Russia 111114

Basic Political Developments LAVROV: MEDVEDEV CLEARLY TELLS OBAMA ABOUT NEED FOR

WRITTEN GUARANTEES THAT MISSILE DEFENSE WON'T BE TARGETED AGAINST RUSSIA 

o U.S. DOES NOT RULE OUT DEPLOYMENT OF SHIPS WITH MISSILE DEFENSE ELEMENTS IN BLACK, BALTIC, BARENTS, AND NORTHERN SEAS - LAVROV 

o U.S. may deploy ship-based interceptor missiles in seas around Russia – Lavrov - "The United States does not rule out - and the option has been admitted - the possible deployment of warships carrying interceptor missiles not only in the Mediterranean Sea but also in the Black Sea, the Barents Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. They keep telling us not to worry: the plans are not targeted against us. We cannot accept that," he said.

Medvedev to assess Russia's reaction to European missile defense system - "It is unclear to us what our partners are offering, and I think we will in the near future determine what we should do with the European missile defensive system," Medvedev said at a press conference after the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii

o Medvedev Says No Agreements With U.S. on European Missile Defense System

LAVROV: ROAD OF SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN EXHAUSTED, THREATS OF SANCTIONS AND BOMB ATTACKS ONLY PUT OFF NEGOTIATABLE SOLUTION 

o ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE REGIME IN IRAN ARE BEING MADE – LAVROV

o Sanctions against Iran exhausted, diplomacy needed – Lavrov RADICAL OPPOSITION IN SYRIA IS INSTIGATED TO CHANGE REGIME,

ARMS FOR EXTREMISTS ARE SMUGGLED TO COUNTRY – LAVROVo Facts say contraband arms supplied to Syria - There is conclusive

evidence that contraband weapons via Lebanon, Turkey, Iran and other countries have been supplied to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

o Russia sees suspension of Syria Arab League membership as wrong – Lavrov

o Russia opposes suspending Syria from Arab League Palestine’s UN, UNERSCO bids no alternative to talks with Israel – Russia:

Russia does not see Palestine’s UN and UNESCO membership bids as an alternative to talks with Israel, said the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily.

o Interview of Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia M. Bogdanova to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", Moscow, November 14, 2011

'Iran ready to upgrade Russia ties' - In a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Tehran on Saturday, Salehi lauded the close relations between Tehran and Moscow and stated that Iran is ready to exchange views and bolster cooperation with Russia on issues of mutual concern as well as regional developments.

Russia’s envoy to NATO to present report at Duma Nov 16 The West seeks Russia’s exclusion from the Karabakh peace process - The fact

that Europe is displeased with the stagnation of the Karabakh process is confirmed by member of the European Parliament Kristian Vigenin’s recent announcement in Yerevan.

Russia takes over APEC presidency from US in 2012 - Meanwhile, Russia and the US have been taking major efforts in the last few months and have had the consultations in bilateral and trilateral format with Indonesia attracted as the country to host an APEC summit in 2013.

President Medvedev meets members of APEC Business Advisory Council - It incorporates three representatives of big business from each of the APEC member states. Russia is represented in the Council by Oleg Deripaska from " Bazovy Element" Holding, Ziyavudin Magomedov from "Summa Kapial" group and Andrei Kostin from VTB who next year is to become chairperson of the Russian segment of the Business Advisory Council.

APEC leaders look forward to Russia’s WTO admission Russian, Japanese trade decisions to impact Australian beef - Russia's WTO

accession will guarantee improved market access for Australian exporters of agriculture, manufacturing and services. In agriculture, there will be progressively improved tariff conditions for beef, lamb, dairy and hides.

Medvedev hopes Russia-Tajik relations to be crucial in Sadovnichy case o Medvedev denies anti-Tajik campaign as deportations continueo Pilots arrest can't help affecting relations with Tajikistano Russian ambassador returns to Tajikistan - "On Tuesday morning, the

ambassador will be back in his office," Kabayev said.o Russian ambassador is set to return to Tajikistan o Many Tajik migrants have dangerous infections - Onishchenkoo Bringing order to Russia - FMS denies rumors about taking “special

measures” against immigrants… At the same time, Kornilova confirmed that the president was, indeed, presented with a report on crime statistics among immigrants. According to the FMS, every tenth offender is a citizen of Tajikistan.

Patriarch Kirill concerns about increasing Christianophobia in some Arab countries

o Russian patriarch arrives in Lebanono Patriarch Kirill visit to Syria will strengthen ties with Russia - al-Assad

Russian patriarch concerned over future of Christians in Syria Russia will continue arms sales to ally Syria: official - Speaking at the Dubai Air

Show, deputy director of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS) Viacheslav Dzirkaln said: “Since there is no restriction on arms deliveries to Syria, Russia respects its contractual obligations with the country.”

Paet: EU Must Establish Clear Priorities in Cooperation With Russia - Cooperation between Russia and the European Union is essential, yet the EU must clearly prioritize areas, in which they wish to see results, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet at a ministers' meeting in Brussels on November 13.

o Putin's return poses questions for EU strategy - By Andrew Rettman In S. Ossetia, presidential run-off due on Nov 27

o Vote in Georgia's breakaway province is tieo South Ossetia president to be determined by runoff

Russian language to become second state language in South Ossetia Dubai 2011: Russia displays its wares in own pavilion - Rosoboronexport, the

sole Russian exporter and importer of military and dual-purpose products, technologies and services, is representing a host of products from the Russian aerospace industry, including the Su-35 and MiG-29M/M2 multifunctional fighters, Yak-130 combat trainer and the Be-200 amphibious aircraft.

Russian Helicopters signs $1.2 bln engine deal with Ukraine's Motor Sich Third fifth-generation fighter to make test flights with new radar - The active

phased array antenna radar has "many modes of operation, which will be used in Russian aircraft for the first time ever. The radar will be turned on after several test flights of T-50-3 and the radar testing as an element of the jet avionics begin," he said.

New ISS members successfully lift off from Kazakhstan - Three new members, Russians Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank, lifted off as scheduled on board their Soyuz TMA-22 capsule.

Federal Space Agency hopes to get new manned spaceship by 2020 Phobos-Grunt not considered lost yet

o Russia’s Phobos-Grunt to be orbiting though January – Roscosmos Grozny to open direct flights to Europe - Chechnya may soon open direct air

service to Europe, spokesman of the “Grozny” Air Company told Izvestia. In Kaspiisk militants killed that held people captive

Assistant for Imam killed in Khasavyurtovsky district of Dagestan RF interior ministry to probe into traffic accident killing Kursk region officials Medvedev does not rule out accord on honest election - The Russian president did

not rule out that al the registered parties taking part in the election race might reach an agreement on an honest conduct in the election race. If such an agreement is reached all the parties should sign it then, the president stressed.

Boat burns on Moscow river PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Nov 14

o www.vedomosti.ruo TNK-BP is planning to produce up to 35 cubic meters of natural gas a year

by 2020, the company's executive vice president German Khan says in an interview.

o Russia could export up to 38 million tonnes of grain by 2015, according to agriculture ministry forecasts.

o www.kommersant.ru

o Russia could lose more than $5 billion by 2020 as a result of additional customs freedoms it must grant to EU and U.S. car makers after it joins the World Trade Organisation.

o www.izvestia.ruo Russia's Defence Ministry is introducing badminton in the army as part of

physical training for soldiers and is planning to buy about 10,000 rackets in 2012, the daily reports. President Dmitry Medvedev recently praised badminton in a blog.

o www.rbcdaily.ruo Georgian billionaire Bidzin Ivanishvili is ready to sell his assets in Russia

for $2 billion in order to have the right to run for president in ex-Soviet Georgia.

o French Renault Credit International (RCI) is planning to invest about $400 million to open its own bank in Russia.

o Russia could allow the growth of foreign insurers' share on the Russian market to 50 percent within nine years of joining the WTO.

o www.mk.ruo A whole era is going down to history books with the resignation of Italy's

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was "Russia's biggest friend in Europe", the daily says, adding that Russia could start feeling more isolated as a result.

Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, November 14, 2011 Novosibirsk Equates United Russia with ‘Swindlers and Thieves’ Russian scientist Vyacheslav Danilenko’s aid to Iran offers peek at nuclear

program - By Joby Warrick Another new Russian nuclear powerplant comes online - The newly-built Kalinin-

4 nuclear power plant northwest of Moscow has achieved criticality, according to plant owner Rosenergoatom, some two weeks after completion of fuelling was achieved. The new power unit is expected to go into service shortly, and will become Russia's 33rd operational nuclear power plant and the fourth new one to come online since 2001.

Russia Intransigent on Kyoto Protocol Extension - By Roland Oliphant

National Economic Trends Russian ruble strengthens against euro, dollar as oil advances Bank of Russia ramps up gold reserves - The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is

building up its gold reserves. It has purchased over 90 tons of gold since the beginning of the year, while its target is to buy 100 tons this year, CBR Deputy Chairman Sergey Shvetsov told reporters.

Liquidity crunch could peak in mid-December Ministry extends CBR bailout mandate - The Finance Ministry supports a bill

seeking to extend the functions of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) to bail out banks that are members of the mandatory deposit insurance system until December 31, 2014.

Russia GDP Probably Accelerated in Third Quarter for First Time Since 2010 - By Alena Chechel

Ex-Finance Minister: New crisis at the gate -  Talking about Russia Aleksey Kudrin sounded more positive, saying the country is currently better prepared  for more turmoil, than  most developed countries, as the state debt is low, at 12% of GDP, and considerable gold and foreign currency reserves in Russia form a safety net.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions Russia Megapolis delays London IPO till April-Ifax UPDATE 2-RUSAL Q3 net $432 mln, beats f'casts RusAl's third-quarter net profit soars over 100 pct to $290 mln Sberbank reportedly targeting Poland’s Alior Bank Sberbank to ramp up loan portfolio Sberbank to lay off 30,000 staffers - Gref UPDATE 1-Vimpelcom profit falls; wind integration advances Aeroflot to buy A320s, SSJ-100s for regionals Renault invests $400 mln in car loan bank

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Transneft RAS net profits soar 230% to 11 bln rubles in Jan-Sept (Part 2) TNK-BP still worth $65 billion, Khan tells paper - "While the BP-Rosneft deal

was being discussed, on possible changes to the makeup of TNK-BP's shareholders, we put fair value for the whole company at $65 billion," Khan told the Vedomosti newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

o TNK-BP Hopes to Boost Gas Business - "In the midterm, if we're talking about reform in the gas sector, we'll get to a situation where a single exporter for a minimal commission will be selling gas from various producers," he said. "I think that would be acceptable."

Second LUKOIL well in the Gulf of Guinea reported to have failed Russia's LUKOIL eyes bid in Vietnam oil/gas blocks Increased gas sales and higher prices boost Novatek revenues Novatek sold 20 pct of Yamal LNG to Total for $425 mln

Gazprom Gazprom ready to meet rising APEC country energy demand Gazprom sees liquefied gas as priority for Asia exports - Gazprom forecasts Asia

Pacific fossil fuel consumption up 80 pct by 2030; Gas talks with China hit at dead-end; Gazprom faces rivalry from Qatar, Australia in global LNG market; Europe tries to be less dependent on Russian energy

Negotiations on Kudu gas in final stages - NEGOTIATIONS on the development of the long-awaited Kudu gas project between Namibian state oil company Namcor and Russian-based Gazprom are in their final stages.

Gazprom buys Germany's Envacom

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

11/14 12:18   LAVROV: MEDVEDEV CLEARLY TELLS OBAMA ABOUT NEED FOR WRITTEN GUARANTEES THAT MISSILE DEFENSE WON'T BE TARGETED AGAINST RUSSIA http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

11/14 12:17   U.S. DOES NOT RULE OUT DEPLOYMENT OF SHIPS WITH MISSILE DEFENSE ELEMENTS IN BLACK, BALTIC, BARENTS, AND NORTHERN SEAS - LAVROV http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

November 14, 2011 12:42

U.S. may deploy ship-based interceptor missiles in seas around Russia – Lavrovhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286950

KHABAROVSK. Nov 14 (Interfax) - The U.S. does not rule out the deployment of ships carrying interceptor missiles in the Black, Baltic and North Seas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on his way from Hawaii to Moscow.

"The United States does not rule out - and the option has been admitted - the possible deployment of warships carrying interceptor missiles not only in the Mediterranean Sea but also in the Black Sea, the Barents Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. They keep telling us not to worry: the plans are not targeted against us. We cannot accept that," he said.

te jv

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

Medvedev to assess Russia's reaction to European missile defense systemhttp://en.rian.ru/world/20111114/168677624.html

09:15 14/11/2011

HONOLULU, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that he would deliver a complete assessment on the U.S.-backed European missile defense system in the near future.

"It is unclear to us what our partners are offering, and I think we will in the near future determine what we should do with the European missile defensive system," Medvedev said at a press conference after the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii.

Russia has retained staunch opposition to the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense systems near its borders, claiming they would be a security threat. NATO and the United States insist that the shield would defend NATO members against missiles from North Korea and Iran and would not be directed at Russia.

"I believe that in the near future I will have to give a complete assessment on how Russia is to react to the developing situation now as well as after 2012," Medvedev said.

Medvedev added that he was pleased over talks with U.S. President Barack Obama over the last year and said that Russian-U.S. relations over the past several years have reached several goals, including Russia's entering the World Trade Organization (WTO); however, said that the European missile defense system was more difficult.

"In regard to the European missile defense system, the situation is much more difficult," he said.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile shield during the NATO-Russia Council summit in Lisbon in November 2010. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.

Bucharest announced in May that it had reached an agreement with the United States to deploy a U.S. missile interceptor system at a defunct Soviet airbase on its territory. Moscow issued an urgent request for legal guarantees from the United States that the system will not target Russia's strategic nuclear forces.

Washington has so far declined to give Moscow any written guarantees that the missile defense system would not be targeted against Russian military defense systems.

