Russia 110314

Basic Political Developments Russian nuclear envoy in N. Korea: state media - Russian Deputy Foreign

Minister Alexei Borodavkin had "friendly" discussions with Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun after arriving in the North Korean capital, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report.

Medvedev confirms Russia's readiness to help Japan in quake aftermatho EMERCOM airplane lands at Tokyo airporto No danger for Kamchatka over breakdown at nuclear plants in Japano Radiation background in Far East normal – Emergencies Ministryo No radiation from Japan detected in Russiao Russia quick to help Japano Rescue vessel sails to Russia refrigerator cast ashore in Japano Rescue vessel off to Japan to evacuate Russian sailors o Two Russian rescue teams leave for Japan o Russia to send rescuers to quake-hit Japano Last group of 18 Russians to return from quake-hit Japan on Mondayo Russians open up homes to Japanese quake victims o Putin Orders Gas for Crisis-Hit Japan o Russia's participation in aid to Japan will help reconcile two nations,

Patriarch Kirill hopeso Aftermath of the Japan earthquake: Implications for the CIS ferrous and

carbon sector Medvedev Bans Financial Operations of Gaddafi Family on Russian Territory Mideast opposition not planning to introduce Sharia laws – Lavrov Islamists jeopardize interreligious peace in Russia - Patriarch Kirill Lavrov, Rosenthal to discuss Russian-Dutch innovative cooperation - - Russian

and Dutch foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Uri Rosenthal will meet in Moscow to discuss stronger economic and innovative cooperation and the Middle East situation.

Sergei Lavrov to Paris for G8 ministerial to discuss Libya events - Upon arrival in Paris, the foreign ministers of eight states will proceed without delay to discussing the situation in Libya. During a working lunch the parties will be able to explain and clarify each other’s positions. At a plenary meeting in the French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, March 15, the talks’ participants will try to develop a common approach to these circumstances.

Lavrov to meet in Paris with G-8 Foreign Ministers Mar 15: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to visit Minsk

o Mar 15: Council of ministries of union state of Russia and Belarus to hold meeting

o Mar 15: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss providing loan for construction of nuclear power plant with Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich

Biden urges repeal of Jackson-Vanik amendment - The New York Times quoted Monday US Vice President Joe Biden as urging the Obama Administration to do more to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment and support Russia’s WTO bid.

WTO Talks With Georgia Held Up by Customs Regional security organization head embarks on visit to Tajikistan - The secretary

general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolai Bordyuzha, will visit Tajikistan on March 14-18, the Central Asian country's Foreign Ministry said.

Farid Niyazov: Kyrgyzstan hopes to settle POL delivery issue - Kyrgyzstan hopes to settle the issue in the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev to Moscow, on March 18, 2011

o Uchkunbek Tashbaev: No official information on Russia’s export duties received yet

o Azamat Arapbaev: The fact that Russia introduced POL export duties for Kyrgyzstan was expectable

Mar 15–16: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

o Turkey to strengthen business ties with Russia - A crowded delegation led by Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan is set to visit Moscow between Monday and Wednesday. Officials from both sides will attend a bilateral “consultation council” meeting.

o Turkey, Russia eye increased cooperation in business, trade Western countries advocating intervention as pretext for oil grab - Russian envoy:

As the international community continues to debate the role it should take in the Libyan unrest, Russia's Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin expresses concern over NATO’s plans for military intervention in the country.

Rosatom Denies Holding Price Talks with Bulgaria over Belene NPPo Rosatom Mad at Bulgarian Minister for 'Downgrading' Their Reactors

Putin’s Serbia: A Message to the Balkans and the EU Russia and Poland trade more than insults - Jaroslaw Adamowski in Warsaw

Navy aviation to be attached to Air Force – source LAUNCH OF SOYUZ TMA-21 SPACECRAFT MAY BE PUT OFF FOR A

LATER DATE - SOURCEo Brakes put on Russia space flight

Delo: US Wants Russian President to Seek New Term Medvedev to grapple with Russia's energy security RUSNANO, Micran, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Tomsk Administration Sign

Agreement to Manufacture 4G LTE Equipment Putin to visit Tomsk special economic zone RUSSIA REGIONAL ELECTIONS

o United Russia wins legislature elections in 12 RF constituentso United Russia leads in Sunday’s regional electionso Putin's party wins Russia voteo Putin expected to hold majority following electionso 90 complaints come to CEC during single election dayo Turnout, Dirty Tricks 'Grow' at Regional Vote

o Billionaire Roman Abramovich reelected Chukotka MP o Abramovich re-elected to Chukotka legislature

