket carriers will be made under the program of the Russian-French joint venture Starsem before the end of the year, the head of Progress design bureau, Alexander Kirilin, said at the Paris Air Show.

The Samara-based Progress design bureau is one of the co-founders of Starsem.

He noted that the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana is used for launches of Soyuz rocket carriers at full pelt.

“On June 18, two our vehicles were taken to the cosmodrome. This year we have three launch campaigns with Globalstar and one-two campaigns at Guiana, i.e. we have up to five launch campaigns this year. This is a very serious direction that is being followed under the effective contracts,” he said.

Speaking about the plans of the European Space Agency to launch the first carrier rocket Soyuz with two Galileo satellites from Kourou on October 20, Kirilin noted that “in August we should already begin to work with a nose cone for the first launch.”

11:42 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Justice Ministry denies registration to People's Freedom Party.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170602.html

22/6 Tass 139

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — The Russian Justice Ministry denied registration to the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS), the Party's spokeswoman Yelena Dikun told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The Ministry is expected to forward a written explanation to the Party shortly, Dikun said.

The Party was founded in December 2010. Its co-chairpersons are Mikhail Kasyanov, Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Milov and Vladimir Ryzhkov.

They submitted the registration papers to the Ministry in late May. As of that time, the Party had 53 regional branches and had over 46,000 members, according to PARNAS activists.

June 22, 2011 10:58

Parnas Party's registration application rejectedhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=253666

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - The Russian Justice Ministry has turned down the application for registration of the People's Freedom Party (PARNAS).

"The procedure for considering our application for state registration is complete, and a decision has been made not to register our party," the party's Federal Political Council Secretary Konstantin Merzlikin told Interfax on Wednesday.

kk jv

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

Russian opposition says denied party registration http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=226047

By REUTERS  06/22/2011 09:52

"The upcoming elections cannot be regarded as free," former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov was quoted as saying.   MOSCOW - Russia's liberal opposition said on Wednesday that the authorities had refused to register its coalition as a political party, a decision that would prevent it from taking part in the December parliamentary election.

"The upcoming elections cannot be regarded as free," one of the party's leaders, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, was quoted as saying by spokeswoman Yelena Dikun.

The Party of People's Freedom, formed to unite Russia's previously splintered liberal opposition against the Kremlin, said it had been telephoned by the Justice Ministry and informed that it would not be registered as a political party.

A spokesman for the Justice Ministry refused immediate comment, saying that he had heard nothing about any such decision.

The leaders of the Party of People's Freedom had said they wanted to compete in the December election and to field a candidate in the March 2012 presidential election to challenge the Kremlin's dominance of the political system.

"The upcoming elections cannot be regarded as free," one of the party's leaders, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, was quoted as saying by spokeswoman Yelena Dikun.

Russian opposition says denied party registrationToday at 09:58 | Reuters MOSCOW, June 22 (Reuters) - Russia's liberal opposition said on Wednesday that the authorities had refused to register its coalition as a political party, a decision that would prevent it from taking part in the December parliamentary election.

The Party of People's Freedom, formed to unite Russia's previously splintered liberal opposition against the Kremlin, said it had been telephoned by the Justice Ministry and informed that it would not be registered as a political party.

A spokesman for the Justice Ministry refused immediate comment, saying that he had heard nothing about any such decision.

The leaders of the Party of People's Freedom had said they wanted to compete in the December election and to field a candidate in the March 2012 presidential election to challenge the Kremlin's dominance of the political system.

"The upcoming elections cannot be regarded as free," one of the party's leaders, former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, was quoted as saying by spokeswoman Yelena Dikun. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, have refused to say which of them will run in the March 2012 presidential election.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/107218/#ixzz1PzEbpzcI

Moscow court fines political opposition leader Nemtsov $18http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110622/164760448.html11:18 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

A Moscow court fined Russian political opposition leader Boris Nemtsov 500 rubles ($18) on Wednesday for participating in an unsanctioned rally in St. Petersburg on March 31.

Regular rallies in support of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees the right to free assembly, were held in Moscow and St. Petersburg on March 31. Opposition leaders, including Nemtsov, and many other demonstrators were detained.

Nemtsov said he was not surprised with the court's decision, adding that he was not intending to appeal it.

The March of Dissent rallies take place in Moscow and St. Petersburg on the last day of every month with 31 days, in honor of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees the right to free assembly.

Fed Council reconfirms Chaika as Prosecutor Generalhttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20110622/164760423.html

11:17 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has confirmed Yury Chaika for the post of Prosecutor General, following his nomination by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Chaika has held the post since 2006 and was previously justice minister.

According to the Russian Constitution, the Prosecutor General is approved and dismissed by the Federation Council.

June 22, 2011 09:29

Former Magadan regional TV channel editor-in-chief found deadhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=253641

MAGADAN. June 22 (Interfax) - Magadan regional police officers found the body of journalist Anatoly Bitkov in an apartment in Magadan in the early hours of Wednesday.

"Bitkov is well known to the residents of the Magadan region. He was the editor-in-chief of the regional TV channel Kolyma+ for several years. He was 38," a spokesperson for regional law enforcement bodies told Interfax.

Investigators and criminology experts are working at the scene now. No possible theories of the journalist's death have yet been named.

Interfax has yet to obtain official comments on the incident.

va

(Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru)

Russian journalist killed in Far Easthttp://en.rian.ru/society/20110622/164757235.html

07:29 22/06/2011

VLADIVOSTOK, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

The chief editor of the Kolyma Plus TV channel, Anatoly Bitkov, was found dead in his apartment in the Russian Far Eastern town of Magadan early on Wednesday, a spokesman for the local administration reported.

A spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee said a criminal case was opened into the journalist's murder.

Bitkov, 38, was a member of Russia's Union of Journalists. He authored and anchored news and analytical programs.

Kolyma Plus is a Magadan-based broadcaster.

09:00 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Chief editor of Kolyma+ television company killed in Magadan.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170473.html

22/6 Tass 108

MAGADAN, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— The chief editor of the Kolyma+ television company Anatoly Bitkov was killed here overnight to Wednesday. The journalist was found dead in his flat.

Several murder theories are being investigated, including that related with Bitkov’s professional activities, but household motives behind the murder are considered as the main theory, a source in the Magadan branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

Anatoly Bitkov, 38, was a well-known journalist in the Magadan Region and has worked as the chief editor of the Kolyma+ television channel for the last few years. The journalist was an anchorman of news, journalist and analytical television programs.

The criminal experts are working at the murder scene. A criminal case was opened over murder. The investigation into the murder case is underway.

Investigator killed in Dagestanhttp://en.rian.ru/crime/20110622/164756057.html

05:33 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

An investigator was killed late on Tuesday in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, Russia's Investigative Committee reported on Wednesday.

A source in Dagestan's law enforcement agencies said investigator Gadzhi Alibegov, who was shot dead when he got out of his car near his home, had mainly dealt with cases involving extremism.

An investigation is underway.

More that a decade after the end of a federal war against separatists in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, Russian security forces continue to fight militants, who stage frequent attacks on security forces, police and civilians, in other regions in the area, including Dagestan.

08:23 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Five servicemen killed, 12 injured in Dagestan.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170448.html

22/6 Tass 102

MAKHACHKALA, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Five servicemen of the Interior Troops were killed and another 12 were injured in a special operation in the Kizlyar district of Dagestan, a source in the republican Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The special operation to destroy up to ten gunmen was launched on Tuesday morning near the settlements of Bolshakovka and Kuznetsovka.

“On Wednesday night the gunmen were attempting to break through the circle of surrounding. Three servicemen were killed and another three were injured,” the source said.

“For the past night three servicemen of the Interior Troops were hospitalized, two with concussion and one with a gunshot wound. Nine servicemen are undergoing treatment,” the chief doctor of the Kizlyar central district hospital Ibragim Aliyev said.

On Tuesday, sources in the law enforcement agencies in the republic reported about two killed commandoes and six injured commandoes.

09:09 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Kabardino-Balkaria probes republican deputy chief detective murder.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170476.html

22/6 Tass 114

NALCHIK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Kabardino-Balkaria is investigating the murder of the deputy chief detective in the republic.

The deputy chief detective in the republican interior ministry Col. Albert Sizhazhev was killed in the fire at his private house in the city of Baksan overnight to Wednesday, a source in Kabardino-Balkaria’s branch of the Investigation Committee told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. He died instantaneously of gunshot wounds.

“The murder case is being investigated thoroughly,” a detective said. A criminal case was opened for an attempt on the life of law enforcers and the illegal circulation of weapons.

11:53 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Passenger Boeing makes forced landing in Rostov-on-Don.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170615.html

22/6 Tass 123

ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— A passenger Boeing 737 jet made a forced landing in the airport of Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don. No one was hurt, a source in the local emergencies administration told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

The jet took off from Rostov-on-Don at 08:45 a.m. Moscow time and was bound for Moscow, although several minutes later onboard devices signalled loss of pressure. The jet’s pilots decided to return to the airport. There were 81 passengers and seven crew members onboard the plane. No one was hurt.

An investigation is underway. Specialists do not rule out malfunction of onboard electronics.

Prime Minister Offers Condolences Over Air Crash in Russiahttp://www.poland.pl/news/article,Prime_Minister_Offers_Condolences_Over_Air_Crash_in_Russia,id,458718.htm

2011-06-22, 08:29Prime Minister Donald Tusk offered condolences to Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin over the tragic air crash near Petrozavodsk.