Medvedev Says No Agreements With U.S. on European Missile Defense Systemhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-14/medvedev-says-no-agreements-with-u-s-on-european-missile-defense-system.html

Q

By Ilya Arkhipov - Nov 14, 2011 5:40 AM GMT+0100

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there is no agreement with the U.S. on a European missile defense system. U.S. proposals on the missile defense system aren’t clear, Medvedev told reporters today at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net

11/14 12:18   LAVROV: ROAD OF SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN EXHAUSTED, THREATS OF SANCTIONS AND BOMB ATTACKS ONLY PUT OFF NEGOTIATABLE SOLUTION http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

11/14 12:15   ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE REGIME IN IRAN ARE BEING MADE – LAVROVhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

Sanctions against Iran exhausted, diplomacy needed – Lavrovhttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/14/60345828.html

Nov 14, 2011 12:44 Moscow TimeSpeaking to reporters on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that sanctions against Iran have been exhausted and that all the relevant problems should be resolved through diplomacy and within the framework of the six-party talks. (Ria Novosti)

11/14 12:16   RADICAL OPPOSITION IN SYRIA IS INSTIGATED TO CHANGE REGIME, ARMS FOR EXTREMISTS ARE SMUGGLED TO COUNTRY – LAVROVhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

12:37 14/11/2011Top News

Facts say contraband arms supplied to Syriahttp://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/271330.html

MOSCOW, November 14 (Itar-Tass) — There is conclusive evidence that contraband weapons via Lebanon, Turkey, Iran and other countries have been supplied to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

Russia sees suspension of Syria Arab League membership as wrong – Lavrovhttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/14/60345580.html

The Russian Federation sees the suspension of Syria’s Arab League membership as wrong, since this would fail to make the situation more transparent, says the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

(RIAN)

Russia opposes suspending Syria from Arab Leaguehttp://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFR4E7K702I20111114

Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:39am GMT

MOSCOW Nov 14 (Reuters) - Russia opposes the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria and believes Western nations are inciting opponents of President Bashar al-Assad to seek his removal, Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Monday.

Lavrov also underlined Russia's opposition to imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and said nations were whipping up tension over Tehran to impose additional unilateral sanctions against it, the reports said. (Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Palestine’s UN, UNERSCO bids no alternative to talks with Israel – Russiahttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/14/60338661.html

Nov 14, 2011 11:26 Moscow Time

Russia does not see Palestine’s UN and UNESCO membership bids as an alternative to talks with Israel, said the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily. Moscow is certain that it is possible not only to resume the negotiating process, but to start advancing towards the objective set, namely the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. This is the position of the quartet of international mediators, the Russian diplomat said. He added that differences between the Israelis and Palestinians were quite essential. Some extra efforts will be required to galvanize the talks, Mikhail Bogdanov said.

(TASS)

http://www.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/0/C9F2B47E46F51F6D44257948001E508B

Interview of Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia M. Bogdanova to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", Moscow, November 14, 2011 /in Russian/

'Iran ready to upgrade Russia ties'

http://presstv.com/detail/209837.html

Sun Nov 13, 2011 11:28AM GMT

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says Russia can play a leading role in establishing peace and stability in the region, expressing Tehran's readiness to cooperate with Moscow in all fields.

In a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Tehran on Saturday, Salehi lauded the close relations between Tehran and Moscow and stated that Iran is ready to exchange views and bolster cooperation with Russia on issues of mutual concern as well as regional developments.

“We are prepared to hold regular consultations with you since we believe that the world is currently at a sensitive juncture,” the Iranian minister pointed out.

Bogdanov, for his part, called for the expansion of cooperation with Russia.

The Russian deputy foreign minister insisted that Moscow will continue its cooperation with Tehran within the framework of regional organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

SF/HJL/MB

Russia’s envoy to NATO to present report at Duma Nov 16 14/11/11 6:31AM GMT

BRUSSELS. Nov 14 (Russian Military News) – Russian permanent representative to NATO and special presidential representative on interaction with the alliance on missile…

The West seeks Russia’s exclusion from the Karabakh peace processhttp://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/karabakh-conflict-russia-peace/en/

Published: 14 November, 2011, 04:22Edited: 14 November, 2011, 04:24

Yury Roks

Stepanakert is ready to host Azerbaijani refugees on certain conditions

Tomorrow, EU High Representative for Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, will begin her visit to the South Caucasus. Her first stop on the tour will be Baku, followed by Tbilisi, after which she will end her trip with a visit to Yerevan on November 17. In the course of her meetings with the heads of state, Catherine Ashton will discuss intensification of the EU’s role in conflict resolution – particularly in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, rumors are circulating that the US is also ready to take up the role of key mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations from Russia. 

The fact that Europe is displeased with the stagnation of the Karabakh process is confirmed by member of the European Parliament Kristian Vigenin’s recent announcement in Yerevan. After meeting with Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, he told journalists: “We believe that the EU needs to be more involved in the process of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict…We have not seen the OSCE Minsk Group produce any results for many years; and due to this fact, something needs to change”. According to him, the European Parliament has held discussions – in particular it was suggested to replace the French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group with an EU representative, who could possibly become EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton: “It is important to bring new players into the process,” says Kristian Vigenin.     

The statements, made by the MEP in Yerevan, are echoed by the news reports, published by Baku media sources with reference to Azerbaijani political scientist Rasim Agayev. According to him, the US is trying to bring the countries of Transcaucasia out of Moscow’s sphere of influence. With this goal in mind, Washington has launched the Big Caucasus project, which was developed under George W. Bush and which aims at helping the US secure a footing and promote its interests in the region. Considering Georgia’s unfriendly attitude toward Russia and the Azerbaijani elite’s greater affinity to the West than Moscow, only one problem remains for the US in the region – Armenia, Russia’s strategic partner. “Bringing it out of Russia’s sphere of influence is not an easy, but an attainable goal,” suggests Agayev.      

Withdrawing Russia from the Karabakh process in particular and the South Caucasian region in general is an impossible task, says Berlin-based political scientist Ashot Manucharyan, in addition other reasons, due to the fact that changing the negotiations format calls for the desire and agreement from all of its participants – and here, the approaches differ. “Moscow will not distance itself from the Karabakh problem or transfer the burden of key mediator onto the shoulders of the US or the EU, because if it does, Russia will be indicating its inability to claim global relevance. By showing inability to settle the Karabakh conflict, Moscow will give the West a reason to ignore its opinion in more complex civilizational conflicts – such as those of North Korea, Iran, or Afghanistan. I am confident that Russia will not give up its great power ambitions, especially given Vladimir Putin’s return to presidency,” Dr. Manucharyan told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG). At the same time, he did not exclude the possibility of needing to introduce some correlations to the negotiations process, such as bringing back Nagorno-Karabakh representatives.        

While developing the idea of introducing changes to the negotiations process, capable of rendering positive results, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Araz Azimov, in an interview with the Austrian daily Standart, noted that the key to making progress in resolving the problem could be “joint residency of the two communities”. Thus raising the question of the Azerbaijani refugees’ return to Nagorno-Karabakh, Azimov stressed that “a compromise decision, which Azerbaijan may adopt in the conflict settlement process, does not involve the transfer of any territories to Armenia”.

The Azerbaijani diplomat’s statement did not go unnoticed in Stepanakert. Chief spokesman for the president of Nagorno Karabakh, David Babayan, commented on Azimov’s interview by telling NG that some of its aspects are encouraging. “In particular, we agree with the statement that conflict resolution does not involve the transfer of territories to Armenia. The Karabakh conflict is not an Armenian-Azerbaijani territorial conflict, or even a conflict between Yerevan and Baku, but a conflict between Stepanakert and Baku, resolution of which calls for direct dialogue,” Babayan told NG. As for the refugees’ possible return to Karabakh, according to him, this was never objected to by the republic’s leadership. “We are ready to welcome Azerbaijani citizens under one condition: if they want to become citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh and integrate into Karabakh society”.

06:56 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russia takes over APEC presidency from US in 2012

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/270986.html

HONOLULU (Hawaii), November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia took over the presidency in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum from the United States in the next year. An APEC summit will be held in Vladivostok on September 8-9, 2012. The 19th APEC summit in Honolulu has taken the decision to this effect.

Meanwhile, Russia’s bid for presidency was approved back at the APEC summit in Sydney in 2007. Therefore, a separate clause in the final declaration of the current APEC summit that Russia will host an APEC summit next year is actually a formal confirmation.

Russia assumed the APEC presidency from the US. “Moscow values highly the results of the US presidency in the APEC in 2011,” Russian presidential adviser Sergei Prikhodko said earlier.

Meanwhile, Russia and the US have been taking major efforts in the last few months and have had the consultations in bilateral and trilateral format with Indonesia attracted as the country to host an APEC summit in 2013.

12:51 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

President Medvedev meets members of APEC Business Advisory Council

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/271296.html

HONOLULU, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev joined the other APEC leaders at a meeting with members of the Business Advisory Council of the APEC forum held upon completion of the first session of the APEC summit.

The Business Advisory Council is a permanent body in the APEC structure. It incorporates three representatives of big business from each of the APEC member states. Russia is represented in the Council by Oleg Deripaska from " Bazovy Element" Holding, Ziyavudin Magomedov from "Summa Kapial" group and Andrei Kostin from VTB who next year is to become chairperson of the Russian segment of the Business Advisory Council.

The main task of the Council is to make proposals for creation of favorable conditions for trade, investments and cooperation in the APEC space.

APEC leaders look forward to Russia’s WTO admissionhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20111114/168675527.html

07:30 14/11/2011

HONOLULU, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum’s countries on Sunday hailed Russia’s expected admission to the World Trade Organization.

“We look forward to the conclusion of Russia’s WTO accession process at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference” in December, they said in the APEC summit declaration.

The three-day APEC summit takes place in Honolulu, the capital of the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Russia, the only major economy outside the WTO, has been trying to join the organization since 1993. The agreement of all member states is necessary for accession to the WTO, but Georgia refused to approve Russia's entry ever since the two countries fought a brief war in August 2008.

Russia and Georgia finally signed a Swiss-brokered agreement clearing the way for Russia’s WTO admission on November 9, including deployment of international observers to monitor the movement of goods across sections of Russia’s borders with the former Georgian republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The WTO Working Party on Russia’s accession then approved the package spelling out Russia’s terms of entry to the global trade body and recommended that Russia be admitted at the December 15-17 Ministerial Conference, where ministers are expected to approve the documents and accept Russia as a WTO Member.

Russia will have until June 15, 2012 to ratify its accession package. Russia will become a full-fledged member of the WTO thirty days after the accession documents are ratified by the Russian parliament.

Russian, Japanese trade decisions to impact Australian beefhttp://www.beefcentral.com/p/news/article/878

By Jon Condon14 Nov 2011

Two important international trade decisions announced late on Friday will have significant implications for Australian beef exports.

After 18 years of negotiations, Russia is to join the World Trade Organisation, binding the world’s 11th largest economy to certain trade rules that it has up to now sometimes ignored.

In Japan, after considerable political debate, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda finally confirmed that Japan will join negotiations on the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade bloc.

Federal trade minister Craig Emerson said Russia’ entry into the WTO would be a boon for Australian exporters.

The conclusion of talks, announced in Geneva, means that a country of more than 140 million people will join the other 153 members of the WTO. Trade ministers will formally approve the accession agreement at the WTO ministerial conference in Geneva next month.

"This is an exciting development for Russia, Australia and the global trading system," Dr Emerson said.

"Membership of the WTO is a commitment to play by a set of rules designed to make trade free and fair for all members. It often involves tough domestic reforms.”

Russia's WTO accession will guarantee improved market access for Australian exporters of agriculture, manufacturing and services. In agriculture, there will be progressively improved tariff conditions for beef, lamb, dairy and hides.

As part of its accession commitments, Russia has agreed not to introduce agricultural export subsidies, while some existing import tariffs will be lowered as soon as WTO membership becomes effective.

MLA manager, market access Andrew McCallum, said Russia had a tariff rate quota regime on beef, and the WTO accession would mean those commitments would continue under current arrangements.

"Australia will have access to a shared pool of frozen beef global quota totalling 407,000t, continuing the status quo, and access to an expanded chilled beef quota of about 11,000t under most favoured nation arrangements.

"The key thing in Russia joining the WTO is that it provides more certainty around that regime," Mr McCallum said.

"The WTO rules-based system provides greater confidence in the market, going forward."

Asked whether it provided any protection against major market collapse and Russian importers abandoning contracts as was seen in 2008, Mr McCallum said it did not, as that was due to the global finance/credit problems of the day, and not anything to do with trading rules.     

 

Japan to join TPP dialogue

Meanwhile, Japan’s confirmation on Friday that it will join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) will create a regional trading bloc about 40 percent larger in size than the European Union.

The move is a substantial boost to liberalising trade around the Asia-Pacific region.

Federal trade minister Emerson said the TPP was more than a traditional trade agreement, as it would deal also with behind-the-border impediments to trade and investment.

He said a comprehensive, high-quality TPP agreement would be essential in ensuring it was in Australia's national interest.

"Having the world's third-largest economy commit to such an ambitious project is an extremely positive development," he said.

The question of joining the TPP had sparked considerable controversy in Japanese political circles, with strong opposition both within Prime Minister Noda’s own party and the Japanese agricultural lobby. He made the announcement just before departing for the APEC leaders meeting in Hawaii.

Prime Minister Noda said the agreement offered Japan the best chance to capitalise on better access to emerging markets in a dynamic region that was providing much of the world’s GDP growth. 

Joining the TPP would force Japan to slash agricultural trade barriers impacting Australian exports, and whose removal is a precondition for the long-awaited Japan-Australia bilateral Free Trade Agreement.

The TPP is aimed at creating a tariff-free Asia-Pacific, a region accounting for 55pc of global Gross Domestic Product, and 43pc of global trade. It was born out of a smaller agreement involving Chile Singapore, Brunei and New Zealand. Australia, the US, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, and now Japan, are all on-course to join the alliance.