Kadyrov to be inaugurated for second term as Chechen leader April 5 One Kyrgyz Killed, Uzbek Hurt In Moscow Attack

o One Kyrghyz killed, another hurt in Moscow attack: media Sobyanin to Limit New Building in Moscow Center, Vedomosti Says Intefax Moscow press review for March 14, 2011 Reuters PRESS DIGEST - Russia - March 14 RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, March 14, 2011 Qaddafi’s Russian Cheerleaders - Since its creation in 2005 for the purpose of

preventing an “orange revolution” in Russia, Nashi (translation: “Ours”), a Kremlin-sponsored youth movement popularly dubbed “Putinjugend,” has served its political masters loyally and without too much scrupulousness. By Vladimir Kara-Murza

National Economic Trends Increase in oil revenue amid unrest in Arab world gives Russia some breathing

room Budget runs a surplus in January-February High oil prices not reflected in February budget revenues January import growth reported at 41% y/y Russia to produce 80-85 mln tonnes of grains

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions TNK-BP, Rosneft, Gazprom, Polyus Gold May Move: Russia Preview Shareholders agree on Norilsk Nickel management Usmanov Backs Deripaska in Norilsk Dispute, Kommersant Reports Usmanov Says Metalloinvest to Buy Norilsk Shares on Open Market Sberbank Buying Troika Moves Dealmaking to State: Russia Credit Sberbank RAS net profit more than doubles in January-February Russian Green Groups to Protest Firm’s H.K. Listing, SCMP Says Evroset having second thoughts on IPO plans Moscow court unfreezes shares of developer PIK Group

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) Vankor Tax Break Up, Deputy Minister Says Russia Bashneft to tie up with LUKOIL on Arctic oil Bashneft mulls selling 25% to ONGC First Russian Petroleum Congress opens in Moscow Russia, Japan May Join Global Bidding War for U.S. Oil, Shale Gas Assets TNK-BP Fails To Settle Dispute With BP Over Rosneft Deal

o TNK-BP makes no Rosneft pact - Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP failed again at the weekend to settle a dispute over an alliance between partner BP and Rosneft , sparking new recriminations between its shareholders.

o BP’s Dispute Over a Joint Venture in Russia Intensifies

Cooperation Between Russia and China in the Energy Sector Interests, Problems and Prospects

KazMunaiGas Buys 50% Stake in Urals Group

Gazprom Putin reappoints Miller as Gazprom CEO Naftogaz transfers over USD 2 billion to Gazprom LUKoil, Gazprom sign swap deal for 8.35 bcm of gas in 2012 Gazprom Neft completes seismic survey work on the Equatorial Guinea shelf Nord Stream: Build it, Gas Will Come - Chris Weafer, chief strategist at

Moscow’s Uralsib bank, told New Europe by phone on 10 March that while Nord Stream seems like a done deal, the South Stream gas pipeline also led by Gazprom and the competing EU-backed Nabucco in Europe’s Southern Gas Corridor remain uncertain.

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Full Text Articles

Basic Political Developments

Mar 14 2011 10:58AM Russian nuclear envoy in N. Korea: state mediahttp://www.thenewage.co.za/12519-1020-53-Russian_nuclear_envoy_in_N._Korea_state_media

Russia's top nuclear envoy held talks in North Korea on Monday, state media said, amid international efforts to garner condemnation of Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin had "friendly" discussions with Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun after arriving in the North Korean capital, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief report.

Pyongyang sparked regional security fears in November when it disclosed an apparently functional uranium enrichment plant to visiting US experts.

The North said it was a peaceful energy project but experts countered it could give the North a second way to make atomic bombs on top of its existing plutonium stockpile.

Six-party disarmament talks grouping the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States have been at a standstill since Pyongyang walked out in April 2009 and staged its second nuclear test a month later.

Seoul wants the UN Security Council to address the North's uranium programme, but an attempt last month to publish a UN report criticising the North flopped after opposition

from Beijing.

Russia has backed South Korea's call for the Security Council to debate the North's uranium programme.  -AFP

March 14, 2011 11:26

Medvedev confirms Russia's readiness to help Japan in quake aftermathhttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=228323

MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has extended his condolences to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan due to the recent calamity in Japan, the Kremlin press service has reported.