"On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Poland and all Polish citizens, I would like to offer sincere condolences over yesterday's tragic air crash of the Russian passenger plane Tu-134 near Petrozavodsk to you and the Russian Nation" - wrote the Prime Minister in the telegram of condolence. The Prime Minister underlined that the death of 44 passengers caused great grief in Poland. 

"Please accept our heartfelt condolences. We express our solidarity with the victims’ families" - added the Prime Minister.

President Sargsyan extends condolences to Medvedev on plane crashhttp://www.armradio.am/eng/news/?part=off&id=20274 22.06.2011 11:41

President Serzh Sargsyan sent a letter of condolences to the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, connected with the air crash near the airport of Petrozavodsk that claimed the lives of 44 people.

The President asked to extend condolences to the relatives of the victims and wished soon recovery to the injured.

The RusAir Tu-134 jet took off from Moscow and was due to arrive in Petrozavodsk, the capital of Karelia, at 12:04 a.m. on Tuesday (20:04 GMT Monday), but crash landed on a nearby highway, which was shrouded in fog.

The aircraft broke up and burst into flames on impact. Initially eight of the 52 people on board survived and were taken to local hospitals.

09:13 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Nine-year-old boy surviving Tu-134 crash dies in hospital.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170477.html

22/6 Tass 117

PETROZAVODSK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — A nine-year old boy surviving the Tu-134 crash near Petrozavodsk dies in hospital, chief doctor of the children’s republican hospital, Inga Lepiseva, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

Anton died of multiple fractures and injuries. Over the past time he remained unconscious.

His fourteen-year-old sister Anastatsia was also injured in the crash and taken for treatment to Moscow.

11:59 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

25 out of 44 Tu-134 crash victims to be identified visually.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170624.html

22/6 Tass 161

PETROZAVODSK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Twenty five people out of 44 who died in a Tu-134 crash near Russia’s north western city of Petrozavodsk may be identified visually, a genetic study will be needed to identify the rest, a source in the health ministry of Russia’s republic of Karelia said on Wednesday.

The identification of the crash victims began last night. The families of the victims are arriving in Petrozavodsk. “They have been accommodated and provided with meals,” the press service of the Karelian administration said. “They will be offered medical and psychological assistance.”

Genetic studies will be done by specialists from the Russian forensic study centre who will come to Petrozavodsk. If need be, genetic samples will be sent to Moscow for a more thorough study.

In the mean time, the death toll from the crash reached 45 after a 10-year-old boy, Anton Terekhin of Yuzho-Sakhalinsk, died Tuesday night at a hospital in Petrozavodsk. The

condition of another man, who was recognized as non-transportable and is staying at a Petrozavodsk-based clinic, is extremely grave.

Late on Tuesday, seven of the crash victims were identified, according to a spokesman for the republican emergencies administration.

The Tu-134 airliner of RusAir Co coming from Moscow crashed near Petrozavodsk’s airport late on Monday. There were 52 people onboard. Forty four people died instantly, one more died later in hospital. The condition of seven survivors is serious.

12:24 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Records from crashed Tu-134 flight recorders decryptable - IAC.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170672.html

22/6 Tass 182

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Records from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the ill-fated Tu-134 airliner that crashed near Petrozavodsk in north western Russia late on Monday are intact, a source in the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), which is probing into the crash, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

“Despite a fire that followed the crash, both recorders do have information,” the source said. “All necessary operations are being conducted at the IAC laboratory.”

The Tu-134 airliner of RusAir Co coming from Moscow crashed near Petrozavodsk’s airport late on Monday. There were 52 people onboard. Forty four people died instantly, one more, a ten-year-old boy, died later in hospital. The condition of seven survivors is serious.

08:53 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Sakhalin governor instructs to help relatives of air crash victims.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170470.html

22/6 Tass 106

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, June 22 (Itar-Tass) — Governor of the Sakhalin Region Alexander Khoroshavin instructed to give all necessary assistance to the relatives of people, who died or were injured in the Tu-134 air crash outside Petrozavodsk.

Alexander Khoroshavin instructed the regional government, including the chiefs of the ministries of health and social security to tackle this problem immediately, the press service of the Sakhalin governor reported on Wednesday.

All necessary measures should be taken to help in the treatment of Sakhalin residents, who were injured in the air crash, and to accommodate them at their relatives living in other regions; to give psychological and material aid to the relatives of the air crash victims and to arrange the funerals, the press service said.

The crashed airliner Tu-134, which was en route from Moscow to Petrozavodsk, was carrying the Terekhin family from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Mother Oksana Terekhina died in the air crash. Two children Anton, 9, and Anastasia, 15, were hospitalized. The boy is undergoing treatment at the intensive therapy ward of the Petrozavodsk children’s republican hospital. The doctors believe that he is in extremely severe condition and cannot be transported due to medical symptoms. The airplane Il-76 brought the little girl to the Pirogov National Surgery Center in Moscow.

Alexei Terekhin, who is the husband of the dead Sakhalin woman and the father of the foresaid children, flied to Moscow on Wednesday.

The air crash also killed another Sakhalin woman – a stewardess Yulia Gurina from Moscow. Her parents live in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The father of the dead young woman flied to Moscow.

Social workers from the Sakhalin regional social security ministry met with the Sakhalin relatives of people, who died or were injured in the air crash. They are receiving psychological consultations.

Mourning for plane crash victims as death toll riseshttp://rt.com/news/karelia-crash-death-toll/print/

Published: 22 June, 2011, 08:18Edited: 22 June, 2011, 09:09

The Russian Republic of Karelia has declared three days of mourning for the 45 people killed in the Tupolev Tu-134 crash. The death toll increased on Wednesday when a 10-year-old boy died in hospital from severe burns and trauma.

Anton Trekhin was one of the eight survivors of the deadly crash. His injuries were so serious that doctors would not allow him to be transferred to Moscow on Tuesday. His 14-year-old sister and mother were also on the plane and remain in hospital.

Seven patients are in hospitals in Moscow and Karelia. The life of at least one man is still in danger, while five others have serious injuries, although their condition is said to be stable. Another has lighter injuries.

Karelia has declared Wednesday the start of a three-day mourning period for those killed in the crash. Seven of the people onboard were from Karelia. State flags are flying low and no entertainment events are allowed in the republic. The mourning has interrupted the capital Petrozavodsk’s plans to celebrate Day of the City at the weekend.

Some 100 relatives of many of the victims who lived in Moscow and the Moscow Region are to arrive in Karelia on Wednesday. Local authorities have prepared hotels to receive them, while psychotherapists are ready to provide them with the necessary support and treatment.

Forensic experts are working on the identification of the remains, but many bodies are in bad shape after the crash and fire and will require DNA tests. So far, seven of the victims have been identified.

The Monday night flight from Moscow to Petrozavodsk in the north-west of Russia ended in tragedy when the aircraft crash-landed on a highway about a kilometer from the airport it was heading for. The impact and the consequent fire killed 45 people.

Doctors say burns from the fire were worse than the injuries from the initial crash. Survivors were lucky to receive help from local residents, who live just a few dozen meters from the site where the aircraft hit the ground. Reports from the people who helped several passengers get away from the danger say the fire spread very quickly and cut short their rescue effort.

Investigators believe that human error in difficult weather conditions was the likely cause of the deadly incident. Traffic control at the airport suggested the Tu-134 take a second landing approach, but the pilot chose to proceed with the landing.

'Pilot error' blamed as Petrozavodsk disaster probe startshttp://www.themoscownews.com/russia/20110622/188776265.html

by Andy Potts, Lidia Okorokova at 22/06/2011 11:11

 

The death toll in the Petrozavodsk air crash has climbed to 45 after a 10-year-old boy on the flight died of injuries sustained in the disaster.

And there is growing belief that poor weather and pilot error were the twin causes of the accident, which saw a Tu-134 aircraft crash land on approach to the Karelian capital’s airport.

Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who oversees transportation in the government, said that preliminary data suggested that fog confused the driver as he attempted to land, causing him to collide with power lines.

Experts in Moscow began examining data from the stricken plane’s black boxes on Wednesday morning.

 

Echoes of Smolensk

Ivanov said that the flight crew could not get a visual guide into the runway, similar to the cause of the April 10, 2010 disaster when a Tu-154 plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski crashed into trees on approach to Smolensk airfield.

“It became clear that the landing gear of the aircraft was damaged, suggesting it broke the wires when it came in to land,” Ivanov said.

“I can’t say that this is true, but it seems that this is, unfortunately, a repetition of the Polish crash.”

 

Potential controversy

The official report into the Smolensk disaster prompted a row between Moscow and Warsaw.

Poland claimed Russian air traffic control was unable to help the pilot; Russia released transcripts of the conversations between ground staff and flight crew to underline the findings of its investigation.

And it seems inevitable that, whatever the outcome of the official investigation into the Petrozavodsk crash, there will be further questions over the reliability of Soviet-built Tupolev aircraft.

Pilot Sergei Zakhorov told The Moscow News that the plane which crashed late on Monday had begun service in 1980.

“Imagine how many take offs and landings it has performed, how many hours it has spent in the sky,” he said. “Its working life was just exhausted.

“We need to stop exploiting these old aircraft.”

11:48 22/06/2011ALL NEWS

Another Russian dies from alcohol poisoning in Turkey.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/170613.html

22/6 Tass 582

ANKARA, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— A fifth Russian national died on Tuesday at a Turkish hospital following a mass outbreak of poisoning among guides believed to have drunk counterfeit alcohol on a yachting trip in Turkey, Anatolia news agency reported.