This week’s APEC meetings in Hawaii are expected to include discussions between leaders of the TPP countries that could lead to a broad framework for advancing the agreement.

While Australia has bipartisan support for the pact, its eventual ratification in the US and Japan could prove more challenging, analysts say.

Dr Emerson said the TPP had the potential to form a building block for free trade across the Asia-Pacific region and would contribute to Australia's efforts to achieve global trade liberalisation.

MLA's Andrew McCallum said the TPP announcement was a signal that Japan was looking to enhance its trading relationship with all the stakeholder countries, including Australia.

"That's important, because TPP involves a commitment to looking at trade reform, and reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade," he said.

Australia's bilateral Free Trade Agreement with Japan had been in progress since 2007, but had been postponed after the April Tsunami and earthquake disasters.

"To date, Japan has had some issues regarding reform of agriculture, so it is something they have to address internally. But the signals are there that Japan is moving in the right direction.

"Now that Japan has made its TPP anouncement, Australia will be looking for an early resumption to discussions on our bilateral FTA," Mr McCallum said.

He said the TPP progress in no way negated any need for a comprehensive bilateral agreement between Japan and Australia.

"A TPP framework has been established, but we are yet to see the detail behind that. The bilaterial FTA goes much deeper, in terms of a range of access arrangements."

Medvedev hopes Russia-Tajik relations to be crucial in Sadovnichy casehttp://en.ria.ru/russia/20111114/168680923.html

11:55 14/11/2011

HONOLULU, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hopes that Tajikistan will consider its level of relations with Russia in deciding the fate of Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy.

“I really hope that our Tajik friends will hear or have already heard us and in the final decision will be guided not only by abstract considerations, but the general level of relations [with Russia],” Medvedev said at a press conference after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii. But he added that the decision on the fate of Sadovnichy should be taken in accordance with the laws of the republic.

Sadovnichy and his Estonian colleague Alexei Rudenko were sentenced to eight and a half years each in jail in Tajikistan on November 8 for smuggling and violation of Tajikistan’s airspace.

Moscow has called the sentence “politically motivated” and threatened to expel some 200 Tajik migrants. Last week, Moscow summoned the Russian ambassador back to the capital for consultations.

“We cannot ignore this case because this is a citizen of the Russian Federation. In general, this situation looks very odious,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev also said that the deportation of the illegal Tajik migrants in Russia is not a one-time campaign and called to expel illegal migrants on a regular basis.

A Russian diplomatic source told reporters that the expulsion of some 100 Tajik migrants is a part of Moscow's response to the Sadovnichy verdict.

Two planes with Sadovnichy and Rudenko as crew commanders were returning from Afghanistan where they had delivered humanitarian aid in March. They had permission to fly via Tajikistan but Tajik traffic controllers said they had no confirmation on land and asked them to return to Kabul. The planes did not have enough fuel and had to land in Tajikistan regardless.

Tajik authorities based their smuggling charges on the fact that the pilots had an unassembled engine onboard, which they said they were using as spare parts.

Medvedev denies anti-Tajik campaign as deportations continuehttp://rt.com/politics/medvedev-deportation-tajik-migrants-247/

Published: 14 November, 2011, 13:35Edited: 14 November, 2011, 13:35

President Dmitry Medvedev has said that the recent deportation of illegal Tajik immigrants from Russia is not a one-off campaign and stressed that it will in future be carried out regularly.

Talking to journalists at a press conference following the APEC summit in Honolulu, Medvedev commented on whether the problem of illegal migrants would be addressed systematically or through deportation campaigns.

The president explained that the decision to send home undocumented Tajiks was taken separately from the move to expel 300 illegal Tajik immigrants in retaliation for Tajikistan’s jailing of Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy earlier this month.

“I think it’s a coincidence,” Medvedev said in answer to questions from journalists.

The president said he had instructed the migration service to control the flow of foreign nationals into Russian territory, adding that there was a lot of public concern over the matter.

“Unfortunately, it often leads to an aggravation of the situation and inter-ethnic clashes. We can’t turn a blind eye to that,” Medvedev said, as cited by RIA Novosti. He underlined that decisions on the deportation of foreign citizens must be based on Russian law.

Regarding the jailed Russian pilot, Medvedev expressed hope that the Tajik authorities would hear and understand Moscow’s stance.

The president reiterated his doubts about the justice of the sentence and is said he hoped the Tajik authorities would re-evaluate its legality.

"Of course, it will be reflected in our relations," Medvedev said, as quoted by Interfax.

Sadovnichy and his Estonian colleague Aleksey Rudenko, who operated humanitarian flights to Afghanistan, were found guilty of smuggling, illegal crossing of the border of Tajikistan and violation of flight rules. On November 8, a Tajik court sentenced them each to eight and a half years behind bars.

The move sparked a diplomatic row between Moscow and Dushanbe with Russia’s Foreign Ministry slamming the sentence as “politically motivated”. President Medvedev said that Russia’s response may be “symmetrical or asymmetrical” depending on the reaction of the Tajik authorities.

Shortly after that, Federal Migration Service Director Konstantin Romodanovsky announced that around 100 illlegal Tajik migrants would be expelled from Russia. Later, that number increased to 300 amid media speculation that an “anti-Tajik campaign” was being used to “unite” Russians ahead of parliamentary elections in December.

On Friday, Tajikistan’s Migration Service denied reports that Russia was deporting Tajik workers and warned against politicizing “natural socio-economic problems.”

“We are puzzled by the media and commentators’ dishonesty while covering the situation with our migrant laborers,” it said in a statement.

The body stressed that deportations would affect only illegal immigrants and not documented migrant workers from Tajikistan. According to the Tajik authorities, the number of migration violations is generally higher at the end of the year since it is the time when many workers return home after their contracts with employers expire.

08:48 14/11/2011Top News

Pilots arrest can't help affecting relations with Tajikistan

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/271072.html

HONOLULU, Hawaii, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— The arrest of Russian pilots in Tajikistan can't help affecting relations between Moscow and Dushanbe, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a press conference.

"We hope Tajikistan, when taking decisions with regard to the fate of the Russian pilots, will be guided not only by abstract considerations, but also by the reached level of cooperation with Russia," the president said.

Russian ambassador returns to Tajikistanhttp://en.trend.az/regions/casia/tajikistan/1956618.html

14 November 2011, 11:48 (GMT+04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 14 / Trend /

Russia's ambassador to Tajikistan Yuri Popov late on Monday is returning to Dushanbe after a short working trip to Moscow, ambassador counselor for political issues Dmitry Kabayevtold Itar-Tass.

"On Tuesday morning, the ambassador will be back in his office," Kabayev said.

Popov came to Moscow on Friday for consultations with top-ranking officials from the Russian foreign ministry after a Tajik court had sentenced two pilots of a Russian airline, Russian national Vladimir Sadovnichy and Estionian citizens Alexei Rudenko, to 8.5 years in a maximum-security penitentiary for the breach of Tajikistan's air space and contraband. The ambassador informed about the current situation and the results of his meeting with Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon.

Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az

RT News line, November 14

Russian ambassador is set to return to Tajikistan http://rt.com/news/line/2011-11-14/#id22001

Russian ambassador to Tajikistan is set to return to Dushanbe after being recalled to Moscow for consultations. AmbassadorYuri Popov flew to Moscow on November 11 to consult with the Russian Foreign Ministry over the harsh sentence for Russian pilot. A harsh eight-and-a-half-year sentence was handed down to Russian pilot Vladimir Sadovnichy by a Tajik court. Sadovnichy, who operated humanitarian flights to Afghanistan, was found guilty of smuggling, illegally crossing of the border of Tajikistan and violation of flight rules.

November 14, 2011 11:18Many Tajik migrants have dangerous infections - Onishchenkohttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp?y=2011&m=11&d=14&pg=3

Bringing order to Russiahttp://rt.com/politics/press/rossijskaya-gazeta/tajikistan-immigrants-work-permits/en/

Published: 14 November, 2011, 06:13

Edited: 14 November, 2011, 06:15

Tatiana Smolyakova

FMS denies rumors about taking “special measures” against immigrants

Today, e-media issued reports alleging that the Federal Migration Service has stopped issuing work permits for citizens of Tajikistan. It is also being reported that, not long before this, the FMS had presented the country’s president with a report on crime statistics among immigrants, in which “the majority of all crimes are committed by citizens of Tajikistan”.Rossiyskaya Gazeta (RG) got in touch with the FMS spokesperson, Zalina Kornilova, and asked some basic questions: which of these reports are telling the truth, and which are not? And most importantly – is the FMS taking any special measures in respect to citizens of Tajikistan?“The FMS has not stopped issuing work visas for citizens of Tajikistan,” said Zalina Kornilova. “It’s very unfortunate that certain diaspora representatives are starting to speculate on the situation, spreading inflammatory rumors.”   At the same time, Kornilova confirmed that the president was, indeed, presented with a report on crime statistics among immigrants. According to the FMS, every tenth offender is a citizen of Tajikistan. Immigration authorities stress that this does not apply to criminal offences, but administrative violations. And these are two different things.  “The FMS is not taking any special measures, which have not been prescribed in the Russian legislation, against the citizens of Tajikistan,” said the spokeswoman.  She underlined that the goal of the Migration Service is to expose those, illegally working and residing on Russian territory, in violating the immigration legislation. Zarina Kornilova asked RG to convey to its readers a statement made by the FMS head, Konstantin Romodanovsky: “I believe we will soon be able to carry out the order of the president of the Russian Federation to restore order among specific contingent of foreign citizens, namely: unskilled workers, including those who do not speak Russian”.

Patriarch Kirill concerns about increasing Christianophobia in some Arab countriesToday at 10:45 | Interfax-Ukraine BEIRUT - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has expressed concerns about the future of Christians in Syria.

"I am acting as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, not as a political leader, a diplomat, or a political ambassador. My main concern in connection with the events taking place in the Middle East is the situation of Christians," Patriarch Kirill said while answering an Arab journalist's question about his attitude toward the decision made by the League of Arab States on Syria at a briefing at the Beirut airport.

The patriarch said Syria has been an example of "peaceful and calm co-existence and interaction of the Muslim and Christian communities" for many years.

"Of course, we are concerned about what may happen. We see what has happened in Egypt and Iraq. We see the violence against Christians and we see an increase in Christianophobia, which is destroying the relations that have taken a lot of time and effort to build," Patriarch Kirill said.

The patriarch said he is hoping that "nothing like that will happen in Syria, Lebanon, or any other country in the Middle East or North Africa and in the entire world.

"The issue of interreligious relations is very important to Russia too. We have a special style of relations between Orthodox people and Muslims, and we treasure that. We believe that only peace between religions can maintain peace on our planet," Patriarch Kirill said.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/116870/#ixzz1dfW90jnN

04:16 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russian patriarch arrives in Lebanon

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/270928.html

BEIRUT, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill arrived in Lebanon from Syria. During his visit to the Anthiochian Orthodox Church the patriarch will visit the Beirut cathedral, the Balamand Monastery and will meet with the Lebanese president, Russian compatriots, the Maronite patriarch and local Orthodox Christians.

“I arrived in Beirut from Syria to pray with Orthodox Christians, speak with Lebanese people and statesmen. I will be also glad to the visit the Balamand University and to meet with Russian compatriots,” the patriarch told a press briefing at the Beirut airport.

He noted that he is on an official visit to the Anthiochian Orthodox Church, on the canonical territory of which Lebanon is situated, under the Orthodox tradition for each new patriarch of 15 local Orthodox Churches to visit all other churches in the traditional order.

The Russian patriarch also recalled about his visit to Beirut in the capacity of the chairman of the Department of Internal Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate “in the days, when the city looked exactly like Stalingrad” and today approaching the Lebanese capital the patriarch was happy about the illumination of the restored city.

“I hope that this visit will make my modest contribution in the development of good relations between our Churches and people,” he concluded.

14 November 2011, 10:03

Patriarch Kirill visit to Syria will strengthen ties with Russia - al-Assadhttp://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8875

Damascus, November 14, Interfax - The visit by the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to Syria will strengthen the Russian-Syrian relations, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said at the meeting with him at his residence in Damascus on Sunday.

"I am convinced that your visit will help strengthen the relations between our countries. And it will facilitate a dialog between various cultures of the representatives of various world religions," al-Assad said.

For his part Patriarch Kirill said he knows Syria and its people very well from his many previous visits to this country as head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations.

"We particularly appreciate the level of the dialog, cooperation and peaceful life of representatives of various religions," the Patriarch said.

In conclusion, he wished peace and prosperity to the entire Syrian people and handed a present to the Syrian president - a chalice made by Urals lapidary masters.

06:22 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russian patriarch concerned over future of Christians in Syria

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/270959.html

BEIRUT, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill is concerned over the future of Christians in Syria. He has made a statement at a press briefing upon arrival in Beirut from Damascus in reply to an Arab journalist’s question about his attitude to the Arab League decision on the Syrian problem.

“I act neither as a political leader, nor a diplomat, nor a political envoy, but as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. My major concern over the events in the Middle East is the position of Christians in the region,” the patriarch said.

For many years Syria gives an example of “a peaceful, calm and benevolent coexistence and cooperation between Muslim and Christian communities.”

“We are certainly concerned over a probable development of events,” the supreme hierarch went on to say. “We witness what happened in Egypt and Iraq. We witness violence on Christians, we see the growth of Christianity-related phobia, which ruins those relations that had been developing with major difficulties for a long time.”

Kirill expressed hope that “nothing like this will happen either in Syria or Lebanon or any other country in the Middle East, North Africa and in the whole world.”

“The problem of interfaith relations is very important for Russia as well. We have formed a special style of relations between Orthodox Christians and Muslims. We cherish this. We believe that only peace between various religions can preserve peace on our planet,” the Russian patriarch concluded.