"I was deeply saddened by the reports on the high-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that have recently hit Japan, which killed people and caused considerable damage," the Russian president said in his message.

"Russia is ready to provide Japan with the necessary assistance in dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy," Medvedev said.

EMERCOM airplane lands at Tokyo airport

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040119&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 09.54

TOKYO, March 14 (Itar-Tass) -- An EMERCOM airplane Il-76 landed at the Tokyo international airport Narita on Monday. The Russian airplane brought 50 rescuers from the Russian central rescue task force, operatives and the search-and-rescue equipment.

No danger for Kamchatka over breakdown at nuclear plants in Japan

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040121&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 09.34

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, March 14 (Itar-Tass) -- The breakdowns at the nuclear power plants in Japan pose no danger for Kamchatka, chief of the main

EMERCOM department in the Kamchatka Territory Anatoly Plevako told reporters on Monday.

He noted that the environmental monitoring is constant on the peninsula. According to the latest reports, the radiation level makes 5-7 micro-roentgen/hr with the natural radiation level at 14 micro-roentgen. “Nothing threatens the population in case of an unpredicted situation in Japan,” Plevako noted.

The air masses are not expected to move towards Kamchatka from Japan, a source in the Kamchatka weather forecasting center told Itar-Tass. A cyclone moving from Sakhalin will pass along the eastern coast of the peninsula in the Pacific on March 15. But “the cyclone will not come from Japan.”

There are no prerequisites for a probable strong earthquake off Kamchatka soon, the Kamchatka branch of the RAS geophysical service said.

Meanwhile, in the medium-term prospect up to one year earthquakes measured seven points may break out off the eastern coast of the southern part of the peninsula and in the remote future up to five years an earthquake measured 7.5 points may occur with the probability rate up to 50%, experts believed.

Radiation background in Far East normal – Emergencies Ministry

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16039578&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 06.02

KHABAROVSK, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - The radiation background in the Far East remains normal after several explosions hit Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to a radiation survey on Sakhalin, in Khabarovsk and the Primorsky territory, the Far Eastern regional centre of the Emergencies Ministry told Itar-Tass on Monday.

There is no threat to life and health of people residing in the area.

“Experts say radioactive contamination of the region’s territory is unlikely,” the source said. “According to the regional department of the hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring, within the upcoming five days northeast winds will prevail in Japan’s emergency areas and they will bring air masses contaminated with radioactive emissions to the Pacific Ocean.”

The Far Eastern hydrometeorological service and the Emergencies Ministry conduct round-the-clock monitoring of the radiation background.

At present, radiation background in regions of the Far Eastern Federal District is normal from 10 to 15 microroentgen per hour, when the norm is 30 microroentgen.

No radiation from Japan detected in Russiahttp://rt.com/news/radiation-japan-emergency-situation/print/

Published: 14 March, 2011, 10:33Edited: 14 March, 2011, 10:39

Russian Emergency Ministry confirms that radiation levels in the Russia’s Far East remain normal, but the ongoing change in the weather might turn the situation to the worse.

Emergency services has intensified radiological monitoring in Russia's Far East, a region close to Northern Japan, after the Friday’s report about the first explosion at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.

But the second hydrogen explosion that occurred on Monday might also be accompanied by a change of wind, which is crucial for the existing situation.

The sunny weekend was replaced with thick fog and then a snowfall more typical for January than March. The crucial question now is in which direction the wind from Japan will now go: to the Pacific or to the continent.

Because the situation with Japanese nuclear power plants hit by earthquakes and tsunami remains unstable and unpredictable, nobody knows whether there will be a radioactive emission at one of them and in which direction the radioactive cloud will go.

The current level of radiation in Russia’s Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk remains between 2-5 microroentgens per hour – much less than in any industrial city in Russia.

Though there is no reason for panic, locals are bombarding the Emergency Ministry with phone calls demanding guarantees of safety. Still, nobody seems to be overreacting and relocating, RT’s Ekaterina Gracheva reports.

As far as tourists are concerned, they are taking the situation much more seriously following the panicking reports on international cable networks, and they are leaving the region as soon as possible to avoid any even hypothetical risks.

Russia quick to help Japanhttp://themoscownews.com/international/20110314/188489587.html?referfrommn

by Andy Potts at 14/03/2011 11:41

As the scale of the Japanese earthquakes became clear, Russia was quick to offer support to its neighbour.

Although relations between Moscow and Tokyo have been frosty in recent months, with the territorial dispute over the Kurils dominating the recent political agenda, the aftermath of Friday’s massive earthquake has prompted an instant response.