The head physician of a hospital in Turkey's Mediterranean city of Antalya announced the brain death of Viktoria Nikolayeva, 23, adding that she would be kept in intensive care until her heart stops.

Under the Turkish law, Nikolayeva cannot be switched off artificial lungs until her heart stops beating, an official with the Russian consulate general in Antalya, Vladimir Biryukov, told Itar-Tass. Moreover, such a decision rests with the closest relatives.

As many as 21 Russians sought medical help when they felt sick after a yachting trip near the resort town of Bodrum in May 27 organized for Russian guides. The probe has resulted in the discovery of high doses of methanol, commonly used to mix bootleg alcohol, in blood samples from the victims and the seizure of some 200 bottles of counterfeit drinks on vessels operated by the same yachting company, according to media reports.

Russian Press at a Glance, Wednesday, June 22, 2011http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110622/164758885.html

09:03 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

POLITICS

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dismissed speculation of a rift with President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday, saying he and Medvedev share a "joint program" for Russia's development.

(Moscow Times, Kommersant)

Belarusian authorities threatened the European Union with reciprocal measures after Brussels imposed new sanctions against Minsk. The EU may impose further sanctions against the former Soviet state’s largest exporters unless President Alexander Lukashenko stops persecuting the opposition.(Kommersant)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presided over the signing of several aviation deals in Paris on Tuesday and used a meeting with French investors to apologize to the contractor building the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway through the Khimki Forest.(Moscow Times, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Heads of the biggest international equity funds and foreign companies investing locally greeted the details of President Dmitry Medvedev's new sovereign investment fund with enthusiasm, seeing it as a vehicle to reduce risks and attract investors who do not have a local presence.(Moscow Times)

Egypt, the world's biggest wheat buyer, said it will exclude Russian grain from its tenders for now, a sign that the exporter is failing to win back some customers after imposing a 10-month ban on shipments.(Moscow Times)

SOCIETY

A Moscow court on Tuesday cleared Kommersant reporter Oleg Kashin in a defamation lawsuit, saying his statements were “evaluative.”(Kommersant, Moscow Times)

The pilots of the RusAir Tu-134 jet that crashed in the northwestern Russian republic of Karelia late on Monday took an unjustified risk when deciding to land in questionable weather conditions.(Kommersant)

Moscow City Court judges who considered an appeal from Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev created a precedent: they commented on the Yukos case.(Vedomosti)

President Dmitry Medvedev met with top Interior Ministry officials to discuss police reform.(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Moscow hosted an all-Russian environmental forum dedicated to waste processing and

disposal.(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

In Paris, Putin Says Sorry and Sells 12 SuperJets http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/in-paris-putin-says-sorry-and-sells-12-superjets/439303.html

22 June 2011By Roland Oliphant

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin presided over the signing of several aviation deals in Paris on Tuesday and used a meeting with French investors to apologize to the contractor building the Moscow-St. Petersburg highway through the Khimki forest.

Putin went out of his way to demonstrate the government’s goodwill toward investors, apologizing to road builder Vinci over the delay in construction of the highway and promising not to walk away from prior commitments even if they appeared to hurt Russian business interests.

“These delays were caused by the need for a more thorough environmental impact analysis. … I thank you for understanding this situation, but the issue is now resolved,” Putin said. 

Work on the $8 billion highway was suspended last summer after environmental activists protested the construction through the centuries-old Khimki forest. The government gave the green-light for work to resume in December.

Vinci vice president Yves-Thibault de Silguy told Putin that his company was determined to continue investing in the development of Russian infrastructure, adding that quite significant money has already been invested in the construction of the highway, Interfax reported.

Later at the Paris Air Show, Putin attended the signing of several deals involving Russian aviation firms, with the Sukhoi SuperJet gaining 12 more orders by the end of the day.

Other deals included an agreement for a joint venture between Russian Helicopters and British-Italian firm AgustaWestland to produce helicopters in the Moscow region, and a memorandum of intent for a joint venture between space corporation Energia and Astrium, a subsidiary of European aviation and space conglomerate EADS, to develop communication and Earth-monitoring systems. 

Putin began Tuesday by unveiling a monument to Russian troops who fought in France during World War I.

He said the statue was an image of the “mutual attraction” and “unbreakable bond” between the two countries.

But now the relationship is commercial, not military, and Putin used the rest of his trip to promote Russia’s aviation and space industries, push for nuclear cooperation and persuade French companies that it still makes sense to invest in Russia’s infrastructure projects.

He told members of the business association Russian-French Dialogue that trade with France “has not only reached pre-crisis levels but last year even exceeded it.”

In reference to a plan for Russian-made rockets to launch French satellites — possibly for Europe’s Galileo navigation system, a rival to Russia’s Glonass — the prime minister said: “Agreement is dearer than money. What has been agreed will be done.” The rockets are to take off from the European Space Agency’s new space center in French Guiana by fall.

The one theme Putin returned to repeatedly was aviation. He was also in town to boost orders for domestic firms at the Paris Air Show, where 59 Russian companies are participating — one of the largest delegations. The firms occupy 1,700 meters of exhibition space and include 10 companies belonging to the Federal Space Agency and dozens of firms showing off military hardware.

Clearly the biggest push is for sales of the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, the division of the United Aircraft Company, or UAC, that makes the SuperJet 100. The new regional jet performed for an audience including Putin in the afternoon.

The SuperJet has French content — the engines were developed by PowerJet, a joint venture of France’s Snecma and Russia’s NPO Saturn.

The jet is a regional airliner designed to address booming demand in that segment. It is the first modern commercial airliner Russia has produced and is meant to jump-start the civilian aviation sector. 

Despite heavy backing from the government, it has been a rocky ride marred by constant delays. In December 2010, Alitalia canceled an order and switched to Brazil’s Embraer because of broken delivery promises from Sukhoi.

In April, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin said Aeroflot, which expected the first SuperJets deliveries in 2008, would ask the government to fine Sukhoi for the delays.

Aeroflot finally took delivery of its first SuperJet earlier this month, and the craft made its maiden flight with the state carrier on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route for last week’s economic forum. 

There were 170 SuperJets ordered prior to the start of the Paris show, and Tuesday’s order by Indonesian carrier SkyAviation adds 12 more so far.

Nonetheless, UAC is determined to be the third market player behind Boeing and Airbus by 2025.

“We are here to convince our customers, our potential customers, that we are capable of all these targets that we put in front of us,” chairman Mikhail Pogosyan told Reuters in Paris.

While the SuperJet is targeted at a market dominated by Canada’s Bombardier and Brazil’s Embraer, UAC is also readying an airliner to challenge the giants of the aviation industry — Boeing and Airbus.

The MC-21, a medium-range liner by Irkut and the Yakovlev Design Bureau, is envisioned as a replacement for the aging Tu-154 and Tu 204/214 models and a competitor to Airbus and Boeing’s next generation of aircraft. 

The designers, who promise it will save 15 percent on operating costs compared with currently flying equivalents, hope to win certification by 2016. 

Russia also has high hopes for the Beriev Be-200, an amphibious plane used for fighting wild fires, which dumped a load of water on the landing strip for the benefit of the audience Tuesday afternoon. France may be interested in buying Be-200s to replace its aging fire-fighting fleet, which is due to retire in 2015-17, press materials prepared ahead of Putin’s visit said, Interfax reported.

Meanwhile, Aeroflot ordered eight Boeing 777 long-range jets worth $2.3 billion, Boeing and Aeroflot announced Tuesday. Boeing said it expects to deliver the planes between 2013 and 2018.

Shale Gas and the Putin Puzzle http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303936704576399683231212382.html

Everyone complains about Russia. Here's a chance to do something about it.

Stalin died in bed at age 73 of a stroke, virtually untreated, as his aides stood around and debated the propriety of calling in a doctor without an instruction from their master. Given Vladimir Putin's age (58) and modern life expectancies, it could be decades before his henchmen might have a similar opportunity for inaction.

A moment of suspense came in 2008 when then-President Putin faced a constitutional prohibition on a third consecutive term. He solved his dilemma by turning himself into prime minister, arranging for one of his factotums to be elected as president, and carrying on as before. Now he can stay prime minister indefinitely, or can run in next year's presidential race.

Bottom line: The world, and Russia, may be living with Mr. Putin for a long time.

He rose by pushing an older mentor into invisible retirement; so did Saddam Hussein. Mr. Putin started a war in Chechnya. Saddam started a war with Iran. Each regime became known for the violence that befell critics and other inconvenient persons. Saddam had his way for so long, and was so surrounded by yes men, that his final miscalculation was almost inevitable. The precedent is not an entirely happy one. Saddam's downfall came at considerable cost.

Mr. Putin would have every excuse for one day committing a similar miscalculation. His seizure of Yukos and imprisonment of its boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which incidentally wiped out Yukos's Western minority shareholders, went mostly unrebuked. His country's nearly unbroken record of double-crossing Western oil companies has gone pretty much unrebuked. The death of investigative journalists, the killings of nosy legislators, the polonium murder, on British soil, of critic Alexander Litvinenko, in an act of nuclear terrorism, have all gone pretty much unrebuked.

Western governments have not cut profiles of exceptional courage in dealing with Putin's Russia. Yet, beyond our merits, the Lord has recently smiled on us in the form of shale gas.

First, thanks to the unexpected shale gas boom in the U.S., liquefied natural gas cargoes once planned for the U.S. have gone looking for new buyers. Result: European customers have been able to shake off Russian long-term contracts linked to the price of oil.