Russia will continue arms sales to ally Syria: official http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/November/middleeast_November322.xml&section=middleeast&col=

(AFP)

13 November 2011MOSCOW - Russia will continue exporting arms to Syria since no international decision has been made outlawing it, said a top industry official quoted by the news agency Interfax Sunday.Speaking at the Dubai Air Show, deputy director of the Russian Federal Military and Technical Cooperation Service (FSVTS) Viacheslav Dzirkaln said: “Since there is no restriction on arms deliveries to Syria, Russia respects its contractual obligations with the country.”

Russia already said in August that it would continue to send weapons to its longstanding ally, ignoring calls from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to countries still trading with Syria to “get on the right side of history”.

International pressure is mounting on President Bashar al-Assad to end the violent repression of dissent in which at least 3,500 people have died, according to UN estimates.

Assad’s security forces have been cracking down on pro-democracy protests, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions, since March 15.

Although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did in October call on the Syrian leader to accept reforms or resign, Russia has nevertheless opposed UN sanctions against Syria, insisting on the need for dialogue instead.

Paet: EU Must Establish Clear Priorities in Cooperation With Russia http://news.err.ee/politics/00cbef0b-4835-4357-9b1e-c046ee1ec9fb

Published: 11:27

Cooperation between Russia and the European Union is essential, yet the EU must clearly prioritize areas, in which they wish to see results, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet at a ministers' meeting in Brussels on November 13.

Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization is an important step towards the free trade agreement with the EU, said Paet. "The liberalization of trade relations, however, can only happen if Russia fulfills all of the accession commitmens," Paet said.

"As for the modernization of Russia, the EU must emphasize the importance of human rights, rule of law, civil society and the development of democracy, in addition to the economic and technological cooperation," said Paet.

In regard to the upcoming Russian Duma elections in December and presidential elections in March, Estonia supports the long-term election observation mission planned by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said Paet.

Addressing the EU-Russian visa dialogue, Paet said that the most important aspect is to meet the technical conditions. Nevertheless, political developments in Russia also influence the negotiations, he argued.

 

Ingrid Teesalu

Putin's return poses questions for EU strategyhttp://euobserver.com/24/114266

Today @ 10:34

Related

1. Germany considering EU visa ban on Russian officials 2. Polish FM in Wikileaks: Germany is Russia's Trojan horse

By Andrew Rettman

BRUSSELS - Germany and Poland have said the EU should co-operate more closely with Russia despite calls by liberal MEPs and the Russian opposition for a more confrontational approach.

German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and Poland's Radek Sikorski have in a joint letter to EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said she should look to modernising Russia's economy and keeping oil and gas flowing instead of promoting democracy.

The letter, cited in Saturday's (12 November) edition of German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, brushed aside concerns on the prospect of Vladimir Putin's non-democratic return to office in 2012 and urged Ashton to help make Putin a "reliable partner" on international security and energy issues.

"Although the 'office trade' between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is not encouraging, we must stay the course to intensify ties with Russia and overcome political and economic lethargy," the Westerwelle-Sikorski text said.

The statement highlights Poland's shift to a more Russia-friendly policy in the past few years.

It also comes amid hopes Russia will stop using trade to bully its neighbours if it joins the World Trade Organisation, a development expected in July next year.

Finland on board

For its part, Finland, which has the longest EU land border with Russia, supports the Germano-Polish realpolitik.

Asked by EUobserver at a conference on Russia in Helsinki last week if he is concerned about the prospect of 12 more years of Putinism, Finnish defence minister Stefan Wallin said: "Finland is used to all kinds of regime in Russia - it was part of tsarist Russia in the 18th century, then we had 70 years of Communism. We are used to dealing with all kinds of regime."

Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie noted: "If you want to force your hand with Russia, you'd better make sure you are strong enough." Recalling the 2009 Russia gas crisis, he added: "We criticised them. But the next day [relations] were back to normal because we were rather cold."

The Helsinki event saw a number of speakers call for a more robust approach to Putin despite the prevailing mood among diplomats.

Westerwelle's fellow German liberal party member, Markus Loning, in charge of human rights in Germany's foreign ministry, said the EU should press for reforms at the Russia summit in December: "EU countries are too weak and we are not respected because of

this ... We should not be so impressed by the Russians - they are not as big as they pretend to be."

The head of the Liberal group in the EU parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, said new Russian MPs should be excluded from entering the EU assembly because Russian parliamentary elections in December have already lost legitimacy - most opposition parties were not registered and international monitors are not being allowed to come in full strength.

Russian spring

Putting aside the moral imperative, Russian opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov warned that the EU risks seeing political upheaval in its giant neighbour on current trends.

He noted that corruption and poor governance is seeing a mass exodus of young people and capital, while those left behind become increasingly restless. "The country is becoming a shambles and an Arab Spring situation is becoming inevitable," he said. "The [economic] situation is very fragile. Oil needs to stay at $120 a barrel to balance the budget. If it falls to $60 or $70, then our currency will be devalued by 30 percent."

Lilya Shevstova, the head of the Carnegie Centre NGO in Moscow, added: "Russia could collapse into chaos, but it's a nuclear state ... This is a very real scenario."

Despite his pragmatism, Finnish defence minister Wallin gave some credibility to the Kasyanov scenario.

"The biggest threat nowadays to any society, especially in terms of its young people, comes from economic uncertainty, so of course we have to be concerned," he said, when asked by this website if Russian disorder is on the cards.

In S. Ossetia, presidential run-off due on Nov 27 http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/14/60337569.html

Nov 14, 2011 11:12 Moscow Time

According to South Ossetia’s Central Elections Commission Head, Bella Plieva, the presidential election run-off is due in the Caucasus republic on the 27th of this month, with presidential candidates Anatoly Bibilov, - the South Ossetian Emergency Situations Minister, and the former Education Minister Alla Jioeva fighting it out between them.

The two have made it to the second round by polling more than 25% of the votes each and getting largely ahead of the other nine candidates in the first round yesterday.

The turnout in the first round made up 66%. Also last Sunday, South Ossetia held a referendum on the status of the Russian language. Almost 84% of the voters supported the suggestion that Russian should be made the second official language in South Ossetia.

TASS

Vote in Georgia's breakaway province is tieToday at 10:38 | Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia — Election officials in Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia say a presidential election is a tie, setting the stage for a runoff.

Election commission head Bella Pliyeva said Monday that Anatoly Bibilov, the emergencies minister who has the support of Russia's dominant pro-Kremlin party, and former education minister Alla Dzhioyeva each won about 25 percent of the vote Sunday.

They will go head-to-head in a runoff to be held in two weeks.

South Ossetia has been led since 2001 by Eduard Kokoity, who is stepping down after two terms.

All 11 candidates in the race called for close ties with Russia, which recognized South Ossetia as an independent state after the brief 2008 Russian-Georgian war and still has troops in the region.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/116869/#ixzz1dfcryylM

South Ossetia president to be determined by runoffhttp://en.rian.ru/world/20111114/168673540.html

04:28 14/11/2011

TSKHINVALI, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

South Ossetia’s presidential election will continue into the second round as none of the candidates has gained the required number of votes to win, the former Georgian republic’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday.

“Preliminary data suggest that Emergencies Minister Anatoly Bibilov and ex-education minister Alla Dzhioyeva will compete in the second round,” CEC head Bella Pliyeva said.

With data from 78 polling places out of 86 processed, Dzhioyeva is gaining 24.6 percent of the vote, and Kremlin-backed Bibilov 23.8 percent, she said. Other candidates are winning less than 10 percent.

Voter turnout at Sunday’s polls was over 66 percent with 50 percent set as the required minimum.

In order to win the election in the first round, a candidate should secure 50 percent plus one vote. In the runoff, elections are valid if more than 30 percent of voters take part in them. The winner is chosen by simple majority.

Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another former Georgian region - Abkhazia - in 2008, following a five-day war with Georgia, which began when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, where most residents are Russian passport holders.

Moscow's decision has been condemned by many nations, but a few other countries followed Russia’s suit to recognize the independence of the two regions, which Georgia considers part of its sovereign territory “occupied by the Russian armed forces.”

02:59 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russian language to become second state language in South Ossetia

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/270924.html

TSKHINVAL, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian language will become the second state language in South Ossetia.

Most voters supported the initiative at a referendum in the republic on Sunday, Chairperson of the South Ossetian Central Election Commission Bella Pliyeva said on Monday. However, she did not make public the exact percentage of votes in favour of this decision.

Dubai 2011: Russia displays its wares in own pavilionhttp://www.arabianaerospace.aero/dubai-2011-russia-displays-its-wares-in-own-pavilion.html

Posted 14 November 2011

Russian companies are heavily represented at the Dubai Airshow and they're demonstrating big ambitions for this region.

The joint Russian exhibition (pavilion: W560) has been organised by the state corporation Russian Technologies.

Rosoboronexport, the sole Russian exporter and importer of military and dual-purpose products, technologies and services, is representing a host of products from the Russian aerospace industry, including the Su-35 and MiG-29M/M2 multifunctional fighters, Yak-130 combat trainer and the Be-200 amphibious aircraft.

Nowadays military air systems make up the major part of Russia’s military sales, accounting for almost half of all foreign sales by Rosoboronexport.

Russian Helicopters, an Oboronprom United Industrial Corporation company, is turning the spotlight on the lightweight Mi-34C1, the Ka-32A11BC firefighter, and the latest update of the Mi-17, to name but a few Russian-made helicopters.

The airshow also features the products of the Compass Moscow Design Bureau, which specialises in state-of-the-art, high-precision navigation equipment.

And the latest and best models of civil and military aircraft are featured by United Aircraft Corporation, so visitors can get up close to the Sukhoi Superjet 100, Sukhoi Business Jet and MS-21.

A Russian Technologies spokesman said: “We see the Dubai Airshow as a fantastic opportunity to showcase the key achievements from the Russian aircraft industry.

“We have scheduled a number of meetings with existing and prospective customers during the event. We see the Middle East and North Africa as a region with good prospects for Russia with regards to the development of military and technical co-operation.”

Russian Helicopters signs $1.2 bln engine deal with Ukraine's Motor Sichhttp://en.ria.ru/business/20111113/168659528.html

13:22 13/11/2011

DUBAI, November 13 (RIA Novosti)

Russian Helicopters, which designs and manufactures civil and military rotorcraft, and Ukraine's Motor Sich engine-building firm have signed a $1.2 billion contract on the supply of Ukrainian engines for Russian commercial helicopters, Motor Sich head Vyacheslav Boguslayev said on Sunday.

"We have for the first time signed a contract worth $1.2 billion for a period of five years. Neither we nor our Russian colleagues will be able to quit this contract under any scenario as it stipulates all legal consequences. On our part, we guarantee a qualitative fulfillment of this contract and on time," he said.

The contract was signed in Dubai at a major airshow in the Middle East, which started on Sunday.

The Dubai Airshow will be held on November 13-17 in the United Arab Emirates. The Airport Expo complex in Dubai is expected to host about 1,000 exhibitors from 50 countries, which will showcase their products to more than 55,000 guests and visitors. Russia will demonstrate its most advanced combat aircraft and air defense systems at the airshow.

The contract will also help Russia and Ukraine develop commercial helicopter-building in the next five years according to plan, Boguslayev said.

"Engines will not be supplied under a state defense order. This contract is commercial. We'll supply 250-270 engines a year during five years," he said.

November 14, 2011 12:28

Third fifth-generation fighter to make test flights with new radarhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286940

MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Test flights of the third experimental T-50 fighter jet will start by the end of this year. The plane will carry a new radar station, which will enhance its combat potential, a source in the defense sector told Interfax-AVN on Monday.

"The Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft plant is finalizing preparations for test flights of the third experimental T-50 fighter jet - T-50-3," he said.

The jet will carry a vehicle-borne radar station with an active phased array antenna, which is a part of the highly automated multi-role integrated radio-electronic system.

"T-50-1 and T-50-2 jets did not have such systems," the source said.

The active phased array antenna radar has "many modes of operation, which will be used in Russian aircraft for the first time ever. The radar will be turned on after several test flights of T-50-3 and the radar testing as an element of the jet avionics begin," he said.

The jet avionics combines "the electronic pilot" function with the active phased array radar. "This combination reduces the strain on the pilot and allows him to concentrate on tactical missions. Vehicle-borne equipment of the new jet allows data exchange in the real-time mode with ground control stations and other flying aircraft," the source said.

te jv

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

New ISS members successfully lift off from Kazakhstanhttp://en.rian.ru/world/20111114/168678720.html

10:04 14/11/2011

BAIKONUR, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

A Soyuz-FG carrier with a piloted Soyuz TMA-22 spaceship departed on Monday from the Gagarinsky launching pad in Baikonur Space Center.

Three new members, Russians Anton Shkaplerov, Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Daniel Burbank, lifted off as scheduled on board their Soyuz TMA-22 capsule. The expedition call sign is Astraios, the Titan god of the stars and planets, and the art of astrology.

The crew should dock with the ISS on November 16 at 9.33 Moscow time (5.33 GMT).

The new crew will replace expedition 28 with Russian flight engineer Sergei Volkov, NASA astronaut Mike Fossum and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, who will return to Earth on November 22.

The previous flights scheduled for September 5 and 22 were postponed due to technical malfunctions.

After the successful docking, the astronauts plan to celebrate the ISS’s 75,000th orbit around Earth, Shkaplerov said at a news conference before liftoff.

“We are planning to have tea with some sweets that we will get from Earth, maybe we will watch a movie and discuss it later,” he said.

The crew members will hold 37 experiments. In particular, they will put the Chibis (Pewit) microsatellite, which studies gamma-radiation generated by lightnings in the atmosphere, into a pod and place it in the “Progress-M” cargo spaceship, which will deliver the satellite to its orbit. The microsatellite weighs about 40 kg with 12 kg of scientific equipment.

November 14, 2011 13:14

Federal Space Agency hopes to get new manned spaceship by 2020http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286971

BAIKONUR. Nov 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will have a new manned spaceship by 2020, and it may be carried to orbit with Soyuz-2, Zenit or Angara rockets, Federal Space Agency head Vladimir Popovkin told reporters in Baikonur.

"We hope to have a new spaceship before the end of this decade," he said.

Soyuz-2 and Zenit rockets, as well as the Angara launch vehicles that are being prepared for test flights, will carry the new spaceship to space, he said.

"One of these launch vehicles may be used," Popovkin added.

A regular Soyuz launch vehicle will be unable to lift off the new spaceship due to its large mass, he said.

"Systemic design is in progress. We will talk details in a year," he said.

The new spaceship will be a platform to which different modules will be attached depending on a particular space mission, Popovkin said.

te jv

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

November 14, 2011 10:37

Phobos-Grunt not considered lost yethttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286893

BAIKONUR. Nov 14 (Interfax-AVN) - Chances of establishing communication with the automatic interplanetary station Phobos-Grunt will remain until January 2012, when the station is expected to enter the Earth's atmosphere, Roskosmos Director Vladimir Popovkin said.

"It will be flying inclusively until January," Popovkin told reporters at the Baikonur cosmodrome.

av jv

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

11:24 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russia’s Phobos-Grunt to be orbiting though January – Roscosmos

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/271188.html

BAUKONUR, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s Phobos-Grunt interplanetary research rover will stay on the orbit through January, head of Russia’s Space Aency (Roscosmos) Vladimir Popovkin said on Monday.

“We have time till January inclusively, the spacecraft will be on the orbit but the window will close in early December,” he said.

Grozny to open direct flights to Europehttp://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/tourism/19871.html

Chechnya may soon open direct air service to Europe, spokesman of the “Grozny” Air Company told Izvestia.

There is no direct air link between Grozny and Europe. The problem is that the

Grozny Avia Company does not fulfill aviation demands of the European Union. The local company organizes flights to Moscow and Stavropol. Charter flights are carried out to a set of Russian cities, Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia.

Grozny Avia started air service in mid-2008. It has four Yak-42s but needs at least 5 to meet the international norms. Planes need to be equipped with additional systems and instruments unnecessary for interior flights.

The Grozny Airport offered one of Russia’s largest air companies UTair to consider opening flight service from the Chechen capital to Germany, France, Italy and Belgium.

A similar proposal was made to another major air company – RusAir, one of the top 30 in terms of passenger flights. RusLine carries out flights from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg using Canadian Bombardier CRJ 200s.

None of the companies have decided on the issue, however, they have expressed their interest. They promised to respond in the near future.

UTair Director General Andrey Martirosov has confirmed that the company had received the requests. The company is studying it. He added that the company had started flights from Grozny to Surgut this year.Experts have doubts on organization of direct air link between the Chechen capital and EU states in the near future. The companies will not profit from passenger flows, Oleg Panteleyev, Editor-in-Chief of the AviaPort Agency, comments on the issue. He did not give any more details.

On the other hand, there are other views. The local market is capacious, but air companies may as well make a flight per week, Irina Turina, press-secretary of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, says. Grozny lacks foreign consulates that could issue visas, this requires people to visit other cities.

Turina says that Chechnya and the North Caucasus has only one prospect sphere for development – tourism. All efforts in the area are generally good, Turina continues, but efforts need to account of the situation in the North Caucasus.

In any case, there should be no problems with security of flights, experts say. The Grozny Airport has the same air security demands (protection from terrorism threats)

as any other airports of the country, Oleg Panteleyev noted.14.11.2011 / Author: Izvestia

http://www.dni.ru/news/2011/11/14/222232.html

GOOGLE TRANSLATION

In Kaspiisk militants killed that held people captive12:54 / 14.11.2011Two members of illegal armed formations eliminated during a special operation in the Dagestani town of Kaspiisk. The siloviki blocked the gangsters in a residential area. Earlier in the negotiations failed to persuade the offenders released from the building where there were two women and four children."The active phase of the special operation is completed. Both militants were killed in armed resistance. SWAT conducts sweep of territory," - said the law enforcement agencies in Dagestan. The special operation carried out in the streets alil, house number 150. Decision of the operational staff at night there was introduced the CTO regime, RIA Novosti reported.

Assistant for Imam killed in Khasavyurtovsky district of Dagestan http://www.riadagestan.com/news/2011/11/13/7854/

13.11.2011 , 23:58

Khasavyurt, November 14, 2011. On Sunday night, November 13 the unknown perpetrators carried out armed attack on Ahmed Asmanov, the assistant to imam of the village Mutsalaul of Khasavyurt district of Dagestan and killed him, the Interior Ministry official told the RIA "Dagestan".

"The murder occurred about 23:00 Moscow time. The bandits attacked the priest and his companion at the time when they were coming back from the mosque after night prayers. Asmanov died on the spot from multiple wounds. His companion was injured and taken to the hospital" - the source stated.

Currently, the district police introduced plan "Interception". Measures are taken to identify and apprehend those involved into the crime.

11:25 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

RF interior ministry to probe into traffic accident killing Kursk region officials

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/271189.html

MOSCOW, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— Officials from the Russian interior ministry are to arrive in the city of Kursk in central European Russia to investigate into a traffic accident that killed and injured top-ranking officials from the regional administration, a police source told Itar-Tass on Monday.

The accident took place late on Saturday in the Fatezhsky district of the Kursk region on the 494th kilometer of the Crimea highway. The Toyota car, driven by a junior criminal police officer, rammed a KAMAZ truck going in the same direction. As a result, the police officer and two of his passengers – a deputy department head of the Kursk regional administration and a Ukrainian citizen – died instantly, while a deputy governor and a deputy head of the regional police department were hospitalized, the source said.

12:30 14/11/2011ALL NEWS

Medvedev does not rule out accord on honest election

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/271273.html

HONOLULU, November 14 (Itar-Tass) —— President Medvedev did not rule out that all the parties registered to run for the State Duma might reach an agreement on honest elections.

Asked if Medvedev as the United Russia party leader would demand that his party observes honesty in the election Medvedev assured that, undoubtedly, everyone should observe the law. "There should be no exception for anyone," Medvedev told a press conference.

The Russian president did not rule out that al the registered parties taking part in the election race might reach an agreement on an honest conduct in the election race. If such an agreement is reached all the parties should sign it then, the president stressed.

"Every party, including the United Russia, should observe the election law. There should be no exception for anyone - either for a party which is a leading political force and has

advantages in parliament, or for any other party, » Medvedev said. "If parties agree on honest elections and sign a corresponding agreement I see nothing wrong in it, but absolutely all the parties should join the agreement without an optional approach," Medvedev said.

"There should be no agreements aimed against any particular party no matter whatever it is, but everything that pertains to a honest and fair election and observance of the election law is a must to all, including the United Russia party," Medvedev said.

Boat burns on Moscow riverhttp://themoscownews.com/local/20111114/189201052.html

by Tom Washington at 14/11/2011 11:24

A floating hotel burned on the Moscow river in the early hours of Monday morning, everyone on board was evacuated and some taken to hospital.

 

No deaths have been reported, the incident narrowly avoided becoming the fifth river transport tragedy this year and the fourth on the Moscow river. Two possible causes for last night’s near-miss are being investigated.

 

Carelessness or faulty wiring?

 

“According to our details the fire could have happened due to faulty electrical wiring or careless attention to fire safety,” a police source told RIA Novosti.

 

There were 15 people visiting the bar on board of the Sergei Abramov earlier that night but they had left by the time the blaze started. The fire engulfed 1.5 thousand meters, four people were injured, RIA reported.

 

“Seven people were evacuated from the danger zone, the others left the boat themselves, some people sought medical help,” Evgeny Bobylev, head of the Moscow Emergency Services, told Interfax.

 

Bobylev also told RIA that the fate of the machinist is not yet known. He added that the flames posed a threat to passing river traffic.

 

River accidents

 

The Moscow river was the scene of three fatal boating accidents earlier this year. In August a young man was killed and young woman injured as another boat tried to overtake them at close quarters.

 

The next day a drunk young man leapt from a boat going past Kievsky railway station and drowned. Two weeks earlier the Lastochka went under the hull of another boat, killing nine of those on board and raising grave concerns about safety practices.

 

In July the Bulgaria passenger boat went down in the Volga, killing 122 people. Like the Lastochka it was old and overloaded.

PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Nov 14http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/14/press-digest-russia-nov-idUSL5E7ME0B720111114

1:38am EST

By Tatiana Ustinova

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- TNK-BP is planning to produce up to 35 cubic meters of natural gas a year by 2020, the company's executive vice president German Khan says in an interview.

- Russia could export up to 38 million tonnes of grain by 2015, according to agriculture ministry forecasts.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Russia could lose more than $5 billion by 2020 as a result of additional customs freedoms it must grant to EU and U.S. car makers after it joins the World Trade Organisation.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- Russia's Defence Ministry is introducing badminton in the army as part of physical training for soldiers and is planning to buy about 10,000 rackets in 2012, the daily reports. President Dmitry Medvedev recently praised badminton in a blog.

RBK Daily

www.rbcdaily.ru

- Georgian billionaire Bidzin Ivanishvili is ready to sell his assets in Russia for $2 billion in order to have the right to run for president in ex-Soviet Georgia.

- French Renault Credit International (RCI) is planning to invest about $400 million to open its own bank in Russia.

- Russia could allow the growth of foreign insurers' share on the Russian market to 50 percent within nine years of joining the WTO.

MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS

www.mk.ru

- A whole era is going down to history books with the resignation of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was "Russia's biggest friend in Europe", the daily says,

adding that Russia could start feeling more isolated as a result. (Reporting By Tatiana Ustinova)

Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, November 14, 2011http://en.rian.ru/papers/20111114/168678081.html

09:25 14/11/2011

A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today

POLITICS

The "reset" between Russia and the United States appeared to be in full force at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, held in Hawaii's capital, Honolulu, over the weekend.

(The Moscow Times)

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised President Dmitry Medvedev at a meeting with participants of the Valdai Discussion Club and said they will discuss the future cabinet.

(Kommersant)

The head of the northwestern Russian republic of Komi, Vyacheslav Gaizer, declared Liberal Democrat leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky persona non grata in the region unless the controversial politician apologized for careless words.

(Kommersant)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his American counterpart Barack Obama summed up cooperation at a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Honolulu.

(Vedomosti)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Financial instability will remain for a few years, and the European crisis is far from over, according to World Money Show investment conference.

(Vedomosti)

Imported drugs, computers and household appliances will become cheaper once Russia enters the WTO.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

SOCIETY

Moscow migration officials prepared to deport about 300 Tajik nationals over the weekend in apparent retaliation for the jailing of a Russian pilot in Dushanbe on murky charges last week.

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant)

ENVIRONMENT

Russia's chief climate negotiator said the country will "never" sign up to extend the Kyoto Protocol for a second implementation period, casting further doubt on chances of a deal at the international climate conference in South Africa at the end of this month.

(The Moscow Times)

SPACE

Hope faded over the weekend that Russian space engineers would be able to fix the Phobos-Grunt probe bound for a moon of Mars but stuck in Earth's orbit.

(The Moscow Times)

A Soyuz-FG rocket carrier with a new crew for the International Space Station (ISS) was launched from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.rian.ru.

Novosibirsk Equates United Russia with ‘Swindlers and Thieves’http://www.theotherrussia.org/2011/11/13/novosibirsk-equates-united-russia-with-swindlers-and-thieves/

November 13th, 2011 • Related • Filed Under

Ever since leading Russian whistleblower Aleksei Navalny dubbed United Russia “the party of swindlers and thieves,” opposition activists and ordinary Russians frustrated with the ruling party have taken the appellation to heart. With parliamentary elections three weeks away and next year’s presidential election results already predetermined, the

growing public anger at Russia’s politics-as-usual is palpable. According to fraud monitoring experts, the number of pre-electoral campaign violations has increased dramatically compared to previous years, with part of this increase attributed to “heightened dissatisfaction among voters with efforts to predetermine the election outcome.”

Predicable as it may be, then, it was nevertheless surreal to hear the news on Sunday that the Kremlin-loyal opposition party A Just Russia had been charged with violating public transportation laws for a bus advertisement that officials say contained “agitation against United Russia.” Under Russian law, it is illegal to spread negative propaganda against a political party or candidate, and it was on this basis that the charges were filed. But while A Just Russia had recently taken up the slogan “For Russia Without Swindlers and Thieves” and included it in the offending ad, there was no explicit mention of United Russia itself. The Russian authorities, it seems, have begun to take the connection between United Russia and “swindlers and thieves” for granted.

A Just Russia candidate Alena Popova posted a scan of the official charges online. The red check indicates the article the ad supposedly violates, reading “advertisement information (interior, exterior) without client’s agreement;” the handwriting reads “agitation against United Russia.”

Russian scientist Vyacheslav Danilenko’s aid to Iran offers peek at nuclear programhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-scientist-vyacheslav-danilenkos-aid-to-iran-offers-peek-at-nuclear-program/2011/11/12/gIQAeuiCJN_story.html

By Joby Warrick, Monday, November 14, 2:11 AM

When the Cold War abruptly ended in 1991, Vyacheslav Danilenko was a Soviet weapons scientist in need of a new line of work. At 57, he had three decades of experience inside a top-secret nuclear facility, and one marketable skill: the ability to make objects blow up with nanosecond precision.

Danilenko struggled to become a businessman, traveling through Europe and even to the United States to promote an idea for using explosives to create synthetic diamonds. Finally, he turned to Iran, a country that could fully appreciate the bomb-maker’s special mix of experience and talents.

Fifteen years later, the Russian scientist has emerged as a central character in the still-unfolding mystery that is Iran’s nuclear program. A report last week by the International Atomic Energy Agency highlighted the role of a “foreign expert”— identified by Western diplomats close to the U.N. nuclear agency as Danilenko — in Iran’s efforts to gain expertise in disciplines essential to building a nuclear warhead.