Russia insists the gas glut is temporary. It has tried to fight back by pushing gas sales to China. But now those talks are stalled over price thanks to Beijing's discovery that—guess what?—China back home may have the biggest shale potential of all.

And the hits will keep on coming, upending a high-price dynamic and European dependency that have suited Russia very well (and, admittedly, also suited some of its customers, especially German utilities).

A "land grab" is under way in Europe, says a new study by the European Center for Energy and Resource Security. Having missed the shale boom in the U.S., ExxonMobil has been drilling in Germany since 2008. In France, Toreador Resources and its partner Hess Corp. are prepared to seek oil and gas under the Eiffel Tower. Poland—a country whose energy captivity to Russia is especially irksome—may be sitting on 300 years worth of shale energy. Chevron and ConocoPhillips are among the companies already drilling there.

Though none of this gas, produced by a method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will likely find its way to market before 2025, shale is already reshaping global energy politics.

But what the Lord giveth, European politics may fritter away. French campaigner Jose Bove, having failed to kick McDonald's out of Paris, is now jawboning Poland against developing its reserves, handing a Polish-subtitled copy of "Gasland," the U.S.-made antifracking documentary, recently to Poland's president.

France in May passed a ban on fracking. Poland is the anti-France, set to take the European Union's rotating presidency next month and determined to move ahead on fracking. A mystery wrapped in an enigma is Germany, with its precipitous decision to retire its nuclear plants, and its big, Russia-friendly investment in Nord Stream, a gas pipeline whose board is headed by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The obstacles, environmental and political, are perhaps overplayed, given the eye-popping wealth on offer. Polls show a solid majority of French voters in favor of development that will lower energy prices. In a Bloomberg interview, French legislator Isabelle Vasseur, who ardently backed the moratorium, was quick to add: "France could have phenomenal energy reserves so we must not close the door forever."

Back in Russia, meanwhile, a presidential race is supposedly shaping up between Mr. Putin and his iPad-toting protégé, President Dmitry Medvedev. Whereas Mr. Putin last week pooh-poohed what he called liberal experiments, Mr. Medvedev says Russia must not be so dependent on oil and gas exports. He says the country should modernize, liberalize—it should become more welcoming to foreign investment, establishing a rule of law, ending cronyism.

Don't bet on Mr. Medvedev. Bet on the crude logic of Russia's declining energy power, which Western policy should do everything possible to exploit, to deliver better behavior in Moscow.

COMMENT: Is Khodorkovsky Russia's Al Capone? http://www.bne.eu/storyf2747/COMMENT_Is_Khodorkovsky_Russias_Al_Capone

Steve Allen in Moscow June 22, 2011

This is a copy of a letter sent to the Wall Street Journal on June 15 from Steve Allen, an oil analyst of some two decades in Moscow and current co-head of investor relations at Lukoil. He discusses another purported letter from the mayor of Nefteyugansk to the late president Boris Yeltsin slamming the oil firm Yukos and its now jailed founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

****

Regarding the editorial on Russia in today's WSJ by Anne Jolis ("Khodorkovsky heads back to Siberia" June 15th), I could not help but notice the significance of the date. Exactly 13 years ago, on June 15th, 1998, the mayor of the Siberian oil city of Nefteyugansk sent a letter to Boris Yeltsin and nine of the top officials in the Russian government. The mayor, Vladimir Petukhov, used the letter to assail the "murderous policies" carried out by Khodorkovsky's Yukos group in his city, and demanded a tax and criminal investigation into that group and various related (and named) shell companies. In his closing, instead of using the typical "with respect", he uses the less typical phrase "with hope!" Eleven days later, on Khodorkovsky's 35th birthday, Petukhov was shot to death on the street outside his office. Alexei Pichugin, the head of security for Yukos, reporting to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was found guilty in 2007 of organizing the murder.

I thought that since today is June 15th, you might like to see the letter – it is translated into English below. Does the letter constitute legal "evidence" against Khodorkovsky? No. Is it possible that Petukhov had lots of enemies? Yes. Is the letter even real? I cannot be sure; all I can say is that a copy of the "original" in Russian was faxed to me in late June 1998 by… a reporter at the Moscow bureau of the Wall Street Journal. I would be happy to fax it back if you would like to see it. I'm sure that if you asked Petukhov's widow she could confirm or deny its legitimacy. Certainly, no-one at the time considered it to be the sharp end of a conspiracy against Khodorkovsky that would bear fruit seven years later. In general, people took away a different message from the episode.

I mention Al Capone in the subject heading above, because at one point this was an explanation used by the Russian government in reference to the Khodorkovsky case. After howls of derision from the western press, they abandoned this line and adopted the more typical response of Russian bureaucracy: silence. Not great PR, but I think their comparison has some merit. Why did Al Capone spend 10 years on Alcatraz? Because he cheated on his taxes? Did any other tax cheats (who offered to repay their back taxes, as Capone did) receive such a sentence in the 1930's? Al Capone went to jail on tax charges because no-one was willing to testify against him for murder. Any potential witnesses were either dead or afraid, and he was smart enough not to leave enough evidence sitting

around to convict him. The Russian legal system is not perfect, and in many ways is more imperfect than that of the US. However, it seems to me that the approach of the Wall Street Journal (and New York Times) op-ed page has become myopic and hysterical on the topic of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

Best regards, Steven Allen Moscow, Russia

***

To:

President of the Russian Federation (RF), Yeltsin, B.N.

Prime Minister RF, Kiriyenko S.V.

Chairman of Federation Council RF, Stroyev Ye.S.

Chairman of State Duma RF, Selyeznyev G.A.

General Prosecutor RF, Skuratov Yu.I.

Head of the Federal Tax Inspectorate (GNI) RF, Fedorov B.P.

Chariman of the Federal Security Service (FSB) RF, Kovalyev N.

Governor of Tyumen Region, Roketski Yu.Yu.

Governor of Khantii Mansiisk Autonomous Region, Filipenko A.V.

Chairman of Khantii Mansiisk Duma, Sobyanin S.S.

I, the head of the city of Nefteyugansk Petukhov V.A., protest against the cynical actions and murderous policies carried out by the oligarchs from OAO 'RospromYUKOS' and bank 'Menatep' in the Nefteyugansk region.

In protest against the inaction of the government of the RF and the policies of suffocation of opposition to the team of Khodorkovsky M.B., which in my opinion leave no other path, I announce an indefinite hunger strike and make the following demands:

1. To initiate a criminal case based on the fact of large-scale under-payment of taxes by Rosprom-YUKOS in the years 1996 - 1998;

2. To remove from his post the head of the GNI [State Tax Inspectorate] in the city of

Nefteyugansk Naumov L.E., and the head of the GNI of the Khantii-Mansiisk Autonomous Region Efimov A.V., and to unite the tax organs of the city of Nefteyugansk and the Nefteyugansk region;

3. To activate an investigation of criminal activity surrounding the fact of the swindling of the sum of 450 billion roubles in old prices by the firms 'Rondo-S' and ANK 'YUKOS', and also the swindling by use of false promissory notes of the firm 'Eltem' in the sum of 100 billion roubles which were issued by Rosprom-YUKOS;

4. To pay off the accumulated tax arrears, interest, and penalties of Rosprom-YUKOS in the amount of 1.2 trillion un-denominated roubles to the city of Nefteyugansk, using financial resources, crude oil, and oil products;

5. To put an end to the interference by the oligarchs from Rosprom YUKOS Menatep in the activities of the organs of local self-governance;

6. To conduct the process by which will be annulled the unlawful auction in the purchase of ANK 'YUKOS' by Rosprom-YUKOS, and the transfer of the government's share holding in OAO 'Yuganskneftegaz' in exchange for debts to the city of Nefteyugansk, the city of Pyt'-Ykhu, the Nefteyugasnk region, and the Khantii-Mansiisk Autonomous Region;

7. To restore the economic independence of OAO - production association 'Yuganskneftegaz'.

With hope!

Head of the city of Nefteyugansk, Kandidat Texnicheskii Nauk [PhD] V.A. Petukhov 15.06.98

National Economic Trends

Russia RTS Futures Advance as Oil Gains, Unemployment Fallshttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-22/russia-rts-futures-advance-as-oil-gains-unemployment-falls.html

June 22, 2011, 1:02 AM EDT

By Halia Pavliva

June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s RTS index futures rose, signaling shares may advance for a second day in Moscow, as oil gained and reports showed unemployment fell more than forecast while fixed-capital investment surged in May.

Futures on the dollar-denominated index expiring in September rose 0.3 percent yesterday. The Market Vectors Russia ETF, a U.S.-traded fund that holds Russian shares, rose 1.4 percent. Lukoil’s American depositary receipts gained 0.8 percent. Gazprom’s ADRs rose 1.6 percent.

“Russia stands to benefit from almost any kind of chaos on the international markets, as people want to invest in real things, such as oil,” Elena Matrosova, a Moscow-based economist at BDO International, a financial adviser that lists the central bank among its clients, said in a telephone interview. “Any oil price volatility has an immediate impact on Russian equities prices.”

Oil, Russia’s top export, climbed in advance of an Energy Department report on U.S. supplies today that is expected show inventories fell for a third week.

Inventories dropped 1.83 million barrels, or 0.5 percent, to 363.7 million in the seven days ended June 17, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates before today’s Energy Department report. Thirteen of the respondents forecast a decline, two projected a gain and one said there would be no change.