No bomb was built, the diplomats say. But help from foreign scientists such as Danilenko enabled Iran to leapfrog over technical hurdles that otherwise could have taken years to overcome, according to former and current U.N. officials, Western diplomats and weapons experts.

Such assistance also provided a trail of evidence that the IAEA’s investigators were later able to follow. Documents and other records — and, in the case of Danilenko, interviews — would offer a rare glimpse inside a highly secretive program hidden within Iranian universities and civilian institutions, the officials and experts said.

“It’s like being an astronomer studying a black hole: You detect the black hole’s presence by seeing what falls into it,” said Art Keller, a former CIA analyst who specialized in Iran. “With covert programs, you watch for the flow of raw material and outside expertise.”

The process is not infallible. Evidence is often ambiguous, as the same technology can sometimes have peaceful as well as military applications. In the case of Danilenko, the scientist’s synthetic-diamonds business provided a plausible explanation for his extensive contacts with senior Iranian scientists over half a decade. Danilenko has consistently denied that he ever knowingly aided Iran’s nuclear program.

“I am not a father of Iran’s nuclear program,” he told a Russian journalist last week. E-mails sent to Danilenko seeking comments were not answered.

For U.N. investigators, however, the Russian’s influence was visible in the design and testing of an unusual, half-sphere-shaped detonator the Iranians perfected eight years ago, shortly after Danilenko left Iran for good.

Weapons experts say detonators of the type made by Iran have one known purpose: squeezing a lump of highly enriched uranium to trigger a nuclear chain reaction.

“It remains for Danilenko to explain his assistance to Iran,” said David Albright, a former U.N. inspector who has tracked the investigation of the Russian scientist over several years. “At the very least, Danilenko should have known exactly why the Iranians were interested in his research and expertise. The IAEA information suggests he has provided more than he has admitted.”

Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/11/kalinin_4_criticality/

Another new Russian nuclear powerplant comes online

Construction surge as Kremlin aims to ditch fossil 'leccy

By Lewis Page

Posted in Environment, 11th November 2011 09:42   GMT

Free whitepaper – Schlumberger uses IBM System Networking RackSwitch for HPC

The newly-built Kalinin-4 nuclear power plant northwest of Moscow has achieved criticality, according to plant owner Rosenergoatom, some two weeks after completion of fuelling was achieved. The new power unit is expected to go into service shortly, and will become Russia's 33rd operational nuclear power plant and the fourth new one to come online since 2001.

At present, Russia has some 23 gigawatts of nuclear electricity generation, as compared to just over 10 gigawatts for the UK (though the UK economy is half again the size of Russia's) and 100 gigawatts for the USA (with an economy 10 times the size of Russia). In the US and UK nuclear construction has long been effectively stalled – though perpetually planned to resume – but in Russia construction has proceeded at a rapid pace over the last decade.

Russia's nuclear surge has been financed in large part by gas exports, for good reason as gas yields much more money if exported to western Europe rather than being used to generate electricity domestically. Vanishing coal and nuclear power stations in western Europe are being replaced mostly by gas (this fact being obscured by notional wind "capacity" figures), and many of these countries are also heavily reliant on gas for heating and cooking, so that Russia can be sure of a ready market for all the gas it can produce.

However the Kremlin doesn't seem to share the hopes of some in the West regarding a new gas bonanza from shale, and appears rather to be assuming that it will need to move off gas as its ordinary gas fields play out over the decades.

As of now, only 16 per cent or so of Russian electricity is nuclear, but plans call for a serious climb in capacity and a boost to the already considerable Russian hydropower base. Some sources [1] consider that Russia's "long-term strategy up to 2050 involves moving to inherently safe nuclear plants using fast reactors with a closed fuel cycle. Fossil fuels for power generation are to be largely phased out." ®

Russia Intransigent on Kyoto Protocol Extension 14 November 2011By Roland Oliphant

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-intransigent-on-kyoto-protocol-extension/447676.html#ixzz1dfMYpL6s The Moscow Times

Russia's chief climate negotiator said the country will "never" sign up to extend the Kyoto Protocol for a second implementation period, casting further doubt on chances of a deal at the international climate conference in South Africa at the end of this month.

"We will never sign Kyoto 2 because it would not cover every country," Oleg Shamanov, director of  international cooperation on the environment at the Foreign Ministry, said late last week.

The comments came the same week that the International Energy Agency declared that the world has just five years to cut greenhouse gas emissions to avert "irreversible" climate change, putting pressure on governments to come up with a deal at the summit in Durban, which takes place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9.

Refusal by Russia, Japan and Canada to renew Kyoto for a second period dashed hopes of an agreement at the Cancun climate talks last year.

An alliance of Pacific island states recently accused the three of trying to "stall" agreement of a new climate treaty until 2020. But Shamanov insists that the Russian position is one of practicality.

"Any question about our participation is a question about everyone's participation," he said. Essentially, Russia does not see any benefits in a legally binding consensus unless "everybody signs."

That is "not going to happen," David Burwell, head of the energy and climate program at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, said at the meeting in Moscow attended by Shamanov on Thursday evening. "Quite frankly, the best way to be a leader is not to push for a legally binding consensus," he said in remarks apparently designed to defend the U.S. position.

When the United States refused to sign up, Russia's ratification in 2005 was instrumental in getting the original Kyoto Protocol — which created a mechanism for countries that slash carbon emissions to benefit financially — into force.

It is also the only one of the BRIC emerging economies to be party to annex No. 1 of the treaty, obligating it to reduce its carbon emissions.

At the time, it made financial common sense. Russia is one of few countries to have slashed its carbon emissions compared with 1990s levels — largely as a result of the collapse of industrial output after 1991.

That gave it a vast surplus of "carbon credits" — the currency of the Kyoto trading system — to sell to other countries.

And the country has managed to hang on to that lead even as growth returned. Between 1998 and 2008, Russian GDP nearly doubled in real terms, while carbon emissions increased only 12 percent.

In public, Russian officials insist that they are still a climate protection leader — citing the remarkable emissions reductions and President Dmitry Medvedev's ambitious 2008 energy efficiency decree, which set a target of slashing Russia's energy consumption by 40 percent by 2020.

But there is no doubt that the country could do more.

Would-be carbon traders say Russia has been slow to wake up to the financial opportunity, though interest has started to rise after an intervention from Medvedev, who in June said Russia should do more to take advantage of the UN's offsetting mechanism.

The IEA said last week that Russia could save enough energy to meet the annual energy needs of the entire United Kingdom.

Diplomats and politicians will try to hammer out the basis of a replacement international climate negotiation plan in Durban at the end of this month.

Russia is still key — both because of its diplomatic clout, and its status as the fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind China, the United States and India.

But the main element in climate talks is "directing giant cash flows from rich countries to developing nations," said Alexei Kokorin, director of the climate change and energy program at WWF Russia. "Russia is neither a recipient nor a great contributor, it is not as important as some other countries," he added.

As such, Kokorin concedes that the chances of renewing Kyoto are effectively nil, but was not deeply critical of the Russian position — singling out instead India, China and the oil-producing Middle Eastern countries as the main obstacles to a deal.

Instead, he hopes that the summit will produce resolutions to create an international fund to finance adaptation and mitigation projects; a technology exchange deal; and a mechanism for the sensitive topic of reporting and verification of carbon emissions.

The first two points are much closer to being realized than the one about reporting.

Russia's priority is simply that "everyone signs" and that the resulting treaty is "balanced," Shamanov said.

But he insisted that officials and environmentalists are fundamentally on the same side.

"About 20 years ago, there was a time when environmental NGOs were the forces of light battling the dark legions of bureaucrats. We are not the dark side anymore," he told the meeting.

Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-intransigent-on-kyoto-protocol-extension/447676.html#ixzz1dfMdG1xq The Moscow Times

National Economic Trends

Russian ruble strengthens against euro, dollar as oil advances http://en.rian.ru/world/20111114/168681187.html

12:03 14/11/2011

MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian ruble strengthened against the U.S. dollar and the euro in early MICEX trade on Monday amid an increase in international oil prices spurred by positive political news from the eurozone.

The ruble opened 19 kopecks higher against the dollar to 30.25 rubles and 13 kopecks against the euro to 41.61 rubles. The value of the bi-currency basket, comprising $0.55 and 0.45 euros, fell 17 kopecks to 35.36 rubles compared to Friday's close, the MICEX data showed.

Global prices for Brent crude edged up 0.3 percent to $114.5 per barrel on Monday.

Oil prices started rising after Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano on Sunday appointed former European Commissioner and renowned economist Mario Monti to head an emergency government charged with implementing tight austerity measures to stabilize finances in the eurozone's third largest economy burdened with a state debt of some 1.9 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion).

The yield on Italy’s benchmark 10-year sovereign bonds decreased below the critical 7 percent level that triggered bailout requests from Portugal, Ireland and Greece. Last week the yield jumped over 7 percent and depressed the market.

Global investors also cheered up as the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index in the United States increased sharply in November to an estimated 64.2 points from 60.9 points, above the forecast.

Russian stocks also grew amid the positive external background. Russia's dollar-denominated RTS stock index rose 1.89 percent to 1,560.24, while the ruble-denominated MICEX edged up 1.70 percent to 1,510.27 in early trade.

Analysts expect the country's stock indices to grow further as Russia has finally agreed its accession to the World Trade Organization.

European stocks increased on Monday by around 2.6 percent. American and Asian stocks showed positive dynamics.

Bank of Russia ramps up gold reserves

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111114112244.shtml

      RBC, 14.11.2011, Moscow 11:22:44.The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is building up its gold reserves. It has purchased over 90 tons of gold since the beginning of the year, while its target is to buy 100 tons this year, CBR Deputy Chairman Sergey Shvetsov told reporters.

      Russia's international currency reserves stood at $525.56bn as of November 1, including $48.6bn worth of monetary gold.

Liquidity crunch could peak in mid-December

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111114120155.shtml

      RBC, 14.11.2011, Moscow 12:01:55.Liquidity shortage in the Russian banking sector could peak in mid-December, Central Bank Deputy Chairman Sergey Shvetsov told reporters.

      "The liquidity environment is deteriorating and will deteriorate. It will peak in mid-December, but will not end in December," he said, adding that the Central Bank will have to extend loans to commercial banks for the next year. According to Shvetsov, the liquidity shortage should not create major problems for banks and the country's economy. He predicted a rise in bank lending.

Ministry extends CBR bailout mandate

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111114111117.shtml

      RBC, 14.11.2011, Moscow 11:11:17.The Finance Ministry supports a bill seeking to extend the functions of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) and Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) to bail out banks that are members of the mandatory deposit insurance system until December 31, 2014. The ministry released on November 11 a draft law put forward by State Duma deputies.

       The bill is intended to improve the stability of the banking system, build up trust in it, and safeguard the rights and interests of depositors, the ministry said. The bill is expected to extend DIA's right to deposit with the Central Bank spare resources from the deposit insurance fund and bailout funds.

Russia GDP Probably Accelerated in Third Quarter for First Time Since 2010http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-13/russia-gdp-growth-probably-accelerated-for-first-time-since-2010.html

QBy Alena Chechel - Nov 13, 2011 9:00 PM GMT+0100

Russia’s economic growth probably accelerated in the third quarter for the first time since last year as companies stepped up investment and bank lending buoyed consumer spending.

Gross domestic product expanded 5 percent from a year earlier, matching the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010, after increasing 3.4 percent in the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Economy Ministry estimated growth at 5.1 percent. The Federal Statistics Service will release GDP figures today or tomorrow.

The world’s largest energy exporter is counting on domestic consumption to balance shrinking demand abroad as Europe fights to staunch a debt crisis. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who will run for president next year, is seeking annual growth of between 6 percent and 7 percent and turn the economy into one of the world’s five largest.

“A revival of investment demand and slower import growth have allowed the economy to pick up a good tempo,” Alexei Moiseev, chief economist at VTB Capital in Moscow, the investment banking arm of Russia’s second-largest bank, said in a telephone interview on Nov. 11.

Fixed-capital investment surged 8.5 percent from a year earlier in September, while unemployment fell to a more than three-year low. Retail sales jumped 9.2 percent in the biggest increase since October 2008 after a 7.8 percent gain in August.

Lending, Agriculture

Loan growth may reach 30 percent this year, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said on Oct. 25, above the central bank forecast of 24 percent.

“Growth in consumption and retail lending is continuing,” Julia Tsepliaeva, head of research at BNP Paribas SA in Moscow, said Nov. 11. “If somebody told me at the start of the year that we’ll have a 30 percent annual increase in credit growth, I would have never believed that. Now that figure no longer seems improbable.”

Agriculture also made a “substantial contribution” to growth last quarter, according to Tsepliaeva said.

Russian farmers harvested 95 million metric tons of grain as of Oct. 25, according to the Agriculture Ministry. That’s about 50 percent more than in the same period of 2010 and bolsters the industry following the country’s worst drought in at least a half century last year.

Manufacturing Stalls

The sovereign-debt crisis in Europe, Russia’s most important export market, is hurting demand for manufactured goods. Industrial production grew 3.9 percent in September from a year earlier, the slowest pace since it began expanding in October 2009.

Manufacturing stalled in the July-September period, posting the worst performance since the fourth quarter of 2009 and leaving producers to “face lasting stagnation” after foreign sales weakened, HSBC Holdings Plc said, citing data compiled by London-based Markit Economics.

Urals crude, Russia’s chief export blend, declined for the second straight quarter, losing 8.2 percent in the July- September period. Russia depends on crude and natural gas for about 40 percent of budget revenue.

The economy will match its pre-crisis level by the end of this year, taking twice as long to recover compared with the 1998 crisis that followed the government’s default, according to Renaissance Capital.

Russia’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 7 percent during Putin’s presidency from 2000 to 2008 before plunging 7.8 percent in 2009. The government forecasts a 4.1 percent expansion this year, slipping to 3.7 percent in 2012.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alena Chechel in Moscow at achechel@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net

Ex-Finance Minister: New crisis at the gatehttp://rt.com/business/news/kudrin-new-crisis-coming-183/

Published: 12 November, 2011, 19:34Edited: 12 November, 2011, 19:38

"The fuze is already burning," says Russia's former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin. He says the global economy is balancing on the brink of another recession and the second financial crisis is already upon us.

Talking at the International Sberbank Business Breakfast on Saturday, Kudrin took a pessimistic view of the future for the global economy.

 "The world has a chance to settle the crisis, but it is very slim," he said.  Kudrin insists that the "battle for Greece has been lost", and the focus should shift on bigger debtors such as Spain, Ireland and Portugal.  They will require another massive injection of around 3 trillion euro to keep them afloat. He advises European countries to join efforts.

 "The establishment  of  the United  States  of Europe  would  be  a positive  decision  and  would  signal  an  absolutely  new  level  of consolidation" which might help, Kudrin specified.

 Talking about Russia Aleksey Kudrin sounded more positive, saying the country is currently better prepared  for more turmoil, than  most developed countries, as the state debt is low, at 12% of GDP, and considerable gold and foreign currency reserves in Russia form a safety net.

 However Kudrin warned Russia may face budget problems at some point, as it was unlikely to enjoy sky high oil prices in the next 3 to 10 years, barely beyond some $100 bbl. "And the plans to increase military spending by 3% of GDP in the coming years are not secured by anything," as it's planned to come at a cost of reduced financing for other sectors, as well as keeping Russian budget with a deficit, ex-Finance Minister said.

 Kudrin's 11 year management of Russia's finances earned him a prudent reputation, praised for saving oil revenues in the Stabilization fund which helped the country get through 2008 crisis. He was sacked in September after a row with President Dmitry Medvedev when he publicly voiced his disagreements with budgeting policies.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

Russia Megapolis delays London IPO till April-Ifaxhttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/12/russia-megapolis-ipo-idINL5E7MC08U20111112

Sat, Nov 12 2011

MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Megapolis, Russia's biggest tobacco distributor, has delayed an initial public offering in London till April, the company owner Igor Kesayev was quoted as saying on Saturday.

The comments, reported by news agency Interfax, gave no explanation of the reasons behind the decision but several Russian companies, including the country's biggest mobile phone retailer Euroset and major agribusiness firm Valinor, have postponed plans for IPO due to markets turmoil.

In June, sources told Reuters that Megapolis was considering a London initial public offering (IPO) this autumn that could raise up to $1.5 billion.

Megapolis is the exclusive distributor for cigarette makers Japan Tobacco, Philip Morris and Imperial Tobacco in Russia, and is estimated to control just over 70 percent of the wholesale cigarette market. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin)

UPDATE 2-RUSAL Q3 net $432 mln, beats f'castshttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/14/rusal-results-idINL3E7MB03020111114

10:34am IST

* Q3 net profit $432 mln, up from $29 mln a year ago

* Adjusted Q3 EBITDA $705 mln vs avg f'cast of $661 mln

* Says sees 2011 global aluminium demand rising 13 pct

* Sees 2012 aluminium prices rising to $2,400-2,500/T

* Says no decision on whether to make dividend payment (Adds executive and analyst comments)

By Alison Leung

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Russia's RUSAL Plc , the world's top aluminium producer, on Monday reported a better-than-expected third quarter net profit despite weak economic conditions that dampened prices and demand.

RUSAL, which competes with U.S. aluminium maker Alcoa Inc and China's Chalco , said its quarterly profit was helped in part by a year-on-year decline in interest expenses and distribution and management costs.

Finance expenses decreased 54.4 percent year on year to $319 million, it said.

"The company appears to be demonstrating good cost control at the corporate level," CLSA analyst Andrew Driscoll said. "It's a solid operating and financial performance with adjusted EBITDA about 10 percent ahead of our expectations."

RUSAL's third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 25 percent year on year to $705 million, versus an average forecast of $661 million.

RUSAL posted a net profit of $432 million for the three months ended September, beating an average forecast of $409 million from 10 analysts polled by Reuters, on lower costs.

It compared with profit of $29 million for the same period a year earlier.

Net profit adjusted for the effect from its share in the results of Russian miner Norilsk Nickel rose to $290 million from $143 million for the same period last year.

Shares of RUSAL were up 1.82 percent at midday, but underperformed a 2.4 percent rise in the benchmark Hang Seng Index. Shares of RUSAL have lost nearly half of their value this year against a 15 percent loss in the broader market.

BOTTOMED OUT?

Driscoll said investors were still concerned about the near-term outlook for global aluminium smelters, which remained very challenging.

But RUSAL says the aluminium market has bottomed out and may recover, with global demand likely to rise 13 percent in 2011 to 46 million tonnes and aluminium prices to rise to between $2,400 and $2,500 per tonne next year.

Current aluminium prices at about $2,162 per tonne, have fallen about 25 percent from this year's highs in May, analysts said.

"We are in the bottom in terms of prices, so we expect the price to recover," the company's deputy chief executive, Oleg Mukhamedshin, told a results briefing on Monday.

RUSAL said in a statement that aluminium prices would be driven by demand from the world's automotive industry, although demand from the construction sector remains weak in major economies excluding China, the world's largest aluminium producer and consumer.

RUSAL expects China's aluminium demand to rise 15 percent to 19 million tonnes in 2011 and its production to increase 14 percent to 18 million tonnes.

"We expect to increase our share of this market from next year. As of today we do not see any reduction for consumption in China in terms of our products," Mukhamedshin said.

But analysts said strong Asia demand growth may not be enough to prevent another supply surplus in 2012 of the metal, which is widely used in the construction, auto and packaging industries, amid global economic uncertainties.

DEBT REDUCTION

The company finished refinancing its $11.4 billion debt portfolio last month, fuelling hopes that the Russian aluminium giant may start to distribute dividends.

But RUSAL said on Monday it had not decided whether to pay dividends.

Based on the company's third-quarter profit, RUSAL could technically start making dividend payments, Mukhamedshin said.

"But the priority of the company is to continue reducing its debt, so as of today we have not made any decision on a dividend payment," he said. (Editing by Charlie Zhu and Matt Driskill)

RusAl's third-quarter net profit soars over 100 pct to $290 mlnhttp://en.rian.ru/business/20111114/168679960.html

11:22 14/11/2011

MOSCOW, November 14 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's RusAl, the world's largest aluminum company, saw its third-quarter adjusted net profit more than double year-on-year to $290 million to IFRS, the firm said in a statement on Monday.

The company's revenue grew 16.8 percent in July-September 2011 to $3.162 billion due to higher sales prices and a record level of realized premiums of $164 per ton over the London Metals Exchange aluminum prices, the statement said.

The adjusted Earnings before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 25 percent in July-September 2011 to $705 million, while the adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 22.3 percent from 20.8 percent in the same period last year.

"Solid production results, enhanced cost efficiency and client-oriented marketing efforts, coupled with a focus on value-added products, have enabled us to end the period with adjusted EBITDA increasing by 25 percent and adjusted net profit more than doubling period-on-period. UC RUSAL has maintained its leading position in the industry with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 22.3 percent," RusAL CEO and owner Oleg Deripaska said in a statement.

The company's adjusted net profit for the first nine months of this year increased 43 percent to $847 million.

The company reduced its net debt by 4.8 percent in January-September 2011 to $10.919 billion.

Sberbank reportedly targeting Poland’s Alior Bank

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text17769

AlfaNovember 9, 2011

Sberbank has reportedly hired advisors to help it buy a Polish bank, according to press reports from Poland. While a number of Polish banks are believed to be for sale, the reports suggested that the most likely target for SberbankÕs acquisition is Alior Bank.

Alior Bank is relatively small, with 2010A equity of PLN1.0bn (~$0.3bn), and assets of PLN9.4bn (~$3.2bn). The purchase of a Polish bank would fill in a missing piece in Eastern Europe, as SberbankÕs acquisition of VBI is to include banks from eight other countries in the region, but not from Poland.

While we believe that the market is likely to have a negative reaction to news of further acquisitions, this deal had been expected because of the lack of a presence in Poland. As the deal would presumably be quite small, some investors could even consider such a move a positive.

Sberbank to ramp up loan portfolio

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111114124827.shtml

      RBC, 14.11.2011, Moscow 12:48:27.Russia's largest lender Sberbank expects to boost its loan portfolio 20% in 2011 and to raise its consumer loan portfolio by 22%-25%, Sberbank's board member Alexander Morozov said.

      In 2012, the lender's loan portfolio is expected to show a similar growth rate, the lending institution forecasts. "We have to keep the current financial and economic environment in mind, after all," Morozov noted, adding that the bank was "optimistic, yet realistic."

      Earlier, Sberbank's Deputy CEO Andrey Donskikh had announced that the lender's corporate loan portfolio rose 19.7% year-on-year to RUB 5.7 trillion (approx. USD 170.3bn) in January-October 2011, 2011, while the consumer loan portfolio went up 24.1% to RUB 1.62 trillion (approx. USD 53bn).

November 14, 2011

12:54Sberbank to lay off 30,000 staffers - Grefhttp://www.interfax.com/news.asp

UPDATE 1-Vimpelcom profit falls; wind integration advances

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7ME0AI20111114

Mon Nov 14, 2011 7:38am GMT

* Q3 net profit falls to $104 mln, vs $159 mln forecast

* Says Wind Telecom integration on track

* Bottom line hit by $400 mln in non-cash losses

* Posts revenue, EBITDA in line with expectations

* EBITDA margin slightly higher than forecast

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (Reuters) - International telecoms operator Vimpelcom missed forecasts with a 77 percent fall in quarterly earnings, hit by non-cash losses, and said the integration of its $6 billion-plus Wind Telecom acquisition was running ahead of schedule.

Russia's No.3 mobile phone group, which expanded into markets such as Italy via the deal for Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris' Wind, said on Monday third-quarter net profit fell to $104 million, compared with a forecast for $159 million.

The bottom line was hit by around $400 million in foreign exchange and other non-cash losses, whereas revenue and core profit came in broadly in line with expectations.

"We are satisfied with the solid performance we have achieved across our business units in the third quarter during which we have achieved double-digit top-line growth and surpassed the 200 million subscriber mark in October," Vimpelcom chief executive Jo Lunder said in a statement.

"The integration process with Wind telecom is ahead of schedule and will be completed by year end. We have already secured synergies of $1.9 billion on an NPV basis out of the $2.5 billion committed," he added.

Amsterdam-registered Vimpelcom fought a fierce battle to take over Wind -- whose Italian unit is the country's third biggest -- after facing opposition from Norwegian shareholder Telenor

The company's revenues rose 10 percent to $6.09 billion versus a $6.07 billion Reuters poll forecast, of which Russia contributed $2.4 billion, up 14 percent year-on-year.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 4 percent to $2.54 billion, in line with market expectations.

The EBITDA margin declined to 41.6 percent from a pro forma 44.1 percent a year ago -- beating an average forecast of 41.3 percent in the Reuters poll.

Aeroflot to buy A320s, SSJ-100s for regionalshttp://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text17763

RIA NOvostiNovember 14, 2011

Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot will buy Airbus A320s and Sukhoi Superjet 100s to upgrade its regional subsidiaries' fleets, Aeroflot General Director Vitaly Savelyev said on Friday.

"Aeroflot prefers Airbus A320s. These planes, which will be used initially on international routes, will partly renew the fleets of our regional daughter companies," Savelyev said.

Aeroflot has also ordered 30 SSJ-100s to replace its existing Tu-134s on internal routes.

This year the company is to be supplied with 10 planes, with 12 planes in 2012 and eight planes in 2013.

The company plans to use SSJ-100s mainly on international routes, but they may also serve regional routes.

Meanwhile Russian mid-sized carrier Angara airlines, which operates mainly in Siberia, is to lease 10 short-haul Antonov An-148 passenger planes, the government of the Irkutsk region, where Angara's owner is based, said on its website on Friday.

"A preliminary agreement to lease An-148s for 15 years has been signed. The airline is likely to get three planes at the beginning of next year and will start using them in the second quarter. After that Angara will get another seven planes in the next two years," the Irkutsk administration said.

The new planes will replace An-24s and An-26s.

Renault invests $400 mln in car loan bankhttp://en.ria.ru/business/20111111/168606118.html

17:12 11/11/2011

MOSCOW, November 11 (RIA Novosti)

Renault Credit International bank will invest around $400 million to open a Moscow based-unit to provide services all over Russia in September 2012, RCI Banque Eurasia region director Bruno Kintzinger said on Friday.

RCI, operating in 27 countries, provides car loans and brings in about 700 million euros total revenue, Kintzinger told reporters at the opening of AAA Motors, the largest Renault dealership in southern Russia. RCI currently offers its services to Russia through partner bank UniCredit.

"The decision was to take the next step and create a joint venture in which ... all the business processes, programs will be designed in such a way as to ensure and support Renault's activities ," he said.The bank will also invest in a dealer network.

"The prospects for a bank in Russia are very high due to the fact that we expect the Russian market to grow in the coming years. And it is a proof that Renault has come to Russia not just to 'skim the cream off' but to invest seriously and for a long time," Kintzinger added.

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

Transneft RAS net profits soar 230% to 11 bln rubles in Jan-Sept (Part 2) 14/11/11 7:31AM GMT

MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Russian Business and Financial News) – Net profits at Russian oil pipeline company OJSC Transneft (RTS: TRNF) increased 230% year-on-year…

TNK-BP still worth $65 billion, Khan tells paperhttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/14/tnkbp-idINL5E7ME03920111114

10:45am IST

MOSCOW, Nov 14 (Reuters) - One of BP's partners in oil company TNK-BP, German Khan, believes Russia's No.3 oil producer is worth $65 billion, close to the valuation offered to Khan and his partners in a buyout attempt by BP and Rosneft.

"While the BP-Rosneft deal was being discussed, on possible changes to the makeup of TNK-BP's shareholders, we put fair value for the whole company at $65 billion," Khan told the Vedomosti newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

"I think that is what it should be worth today."