Oil for July delivery expired at $93.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have advanced 20 percent in the past year. The more actively traded August contract gained 54 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at $94.17 a barrel.

Russian Economy

Russia’s jobless rate dropped to 6.4 percent in May, the lowest since September 2008, from 7.2 percent in April, the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow said in an e-mailed report yesterday. The median estimate of 12 economists in a Bloomberg survey was 7 percent. Fixed-capital investment surged 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the most in 2011, beating the 4 percent forecast. Retail sales rose 5.5 percent from a year earlier last month, exceeding economists’ estimate of 5.4 percent.

“Rosstat has released economic data for May that reveal an unexpected surge in investment, robust growth in consumption accompanied by a declining savings rate and labor market tightening,” Aleksandra Evtifyeva, a Moscow-based analyst at VTB Capital, said in an e-mailed report. “It remains to be seen how sustainable the recent surge in investment is.”

Russia’s Micex Index rose for the first day in seven yesterday, snapping the longest losing streak since October 2008. The 30-stock gauge advanced 0.6 percent to 1,635.38 at the 6:45 p.m. close in Moscow, its first increase since June 9. The dollar-denominated RTS Index increased 0.8 percent to 1,872.45.

Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter, also produces metals including steel, copper, nickel, palladium and aluminum. Oil and natural gas make up a quarter of its economic output.

The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rose 0.6 percent yesterday.

--With assistance from Jason Corcoran in Moscow. Editors: Marie- France Han, Richard Richtmyer

To contact the reporter on this story: Halia Pavliva in New York at hpavliva@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net; David Papadopoulos at papadopoulos@bloomberg.net

10 steps to improve the investment climate: What has been done? http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

Renaissance CapitalJune 21, 2011

At the end of March, President Dmitry Medvedev, while chairing a commission on the modernisation of Russia, in Magnitogorsk, presented 10 steps to improve Russia's investment climate, which he thinks is the main reason for the ongoing capital flight. He also gave concrete deadlines for some of the points. Here, we reflect on what has been done so far, in light of additional information from the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

1) A plan to reduce the social tax by 1 June, based on a plan introduced on 1 January 2011. A final plan had not been submitted to the president by 1 June and discussions were ongoing; there have been numerous comments from the government supporting the tax reduction. On 8 June, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said that the president is looking at a couple of proposals to reduce the tax. The president, while speaking at the SPIEF, confirmed it would be cut to 30% from 34%, with a more substantial cut to 20% proposed for SMEs.

2) The prosecutor general should introduce special procedures to respond to corruption allegations made against bureaucrats, starting from May. On 1 June, the law introduced by the presidential administration to the Duma was adopted on its first reading. Bureaucrats will be fined if they do not respond to a citizen's queries, according to the new decree, with the process overseen by the prosecutor's office. However, the law

prepared does not include the president's exact wording concerning corruption allegations and prosecutor general involvement.

3) The Ministry of Economic Development is to be allowed to apply to the Ministry of Justice to revoke laws that burden business development. As this will be part of a law put before the Duma in 2H11, there has been little discussion about this step.

4) From May 2011, each federal region should have hired a special investment ombudsman to help investors negotiate the bureaucracy associated with investing. The process has started, albeit very slowly, with some ombudsmen already appointed, e.g. Alexey Kubrin, who, according to Rossiskaia Gazeta, was announced as ombudsman of the Volga Region.

5) The preparation of a final list of companies to privatise over the next three years. Bureaucrats on the boards of directors of state-run enterprises are to be replaced by independent directors (with a deadline of mid-2011); greater transparency is required in the purchasing practices of state companies; and unit costs should be reduced by at least 10% over the next three years. A final list of companies to be privatised has not yet been announced, but we get the impression Russia is no longer attempting to build a system of state capitalism (which, in essence, is no different to state socialism). The government has stated its intention to cede control of VTB and even Sberbank, as well as control of electricity grids and hydropower companies (something Medvedev reiterated when speaking at SPIEF. He also said that the final privatisation list will be created by 1 August 2011). Most of the bureaucrats on the boards of state-owned companies have been replaced: Igor Sechin has left Rosneft's board and will leave Interao's, and Rosnano's Sergei Dubinin has replaced Alexei Kudrin on VTB's board. As yet, there have been no significant developments to reform purchasing in order to cut costs.

6) Minorities to be allowed to access information in accordance with the law. In our view, minority shareholders received some support from the Ministry of Economic Development when it introduced a law that would establish a list of documents that minority shareholders have the right to view.

7) The creation of a private equity fund, by mid-summer 2011. This fund has been created and Kirill Dmitriev, the former head of the pioneering Russian investment business, Delta Private Equity, has been appointed as CEO. It was seeded with $2bn of initial money, with capital set to rise to $10bn. The fund and private investors will co-invest in various projects, including PPP projects.

8) The introduction of a law by 15 May to limit the involvement of government commissions in the approval of deals in strategic sectors, especially deals where a foreign party is controlled by Russian investors. This law has yet to be implemented. According to comments by the Duma speaker, Boris Gryzlov, the Duma will pass this law quickly, but no law has yet been introduced.

9) To improve customs, airports and postal services to better serve businesses. No big

changes have been made here, either.

10) From May, special mobile presidential offices were to be set up by the presidential administration and sent out to all the regions, to collect complaints. Nothing has been done regarding this.

Overall, we note that some progress has been made but much has yet to be done, in our view. It looks like there has been a positive reaction from the government and the Duma to the presidential move to improve the investment climate, despite some observers noting the potential for friction between the presidential administration and the government in this regard.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Minister of Energy Shmatko comments on new risk of system power being more expensive than the cost of constructing own capacity http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

VTB CapitalJune 22, 2011

News: Minister of Energy Sergey Shmatko has made a number of comments about the power markets. In particular, he said that the Ministry intended to create the economic stimulus to prevent oil and gas companies switching from the united energy system to producing their own power.

On a separate note, Shmatko said that the Ministry planned to intensify the decommissioning of old capacities, but admitted that new capacities were expensive and added that there were no alternatives.

Our View: The emerging problem of system power being more expensive than the cost of constructing own power facilities is gaining traction. We believe this could be a new challenge for the sector and, at the same time, a major trigger for the power market's further development. Indeed, this problem could be compared with the 'Chubais cross' that appeared some five years ago and resulted in massive sector transformations.

We see two ways to resolve this issue. First, fine tune the regulatory framework to eliminate imbalances (power price translation to end customers, excessive tariffs for TSO, payments for nominal megawatts, overestimated power losses, balanced capex, etc.). Second, acceptance at the political level of the higher real worth of power. The latter would be the main economic stimulus for power providers to invest in renovating assets and for power consumers to become more efficient.

The scale of the potential changes can be compared with the magnitude of the recent power reforms. In our view, facing the emerging risk and making the potential changes is not just a sector, but also a political, issue.

Mikhail Rasstrigin

Kamaz-Maz merger talks stallhttp://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

bneJune 22, 2011

Negotiations over a proposed merger between Russian truck producer Kamaz and Belarusian truck maker MAZ have stalled due to political reasons, Rostekhnologii CEO Sergei Chemezov said on Tuesday, reports Prime. ."We were holding negotiations with Minsk, but they have been halted. The political situation is apparently having its impact here," Chemezov said. Chemezov said Rostekhnologii is ready to continue negotiations, if the Belarusian party is interested.

A merger between the two companies has been mooted for some time, and appeared to be moving forward quickly in the first half of the year, with Minsk seeking a bail out for its cash-strapped economy. However, since that rescue was finally agreed earlier this month, Belarus seems far less keen to do deals with Russia.

President Alexander Lukashenko denied reports last week that the country has agreed to sell potash company Belaruskali to Russian concerns, whilst Minsk also appears to be attempting to now link a previously-announced deal to sell the remaining 50% in pipeline operator Beltrasgaz to Gazprom to a renegotiation of gas prices.

At present, Rostekhnologii owns 49.9% in Kamaz, investment company Troika Dialog owns 27.0%, German automaker Daimler holds 11.0%, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has 4.0%. MAZ, or the Minsk Automobile Plant, is 100%-owned by the Belarusian government.

In May, Kamaz CEO Sergei Kogogin said a decision on the merger with MAZ was expected to be made by the end of 2011.

Alstom signs series of agreements in the Russian energy sectorhttp://www.pennenergy.com/index/power/display/1876561195/articles/electric-light-power/renewable-energy/hydro/2011/06/Alstom_signs_series_of_agreements_in_the_Russian_energy_sector.html

Paris, June 21, 2011 — In the context of the visit in France of Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Alstom signed a series of agreements in the Russian power generation sector.

The first agreement, signed with RusHydro, Russia's largest hydropower generation company, is for the creation of a joint hydropower manufacturing facility in Ufa City in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, in which Alstom will hold 50 percent (minus one share). The agreement sets out fundamental principles and mutual obligations for both companies and represents a major step towards the creation of the JV company. ??

The plant will manufacture hydropower equipment for small hydraulic power plants with capacities of up to 25 MW, medium-sized hydro power plants with capacities of up to 100 MW and pumped storage plants with capacities of up to 150 MW, as well as auxiliary equipment.

Notably, the plant will provide equipment for the integrated modernization of the Kubansky Cascade hydropower plant, for which Alstom, the Russian United Energy-Construction Corp. and RusHydro signed an agreement in May 2011.

Alstom will carry out the rehabilitation of equipment and install a new instrumentation and control system. Its partner OEK will be responsible for all civil works. ??The protocol for the establishment of the facility was signed in February 2011 in Ufa, in the presence of the president of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.

Although hydropower currently makes up only 20 percent of the country's total electricity supply, Russia has more than one hundred hydro power plants with the total installed capacity of 45 GW, the fifth largest in the world.

??Alstom also signed a framework agreement with the Renova Group, a Russian private business corporation. This agreement aims to create and localize power generation equipment for applications in thermal power plants.

Alstom and Renova will assess available capabilities and technologies of both companies and set up broad areas of cooperation. In addition, Alstom signed three agreements with TGKs, operated by IES Holding (the power generation arm of the Renova Group) to deliver, between 2012 and 2013, five GT13 gas turbines to the three power stations Akademicheskaya (1 engine), Nizhneturinskaya (2 engines) and Novogorkovskaya (2 engines).

Russian Helicopters, AugustaWestland sign 20 mln euro JV dealhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110622/164758980.html

10:19 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

Rotorcraft makers Russian Helicopters and AugustaWestland have signed a 20 million euro joint venture deal at the Le Bourget air show in France for assembly of AW139 helicopters in Russia, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

"Russian Helicopters, part of United Industrial Corporation Oboronprom, and AgustaWestland, part of Finmeccanica Group, have announced signing final agreements on establishing HeliVert joint venture on an equal footing," the statement said.

HeliVert will build and operate a plant for assembly of AW139 medium twin engine civil helicopters in Russia, the companies said in a joint statement. When production starts in the fourth quarter of 2011, it will be the first time a western helicopter has been made under license in Russia.

The 40,000 square meter plant will be located in the Tomilino industrial zone outside Moscow.

"The plant's planned annual output amounts to 15 AW139 helicopters. The plant will employ more than 100 people when the it reaches its maximum output," the companies said.

The AW139 is a 15-seat medium twin-engine helicopter with 6,400 kilogram takeoff weight. The AW139 is used for corporate and VIP conveyance, offshore conveyance, search and rescue and for fire-fighting.

Alrosa posts 42 pct Q1 net profit growthhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110622/164760135.html

11:04 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti) -

Russia's diamond monopoly Alrosa posted a 42 percent increase year on year in its first quarter IFRS net profit to 12.040 billion rubles ($431.54 million), the company said on Wednesday.

Alrosa's revenues in the first three months of 2011 fell 5 percent to 29.6 billion rubles from 31.082 billion rubles the previous year, the company said in a statement.

The company's adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter jumped 78 percent to 14,072 billion rubles, while operating profit grew 25 percent to 12.732 billion rubles.

The average price of rough diamonds sold by the company hit $102 per carat, 34 percent higher than the $76 per carat in the same period last year.

Alrosa's net debt fell 13 percent to 86.892 billion rubles, while short-term debt dropped 86 percent to 12.266 billion rubles.

The company's diamond output in January-March 2011 rose 16 percent to 10 million carats, while sales fell 28 percent to 9.1 million carats.

"In the first quarter of 2010 Alrosa's sales in terms of volume were higher year-on-year due to the sale of inventories accrued in 2009," the company said.

UPDATE 1-Highland Gold upbeat on Khabarovsk projectshttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/22/highland-exploration-idUSLDE75L08G20110622

2:42am EDT

* Results positive from Blagodatnoye, Belaya Gora Flanks

* Intersected 9 metres of gold mineralisation

* Grade of 6.29 grammes/tonne (Adds details)

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Highland Gold Mining (HGM.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said initial results were positive from its Blagodatnoye and Belaya Gora Flanks properties in Russia's Khabarovsk region.

Data from Blagodatnoye indicated a gold-mineralised zone of about 500 metres by 400 metres at a depth of 200 metres, while a drill hole from Belaya Gora Flanks intersected 9 metres of gold mineralisation at a grade of 6.29 grammes a tonne.

Highland, which produced just over 200,000 ounces of gold in 2010, told Reuters in February that it was looking at making acquisitions in Russia and Central Asia. [ID:nLDE71E24X]

(Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Matt Scuffham)

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Blow for Rusal in Norilsk board elections

By Courtney Weaver in Moscow

Published: June 21 2011 23:20 | Last updated: June 21 2011 23:20

Norilsk Nickel directors have elected Andrey Bugrov, an Interros executive and Vladimir Potanin ally, as head of the mining group’s board, deepening fissures between Interros and its rival shareholder, Oleg Deripaska’s Rusal.

The vote is another blow for Rusal, which had hoped former Kremlin chief-of-staff Alexander Voloshin – seen as a neutral player in the shareholder dispute – would be re-elected for a second term. The group vowed to dispute it.

“We will take steps for there to be a re-election of the board’s chairman,” Maxim Sokov, a Rusal spokesman, told journalists, adding that Rusal would first have to consult with the other Norilsk shareholders. “What concerns the election of Mr Bugrov is that in the situation of the shareholders’ conflict the chairman should be a Russian, independent director.”

Alan Mills, a former president of BHP Billiton and independent board representative at Norilsk, had also been a candidate for chairman, but stepped aside in favour of Mr Bugrov, a move Mr Sokov of Rusal also condemned. “An independent director should not take any side in the shareholder conflict,” he said.

Mr Bugrov, the former chairman of Interros’ Profmedia, told journalists that he respected Mr Voloshin and the work he had done as chairman, but added that it was “good corporate practice, that in the case of independence directors, the chairman of the board should be the representative of the biggest shareholder”.

In an emergency meeting in March, Interros and its allies won seven of the board’s 13 seats, cementing the company’s edge over Rusal, which has had fewer representatives for a year and had hoped to regain parity.

On Tuesday, the board re-elected 12 of the 13 members and added a third independent director in place of the group’s president.

Interros and Rusal have spent three years battling for control of the company, with Rusal holding a stake of about 25 per cent, and Interros a stake of about 30 per cent.

While Rusal last week was reported to have dropped one of its suit to reverse a $3.3bn Norilsk share buyback, the two sides continue to fight on issues such as Norilsk's dividend payments and expansion programme, while Rusal has rejected numerous buyout offers of its stake.

Mr Bugrov said he planned to restart peace talks with Rusal. “I have not had conversations with Rusal yet but they will happen. I want to bring the discussions back to the board of directors – such an opportunity exists,” he said.

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June 22, 2011, 2:05 a.m. EDT

Korea's Posco, Russia's Mechel ink resource dealhttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/koreas-posco-russias-mechel-ink-resource-deal-2011-06-22

By Kyong-Ae Choi

SEOUL -(MarketWatch)- South Korean steelmaker Posco said Wednesday that it has signed an initial agreement with Russia's Mechel OAO MTL +2.90% to develop energy resources in Russia and other countries.

The two companies have also signed a memorandum of agreement to cooperate in the stainless steel business, Posco said. Under the preliminary deal, Posco may build stainless steel processing facilities for Mechel in Russia, it said.

Posco, which has received an order to build a housing complex for employees working in Mechel's Elga coal mine by June 2013, expects the initial pact will help it participate in the coal mine development in the future, it said.

O1 Properties realty firm plans 2012 IPO for 45 pct of stockhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20110622/164760771.html

11:32 22/06/2011

MOSCOW, June 22 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's O1 Properties investment and development company plans to sell 40-45 percent of its stock in an initial public offering (IPO) in the fall of 2012, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday, quoting the company's owner Boris Mints.

"By the the IPO, we'll close all the deals and try to finish most of our construction projects," Mints told the paper, adding that the company intended to use the IPO proceeds to develop its business and buy new projects.

Mints did not say where the IPO would be held.

O1 Properties was established in 2010 and is wholly owned by Mints, who is also a co-owner of Otkritie Financial Corporation. The company has a project portfolio of 420,000 sq m, including six business centers and is worth about $1.35 billion.

"By the fall of 2012, this portfolio may be worth at least $3 billion because the construction projects purchased will be finished," S.A. Ricci partner Vladimir Avdeyev told the paper.

O1 Properties capitalization may equal the value of its current development portfolio during the IPO, Tatiana Bobrovskaya, a senior analyst at Metropol investment brokerage told the paper.

"Mints may get $1.2-1.35 billion for 40-45 percent of the company’s stock," Bobrovskaya said.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

Ukraine promises to take full contracted volume of Russian gas this year http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

bneJune 22, 2011

Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz plans to buy the full contracted volumes of Russian gas this year, the company's CEO said on Tuesday, reports Ukrinform. The statement comes amidst warnings from Kiev - led by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov - that the country may look to unilaterally cancel the current gas contract between the pair, as well as suggestions that Ukraine would look to reduce the volume of gas it buys in the second half of the year.

Naftogaz CEO Yevhen Bakulin said that Ukraine will import 9 bcm of gas in the second quarter of 2011, adding to the 18 bcm it purchased in the first three months of the year. "In the first half of the year, we will import about 27 bcm of gas. The remaining amount will be imported in the third and fourth quarters. We will import the 40 bcm envisaged by the contract with Gazprom," Bakulin said.

Naftogaz transferred about $948m to Gazprom for natural gas supplied in May 2011. In June 2011, the company is planning to buy three billion cubic meters of Russian gas.

After failing to get Gazprom to agree to renegotiate its gas contract, Azarov has suggested that Ukraine will look for a way to cancel it, saying that it is "inevitable" that the current deal will be scrapped.