But he suggested he and his partners were not keen to sell.

"We are not planning to retire," he said.

Khan is a partner of Mikhail Fridman in the Alfa Group, a Moscow-based industrial consortium with Viktor Vekselberg's Renova and Len Blavatkin's Access Industries.

As the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium, they collectively share control of TNK-BP 50-50 with the British major.

BP and Rosneft failed to close a $30.8 billion deal to buy out AAR and proceed with their Arctic drilling and share swap agreements, which Khan and his fellow shareholders in TNK-BP said was in violation of their agreements with BP.

Khan and Fridman retain executive posts at TNK-BP. Fridman will remain chief executive until 2013 under a recent agreement with BP and Khan is an executive vice president, dealing with government relations and human resources.

Their businesses emerged from the free-for-all of the Russian economy in the 1990s and were consolidated into major players in world industry just over a decade ago.

Media reports on Wikileaks documents detailing Khan's lifestyle included assertions that he came to dinner armed with a pistol and told a colleague the "Godfather" was his favourite film.

"Let's not go there, I've already answered that question 250 times," Khan told Vedomosti, whose reporter asked him when he stopped carrying the pistol. "I'm always being asked about that pistol. Everyone has their childhood dreams..."

He confirmed to Vedomosti that he had seen the "Godfather."

"It's a very instructive film," he said.

(Reporting by Melissa Akin; Editing by Matt Driskill)

NOVEMBER 13, 2011, 3:24 P.M. ET

TNK-BP Hopes to Boost Gas Business http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203503204577036333241892506.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

By GREGORY L. WHITE

MOSCOW—TNK-BP Ltd., hopes to substantially increase its natural-gas business by the end of the decade, investing billions of dollars to become a major player in the sector, Executive Director German Khan said.

TNK-BP, which is half-owned by BP PLC, aims to produce about 35 billion cubic meters of gas a year in 2020, about triple last year's level, with the business generating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about $4 billion annually, Mr. Kahn said in an interview.

At present, gas is a small part of TNK-BP's portfolio, with marketing opportunities limited by the dominance of monopoly OAO Gazprom. But Mr. Khan said he expects Gazprom's grip to ease over the next several years, allowing other producers better returns in Russia and possibly the chance to sell for export, potentially with a single company acting as agent. At present, Gazprom has a monopoly on exports and rivals are limited to sales on the domestic market, where prices are much lower.

"In the midterm, if we're talking about reform in the gas sector, we'll get to a situation where a single exporter for a minimal commission will be selling gas from various producers," he said. "I think that would be acceptable."

Growth over the next decade in oil won't be as fast, averaging about 1% to 2% a year and in line with the rest of the Russian industry, Mr. Khan said. TNK-BP made its first major overseas steps this year, and he said he hopes that in the near future, about 10% of its oil and gas production will come from outside Russia.

Within Russia, he said he expects the government ultimately will move ahead with tax changes aimed at stimulating development of new, more costly fields. He said the threat of declining output will force such changes. Similarly, he said he expects the government will be forced to ease restrictions that now limit access to offshore fields to state companies, opening the way for private ones or consortia.

"It's a matter of historical expediency. Allowing only three companies access to the shelf will lead our country to fall behind competitors," he said.

He also said that TNK-BP recently agreed with the state pipeline monopoly for a new kind of contract in which oil producers would guarantee shipping volume in return for the monopoly building a new pipeline to fields in the Yamal region in the Arctic. Lack of pipeline capacity has been an obstacle to developing new fields, but Mr. Khan said this approach would likely work in other regions, as well.

Mr. Khan, who also is a major shareholder in TNK-BP, said the current 50-50 ownership structure between BP and the group of Soviet-born billionaires in which Mr. Khan is a partner is workable despite periodic conflicts.

"We believe in this structure," he said. He and his partners have no plans to sell their stake, he said. He declined to comment on current legal conflicts between BP and its partners.

He said the joint venture, which isn't publicly traded, is valued around $65 billion.

Second LUKOIL well in the Gulf of Guinea reported to have failed

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text17763

VTB CapitalNovember 14, 2011

--- negative for sentiment --- but immaterial for our valuation and investment case

News: According to Argus FSU Energy, citing an unnamed source in LUKOIL, ‘the

second and third exploration wells at Cape Three Points, in the Gulf of Guinea, off Ghana, are all but dry.’

Our View: To recap, LUKOIL has been exploring the area since 2006, and the company has so far disclosed the results of two wells. One failed to prove commercial reserves. The results of the second drove the company to spud another (third) well to verify the amount of reserves. The results of the latter were to have been published in September 2011, but LUKOIL has thus far declined to comment.

The failure is a painful loss and a significant blow to LUKOIL’s (well-articulated) ambitions. However, we have never attributed any value to its operations in West Africa, Venezuela, Columbia and Saudi Arabia, treating them as sunk costs projects. As a result, failure in West Africa does not pressure our investment case for the company. We are reiterating our view that this is the beginning of a sector-wide revaluation and that LUKOIL will be one of the main beneficiaries thanks to its positioning in the Russian (and the FSU) oil industry and due to the liquidity of its stocks.

Russia's LUKOIL eyes bid in Vietnam oil/gas blockshttp://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL3E7ME15T20111114

Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:50am GMT

HANOI Nov 14 (Reuters) - Russia's No.2 crude oil producer LUKOIL said it is considering bidding for exploration in more oil and gas blocks offshore Vietnam after acquiring the first block in the Southeast Asian country's northern area.

"LUKOIL participates in biddings," said Natalia V. Chekhronova, a public relations official with LUKOIL Overseas Holding Co, told Reuters in a written response.

She did not specify the blocks the Moscow-based firm was eyeing, saying applications for bids and the number of blocks were still confidential information.

In August, state oil and gas group Petrovietnam launched the 2011 licensing round for nine offshore oil and gas blocks, including blocks 43, 03, 10/11, 41, 11-2/11, 05-3/11, 50, 22/03 and 12/11 in Nam Con Son, Phu Quoc and Malay-Thochu basins.

The licensing round, which lasts between Aug. 1 and Jan. 5, 2012, is the Hanoi-based group's first since 2007 and the most in recent years. Bids will close on Dec. 9 and winners will be announced in January.

An industry source confirmed LUKOIL has taken steps to participate in the bidding, but said the Russian firm has yet to send an official bid.

LUKOIL has acquired the Hanoi Trough 02 block offshore the northern city of Haiphong from Quad Energy, becoming the fourth Russian firm to invest in Vietnam, after Zarubezhneft, Gazprom and TNK-BP.

The firm would drill three wells by early next year and 12 locations could have promising oil deposits, Aleksander Nekhaev, Director of Lukoil Overseas Vietnam, has said in Hanoi.

A senior Petrovietnam official said last month that Russian oil and gas firms are expanding their presence in Vietnam with three operating firms -- Gazprom, Zarubezhneft and LUKOIL -- while TNK-BP is in the process of taking over assets newly acquired from its shareholder BP Plc.

TNK-BP also said in October that its subsidiary, TNK Vietnam, had received the investment license from Vietnam's Ministry of Investment and Trade to operate offshore gas Block 06.1, part of the Nam Con Son Integrated Gas to Power Project.

Increased gas sales and higher prices boost Novatek revenueshttp://www.stockmarketwire.com/article/4256986/Increased-gas-sales-and-higher-prices-boost-Novatek-revenues.html

11 November 2011 | 13:10pm StockMarketWire.com - Russia gas producer Novatek's third quarter revenues rose by 35.8% to RUB3939,980m due to an increase in natural gas sales volumes and higher natural gas and liquids prices.

The increase in oil and gas sales in the third quarter resulted in a 42.7% increase in profit from operations to RUB17,130m.

But the depreciation of the Russian rouble against the US dollar during the quarter resulted in a foreign exchange loss of RUB6,315m and a 16.8% decrease in profit attributable to shareholders to RUB8,406m, or RUB2.77 per share, as compared to the corresponding period in 2010.

Adjusted profit attributable to amounted to RUB14,721m, or RUB4.85 per share, compared to RUB9,534m, or RUB3.14 per share in the 2010 period.

Novatek sold 20 pct of Yamal LNG to Total for $425 mlnhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/novatek-total-idUKL5E7MB2L220111111

Fri, Nov 11 2011

MOSCOW, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Russia's top non-state gas producer Novatek said on Friday it sold 20 percent of the Yamal LNG project to TOTAL for $425 million.

Novatek plans to launch production of liquefied natural gas in the Yamal peninsula in 2016 when it plans to liquefy 5 million tonnes of gas, with the total rising to 15 million tonnes in 2018.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin)

Gazprom

November 14, 2011 10:01

Gazprom ready to meet rising APEC country energy demandhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=286878

HONOLULU. Nov 14 (Interfax) - The need for burnable energy resources in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries will grow 80% by 2030, and Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) is getting ready to meet rising demand in the region, company CEO Alexei Miller told reporters on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Honolulu.

"Gazprom has firm plans for long-term cooperation with countries in this region, and the implementation of the Eastern Gas Program will create the export capacity needed for this," Miller said.

"The main priority in the creation of our eastern export corridor is the production of LNG [liquefied natural gas], and the APEC countries will become a consumer. It can be confidently stated today that the meetings and negotiations taking place during the summit will be a basis for inter-regional energy integration," Miller said.

Cf

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

Gazprom sees liquefied gas as priority for Asia exportshttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/13/gazprom-lng-idINL5E7MD05220111113

Sun, Nov 13 2011

* Gazprom forecasts Asia Pacific fossil fuel consumption up 80 pct by 2030

* Gas talks with China hit at dead-end

* Gazprom faces rivalry from Qatar, Australia in global LNG market

* Europe tries to be less dependent on Russian energy

By Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Russian energy giant Gazprom expects to rely heavily on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia as talks with China on pipeline gas supply have stalled, the company's head said on Sunday.

Gazprom has been mired in painstaking discussions with China about Russian pipeline gas supply since 2006 but the talks appeared to hit a dead-end over pricing terms.

Russia's initial plans were to supply China with up to 68 billion cubic metres of gas per year starting from 2015.

"The top priority for our eastern export corridor is production of LNG, which will be consumed by the Asia Pacific countries," Gazprom's chief executive officer Alexei Miller said on a visit to Honolulu as part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's delegation to an Asia-Pacific meeting.

Miller said he expected fossil fuel consumption to grow by 80 percent in the Asia Pacific region by 2030.

Gazprom faces tight rivalry in the global market from Qatar, the world's largest LNG producer, as well as Australia, which may overtake the Middle East country as the top producer by 2020, with seven vast plants dotted along its coastline planning to go online later this decade.

The Russian gas exporting monopoly has also been squeezed in Europe, where it accounts for about a quarter of gas needs, as the European Union tightens the screws on gas market regulation in an effort to wean itself off its dependence on Russian gas.

Up to 60 million tonnes of new annual capacity to produce LNG is under consideration in Russia, but for now, just one plant is operating: the Gazprom-led, Sakhalin-2 LNG project which produces about 10 million tonne per year. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

14.11.2011

Negotiations on Kudu gas in final stageshttp://www.namibian.com.na/news/marketplace/full-story/archive/2011/november/article/negotiations-on-kudu-gas-in-final-stages/

NEGOTIATIONS on the development of the long-awaited Kudu gas project between Namibian state oil company Namcor and Russian-based Gazprom are in their final stages.

“The negotiations on the partnership agreement between the two companies are progressing well and they are expected to be concluded towards the end of this year,” the Electricity Control Board (ECB)’s chief executive officer, Siseho Simasiku, told Nampa in an interview on Friday.The development of the project, regarded as one of the possible solutions to the country’s projected electricity deficit, is expected to start in 2012 should the current negotiations between the relevant parties conclude favourably, said Simasiku.Gazprom and Namcor are the main shareholders in the project, owning a collective 54 per cent interest, while British-based Tullow Oil holds 31 per cent and Japan’s Itochu Corporation holds 15 per cent of the shares.Namcor has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gazprom’s lending arm, Gazprombank, paving the way for the construction of an 800 megawatt(MW) power station at Walvis Bay, a pipeline and other infrastructure for the project to the tune of US$1,2 billion (approximately N$ 9,5 billion).In 2010, Namcor and Gazprom agreed to establish a partnership to develop the Kudu gas field and to take the majority stake in the project.The agreement came shortly after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev led a delegation on a state visit to Namibia last year.The gas field is estimated to contain 1,3 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. However, more recent exploration and analysis suggest that reserves could reach three trillion cubic feet and, potentially, up to nine trillion cubic feet.The development of Kudu has been dragging on for years because the new partners, combined majority shareholders Namcor and Gazprom, as well as Tullow Oil and Itochu, have not come to an official agreement yet.The Kudu gas project is expected to cost about US$7 billion (approximately N$55,7 billion). It will generate electricity for Namibia and for export to neighbouring countries. – Nampa

Nov. 13, 2011, 11:58 a.m. EST

Gazprom buys Germany's Envacomhttp://www.marketwatch.com/story/gazprom-buys-germanys-envacom-2011-11-13

By Florian Bamberg

FRANKFURT -(MarketWatch)- Russian state gas firm OAO Gazprom unit Gazprom Energy has bought Germany energy provider Envacom Service GmbH and soon aims to provide electricity to German customers, Jonathan Feingold, director of Gazprom Energy, told Dow Jones Energy Daily.

The purchase is a "step into the German power market" for Gazprom, Feingold said, and the Russian gas company aims to stabilize the supplier's business in the next six to nine months.

"We will continue Envacom's retail market business, but will change the brand name to Gazprom Energy in a week or two," Feingold said.

In the medium term, Gazprom Energy, a Gazprom Marketing & Trading unit, seeks a market share of 10% in the corporate client field, Feingold said.

Market share among private clients will probably be smaller, he added, as the focus is on business-to-business clients.

Gazprom continues to assess the German market for further acquisitions, the director said.