Under the contract, the price Ukraine pays is linked to oil prices. However, with a time lag applied, Gazprom has said that it expects gas prices to rise as high as $500 per 1,000 cubic metres by the end of the year. Ukraine has said that it has upped purchased volumes in the first half of the year to out into storage in a bid to circumvent some of that price rise.

LUKOIL to quit project in Columbia - Russian upstream is a more lucrative story http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

VTB CapitalJune 22, 2011

News: According to Vedomosti, LUKOIL is going to quit the Condor project in Columbia. The company has worked at this project for ten years, with total costs of USD 200mn. The first well drilled at Condor was low-production, while the second was dry. RBC-Daily reports that LUKOIL might also quit its Venezuelan project, Hunin-3, and transfer it to the National Oil Consortium.

Our View: Given the notable drilling expenses in the region and the unimpressive results, we welcome the company's decision. In our view, it is better for LUKOIL to take a closer look at upstream opportunities in Russia, rather than abroad. Recently, the company signed cooperation agreements with Bashneft (to develop the Trebs and Titov fields) and Rosneft (to develop fields in Timano-Pechora). We look forward to hearing more details about these agreements before the end of the year.

Dmitry Loukashov

22.06.2011

Russia's Zarubezhneft Seeks to Develop Fedinsky Highhttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11727

The Russian oil company Zarubezhneft is ready to develop the Fedinsky High, one of the most perspective structures in the recently delineated Barents Sea.

Speaking at the Sankt Petersburg Economic Forum this week, company Director Nikolai Brunich confirmed that a license application has been submitted to the Russian Federal Agency on Underground Resources (Rosnedra). The company wants to team up with Statoil and Total, and talks have already been initiated, Brunich says, RBC Daily reports.

Fedinsky High is believed to be one of the biggest oil and gas fields in the Barents Sea. Mapping of the area conducted by Soviet experts in the 1980 showed that the structure could be a socalled “elephant”, a hydrocarbon deposit of giant proportions. In Norway, the structure is known as the "Hjalmar Johansen Ridge".

It is the delimitation agreement between Norway and Russia which now opens up for new activities in the formerly closed area. The moratorium on oil and gas mapping in the 175,000 square km area expireres on 7 July, exactly one month after the exchange of ratification documents in Oslo. As BarentsObserver has reported, Norway is ready to start seismic studies in the Norwegian part of the area already from day one, and the seismic vessel R.V. Harrier is reportedly soon on its way to the site.

The Fedinsky High is located on the Russian side of the delimiated waters, while other promising structures like the Oktyabrskoye is located on the Norwegian side. However, several of the fields in the area are believed to cross the new state border, and will consequently require development by both countries.

According to Nikolai Brunich, both Total and Statoil are highly interested in projects in the region. -The negotiation process will decided whether both companies or only one of them will join, he says.

The state-owned Zarubezhneft company is today primarily operating in foreign projects, several of them in Vietnam, Algeria and India. The company has however also stakes in Russian projects, among them in the Timan Pechora province. In 2009, the company acquired a 10 percent stake in the Kharyaga project, one of Russia’s three projects operated on a production sharing agreement. Project operator in Kharyaga is Total, with Statoil as main partner.

The Kharyaga constellation is of key value, Zarubezhneft argues. –We are today working with Total and Statoil [in the Kharyaga project], and we are comfortable with them, Brunich says. –They have experiences from shelf operations in various regions and we therefore plan to include them in our work, he adds.

Currently, Russian legislation allows only companies with more than five years years of offshore experiences to operate shelf projects. That has given Gazprom and Rosneft something close to a monopoly on the Russian shelf. However, also Zarubezhneft will soon get the needed shelf access experience. The company recently bought the company

Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, a Murmansk-based enterprise with long experiences in Arctic offshore activities. The formal inclusion of Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka in Zarubezhneft is currently in the final stage.

Copyright 2011, Barents Observer. All rights reserved.

TNK-BP approves two energy efficiency contracts with DNV in Moscowhttp://www.istockanalyst.com/business/news/5246350/tnk-bp-approves-two-energy-efficiency-contracts-with-dnv-in-moscow

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:47 AM(Source: Datamonitor)TNK-BP, which is engaged in the exploration and production of crude oil , as well as distribution and marketing of oil and petroleum products, has approved two energy efficiency contracts with DNV's climate change and environmental services unit in Moscow.

The contracts not only constitute an achievement for the parties involved, they could also represent a landmark advancement in the development of DNV's energy efficiency capacity-a field set to expand rapidly in the coming years in this part of the world, the company said.

The contracts will see DNV providing services for two of TNK-BP's oil production subsidiaries, OJSC Yugraneft Corporation and OJSC TNK-Nizhnevartovsk. The work, which has already commenced, includes provision of advisory services for the development and implementation of an Energy Management System under the ISO 50001 standard.

DNV's climate change services regional manager for Europe, Luc Larmuseau, explained that increasing government attention on energy efficiency in recent years, coupled with a fast development of legislation, is contributing to the rapid expansion of the market for energy efficiency services. Russian markets are of particular importance, the company added.

"Improving energy efficiency is a pressing task, not only for Russian oil and gas companies, but for the Russian economy as a whole, as has been acknowledged by Mr. Medvedev, president of Russia," said Larmuseau.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Petroneft lowers short-term targetshttp://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0622/petroneft-business.html

Updated: 07:44, Wednesday, 22 June 2011Dublin-listed exploration company Petroneft has reduced its forecasts for oil production this year.

Dublin-listed exploration company Petroneft has reduced its forecasts for oil production this year as it will have fewer wells available.

In a trading update to coincide with its AGM today, it said production was currently averaging around 2,500 barrels per days (bpd), mainly from seven wells.

Petroneft said it now expected production from its licence 61 in Russia to be 4,000-5,000 bpd in the first quarter of next year, rising to 7,000-9,000 bpd in Q1 of 2013.

The company said it was planning to increase the number of wells drilled in the Pad 2 area of the oil field, but reduce the number drilled from Pad 3. But it said the overall impact on reserves at the field was minimal.

'While the results of Pad 2 drilling are encouraging, the Pad 3 drilling results will limit near-term production growth,' said CEO Dennis Francis.

'We are currently producing from less than 10% of our current discovered reserves and this year's exploration programme has the potential to double these reserves and hence our long-term production capability,' he added.

Petroneft reduces production target again

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

Renaissance CapitalJune 22, 2011

Event: Petroneft published an operating update today (22 June) ahead of its AGM, which is also taking place today. The key news was a reduced production target, from 7-8kbpd by the end of 1Q12 to 4-5kbpd (the second production target reduction this year). The production target for 1Q13 has also been revised down, from 12kbpd to 7-9kbpd. The reason for lower production expectations is a thinner-than- expected pay zone at the western part of the Lineynoye field (Pad 3), which will lead to fewer wells drilled. The company also used more conservative assumptions regarding initial production rates at the Arbuzovskoye field. According to Petroneft, the total impact on reserves will be minimal, but in the short term a reduction in reserves is likely to be compensated by higher reserves at Pad 2 (which has a thicker-than-expected pay zone) in the longer term. Production remains at 2.5kbpd: unchanged from the last update on 7 June. The company has started waterflooding (converting the L6 well into a water injector), which should

help maintain production levels. The company drilled another development well at Pad 3 (seven new wells in total YtD), with net oil pay of just 1.4 metres (although the testing of another potential pay zone of 5.6 metres is planned). The company's exploration programme is broadly unchanged, with the Sibrkaevskaya (targeted reserves of 40mn bbls) and Cheremshanskaya (60mn bbls) structures to be spud in July and August (in line with previous plans).

Action: Negative for Petroneft, in our view; however, after the 48% share price correction, the YtD share price probably already reflects slower-than-expected production growth.

Rationale: We will review our production assumptions for Petroneft shortly to update our model; in the meantime, we will be reviewing the company's rating and TP.

Tatneft estimates losses in Libya at $200m

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110622110629.shtml

      RBC, 22.06.2011, Moscow 11:06:29.Russian oil company Tatneft has estimated its losses from the suspension of operations in Libya at nearly $200m, RBC Daily reported today, citing the company's U.S. GAAP report for the first quarter of 2011.

      Tatneft invested $260m during six years of its operations in the country. It suspended explorations in March due to military operations.

      Additionally, Russia's Gazprom Neft failed to complete the purchase of Italian Eni's stake in Libyan oil project Elephant due to the hostilities. Gazprom Neft's executives said that the company hopes to return to Libya after the war ends. Experts believe that Russian companies can expect loyalty from Libyan authorities if Muammar Gaddafi's regime stays in power.

Petroleum Conference Talks Business, Image http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/petroleum-conference-talks-business-image/439288.html

22 June 2011By Howard Amos

While the ninth Russian Petroleum & Gas Congress opened Tuesday with political representatives from places as far apart as Ghana and the European Union hailing their energy ties with Russia, a panel was grappling with how to improve the country's image as a global exporter of fossil fuels.

"The [energy] sector is decoupling from the general development trends of the state in front of our eyes," said Irina Kibina, vice president of TNK-BP.

Kibina added that those looking at the Russian energy sector tend to focus on the powerful oligarchs and the closed nature of many companies.

"Each company lives by its own laws," she said. "Companies must get together and understand that beyond their fences there is a life for which they must also answer."

The Nord Stream pipeline — currently being constructed under the Baltic Sea and in which Gazprom holds a controlling share — was held up as an example of a project that had been successfully marketed to European consumers and politicians.

Before building work could begin, agreements had to be reached with all the countries through whose maritime territory the pipeline would pass. Irina Vasilyeva, head of public relations for Nord Stream, said this process involved a lot of communications work along with political and business lobbying.

The company's PR strategy was to stress its European links and the large number of Europeans who worked on its staff.

"Above all we tried to distance ourselves from Russia," she said.

Gazprom may start production of liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas in Vladivostok in early 2017, deputy chief executive Alexander Ananenkov said Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

Gazprom is seeking buyers, and the timing will depend on the market, Ananenkov said. A pipeline from the Sakha republic is scheduled to start carrying gas to the eastern port city by early 2017.

Gazprom may seek Western markets for fuel from Kovykta and East Siberian fields after failing to reach a price agreement with China. Gazprom acquired Kovykta, close to the Chinese border, when TNK-BP bankrupted the license holder over debts to develop the field. Gazprom had blocked exports from Kovykta to China.

A renewed eastward push will start next year with the launch of a new field at the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Ananenkov said, Reuters reported. "Who pays the most will get the gas," he said. Ananenkov's remarks sounded like a warning to China, which last week failed to agree upon a final price for Russian pipeline gas deliveries in talks that had been meant to end five years of negotiations.

Gazprom

Gazprom May Lower Gas Price for Naftogaz Merger, Kommersant Sayshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/gazprom-may-lower-gas-price-for-naftogaz-merger-kommersant-says.html

By Kateryna Choursina - Jun 22, 2011 9:34 AM GMT+0200

OAO Gazprom will agree to lower the price Ukraine pays for natural-gas deliveries from Russia if Gazprom and state-controlled NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy merge, Kommersant-Ukraine reported, citing unidentified officials in Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Ministry and Gazprom.

Another possible condition for lowering the price is a joint venture on the basis of Ukraine’s gas pipelines, the newspaper reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@bloomberg.net;

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

Naftogaz Ukrainy to continue talks with Gazprom on optimization of gas pricehttp://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/107224/

Today at 11:01 | Interfax-Ukraine National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy expects to reach a compromise with Russia's OJSC Gazprom in talks on the price of Russian natural gas and guarantees of gas transit through Ukraine, Naftogaz CEO Yevhen Bakulin has said.

The public relations department of Naftogaz Ukrainy reported that he stated this at the ninth Russian Petroleum and Gas Congress held in Moscow on June 21-23, 2011.

Bakulin said that the price of natural gas calculated using a formula stipulated in contracts signed by the previous Ukrainian government is set too high, adding that the optimization of the price formation for imported natural gas is the key task of the state holding.

As reported, the Russian-Ukrainian gas contracts for the period to 2020, signed in January 2009, states that the price of imported Russian gas is calculated according to a formula that takes changing prices for fuel oil and gasoil for the previous nine months into account. A base price of $450 per 1,000 cubic meters was selected, which Ukrainian experts say is way about the price of gas for European consumers, even though Ukraine does not pay a transit fee.

Ukraine proposes to amend the contract in part of changes in the basic price of gas, include discounts depending on the volume of purchased gas and seasonal discounts to the contract. In addition, it is proposed to amend the formula for the calculation of the price of gas for Ukraine, which today is pegged to the price of gasoil.

Naftogaz unites the country's largest oil and gas producers. It is Ukraine's gas transit and underground storage monopolist. It also holds a monopoly in oil transportation by pipelines across Ukraine.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/107224/#ixzz1PzVbwIFD

Russia's Gazprom could invest 367 bln roubles in electricityhttp://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE75L0E020110622

Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:03am GMT

MOSCOW, June 22 (Reuters) - Russian energy giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) could invest 367 billion roubles ($13.09 billion) in its domestic electricity assets by 2016, Denis Fedorov, the head of its power operations, told journalists on Wednesday.

The executive said that 182 billion roubles of this amount have already been invested.

"We plan to achieve nine gigawatts of capacity by 2016," he said.

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova, writing by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by Lidia Kelly)

More LNG tankers for Russian Arctichttp://www.barentsobserver.com/more-lng-tankers-for-russian-arctic.4935822-116321.html

2011-06-22

Russia’s biggest shipping company Sovcomflot has signed agreements on the construction and leasing of LNG tankers both for the Yamal Peninsula and the Shtokman project.

During the Sankt Petersburg Economic Forum last week, Sovcomflot signed agreements with both Gazprom and the Vneshekonombank on LNG tankers for the Arctic.

The agreement with Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom Global LNG Limited includes the lease of two top moder vessels type Atlanticmax over a 15 year period. The vessels which have a total capacity of 170,000 cubic meters will serve the Sakhalin-2 project and later the Shtokman project, Gazprom informs in a press release.

The agreement with Vneshekonombank includes cooperation on the construction and subsequent use of both LNG tankers and service ships for the Yamal LNG project, a press release reads.

22.06.2011

Aker Solutions Backs Out Of Shtokman Contracthttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/11726

Aker Solutions withdraws from a consortium that plans to give a tender for the Shotkman project’s floating production unit.

Aker Solutions was part of a consortium with Technip, SBM Offshore and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering that plans to compete for the contract of a floating production unit for the first development phase of the Shtokman gas field.

The contract had a NOK 16 billion (app € 2bn) value.

Aker Solutions’ daughter company Aker Kværner had just completed the initial planning of a new production unit but will not continue the work by delivering a tender for the Shtokman contract, Teknisk Ukeblad writes.

"Before we put in a tender for a project, we always evaluate the commercial promise of the project and consider each project up against other possibilities", Aker director of information in Kværner, Mariken Holter, said, "We did that also in this case, and have concluded that we will not put in a tender for the contract".

Holter does not want to comment whether the other partners in the consortium plan to go further with the tender.

Recently it became known that license holder of the Shtokman project Gazprom has applied to have the start-up date for production moved one-two years, as BarentsObserver reported.

Copyright 2011, Barents Observer. All rights reserved.

BP, Gazprom discuss LNGPublished: June 21, 2011 at 7:45 AM

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/06/21/BP-Gazprom-discuss-LNG/UPI-99381308656711/#ixzz1Pz0Xv11b

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 21 (UPI) -- Gazprom discussed the prospects for liquefied natural gas for European and Asian consumers with BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley, the company said.

Alexei Miller, the top executive at Russian gas company Gazprom, welcomed Dudley to St. Petersburg to discuss energy issues for European consumers.

"The parties considered the global energy market trends in Europe and Asia paying special attention to the LNG market," the Russian company said in a statement.

Gazprom officials this week met with officials from German engineering conglomerate Siemens to discuss similar efforts.

LNG shipments are less politically sensitive than conventional deliveries through pipelines. Gazprom, as well as its customers, are looking for new ways to deliver natural gas after disputes with Ukraine in 2009 exposed vulnerabilities in conventional transit routes.

Dudley left his Moscow office in 2008 while serving as the top executive at Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP. The Russian billionaires representing their side of the joint venture sued BP for a proposed January deal with Russian oil company Rosneft. The deal involved asset swaps and exploration in the arctic. The Russians said that violated the shareholder agreement with BP.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/06/21/BP-Gazprom-discuss-LNG/UPI-99381308656711/#ixzz1Pz0b6QfL

Germany, Poland: Nord Stream Pipe Won't Block Polish Port Expansionhttp://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/06/21/germany-poland-nord-stream-pipe-wont-block-polish-port-expansion/

By Marcin Sobczyk and Marynia Kruk

Published June 21, 2011

| Dow Jones Newswires

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/06/21/germany-poland-nord-stream-pipe-wont-block-polish-port-expansion/#ixzz1PzMbwhV5

WARSAW -(Dow Jones)- The Nord Stream pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea won't block development of a key Polish port, the German and Polish leaders said Tuesday as they sought to allay Polish public opinion mindful of German and Russian influence on its soil.

"We've gotten confirmation at the top political level, in documents, that if Poland decides to deepen the waterway that leads to the ports in Swinoujscie and Szczecin, the German side will take appropriate action to remove any obstacle," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters.

Germany doesn't want any project in which it's involved to be directed against other countries, "especially not against our neighbor Poland," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said following joint cabinet consultations in Warsaw.

Access to the Swinoujscie port is especially important for Poland; it plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal there as one element of its multi-pronged drive to diversify its sources of energy away from Russia.

It remains unclear whether or not the pipeline will obstruct any possible future redevelopment of the port--there are no redevelopment plans at present and Tusk said Tuesday that currently the pipeline doesn't hinder access.

Nord Stream is a joint venture between Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), BASF SE (BAS.XE) subsidiary Wintershall AG, and E.ON AG (EON) unit E.ON Ruhrgas, both of Germany, Dutch Gasunie and France's GDF Suez (GSZ.FR).

The pipeline is set to start pumping Russian gas to Europe later this year. Poland's drive to lower its reliance on Russian gas has taken on urgency in recent years as supplies have been disrupted by Russia's price quarrels with other transit countries, including Belarus and Ukraine.

Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones Newswires

Gazprom, Ukraine's Naftogaz start work to set up Black Sea shelf JV

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text15969

RIA NovostiJune 21, 2011

The Russian gas giant Gazprom and Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz have started setting up a joint venture to develop the Black Sea shelf, Naftogaz Board Chairman Yevhen Bakulin said on Tuesday.

"Yes, (we have started)," Bakulin told reporters, adding that the companies were still estimating the likely amount of investment in the project and its costs. He also said that there were some legal contradictions in the joint venture's establishment but they would not be an obstacle.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko signed an agreement in December 2010, to establish two joint ventures to produce coal from Ukrainian deposits and develop the Black Sea shelf.