And help has come from the general public as much as from officials, aid agencies reported.

 

Fast response

Red Cross staff in Primorye, the Far Eastern Russian region which faces Japan, reported that the phones were ringing off the hook as the scale of the catastrophe became apparent.

“Even when there have been tragic events in Russia we have not seen such a massive response,” the Primorye Red Cross regional offices told Komsomolskaya Pravda.

“The phone has not stopped ringing for three days.”

In the same region many families have opened up their homes to help Japanese families whose houses were destroyed by the quake and the subsequent tsunami which lashed the coastline.

Vladimir Ostapyuk, chairman of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Afghan Veterans said: “We sent an invitation to the Japanese government suggesting that victims of the natural disaster could be taken into Russian families.”

A hotline was set up on Monday morning (Sunday evening, Moscow time) and 50 host families have already been found, RIA Novosti reported.

Across Russia people have been laying flowers at Japanese embassies and consulates in a show of solidarity with the quake-stricken country.

 

Official response

Russia will increase supplies of liquified natural gas to Japan, deputy PM Igor Sechin confirmed during a televised meeting with Vladimir Putin.

And Sechin also said there was the potential to increase supplies of coal at a time when Japan faces nationwide energy shortages due to the shutdown of its nuclear power plants.

Putin added: “Japan is a friendly neighbour, and despite various problems we need to be reliable partners.”

Meanwhile President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to those caught up in the disaster via his Twitter account, and added that he had ordered the government to provide assistance.

 

Come to Russia!

There was even an unexpected olive branch from Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the staunchly patriotic, if somewhat unpredictable, Liberal Democratic Party.

He posted a statement on the party’s website inviting displaced Japanese families to come and settle in Russia.

“The Japanese islands are not suitable for permanent residences, they are extremely vulnerable to national disasters,” he said, inviting people to leave Japan and build a new life in Russia.

“Russia will benefit if we are joined by these hard-working people, especially because historically some Russian ethnic groups have common roots with the Japanese.”

Neither the Russian nor Japanese governments have responded to this proposal at the time of writing.

Rescue vessel sails to Russia refrigerator cast ashore in Japan

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040120&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 09.54

VLADIVOSTOK, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - The Grif rescue vessel of the RIMSCO shipping company on Monday left Vladivostok to sail to the area where the Khrizolitovy (Chrysolite) Russian transport refrigerator was cast ashore by a tsunami wave on the Japanese coast.

The refrigerator’s crew comprises 15 people, all of them are now on a Japanese tanker not far from the Khrizolitovy. “The Grif’s task is first of all to take on board the Russian sailors and then to try to get afloat the transport refrigerator,” RIMSCO Executive Director Fazil Aliyev told Itar-Tass.

During a powerful earthquake near the coast of the Honshu Island on March 11, the Khrizolitovy was staying in the area of the Ofunato port. The tsunami wave at first cast ashore the Russian refrigerator, then dragged it back into the sea where it ran aground, the Vladivostok maritime rescue-coordination centre said.

There were 13 sailors on the vessel when the tsunami wave hit, two of them were on the shore. One of the crewmembers broke his leg, the rest were not injured. They were taken from the refrigerator by a Japanese vessel.

The Khrizolitovy was damaged and its main engine broke down.

The Grif rescue vessel plans to come to the Ofunato port on March 17.

Rescue vessel off to Japan to evacuate Russian sailors http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47351447.html

Mar 14, 2011 04:14 Moscow Time

A rescue tug "Griffon" sailed from Vladivostok Sunday, bound for Japan. The vessel is on a rescue mission to evacuate Russian sailors, shipwrecked on a refrigerator ship cast ashore by a powerful, earthquake-generated tsunami wave.

   Of the 15 sailors, 13 people were taken aboard a Japanese fishing vessel, they have no means of getting ashore. Two have been hospitalized. The "Griffon" will take on board the crew members and possibly tow the shipwrecked vessel to Vladivostok.

Two Russian rescue teams leave for Japan http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7318314.html

09:05, March 14, 2011The Russian Emergencies Ministry on Sunday confirmed two Russian rescue teams have already left for Japan to search the survivors of the devastating quakes and tsunami that have stricken the country.

According to the ministry, an Il-76 plane left Russia's Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow on evening with some 50 rescuers, three relief and rescue vehicles and other necessary equipment, while another Mi-26 helicopter carrying 25 rescuers and rescue vehicles took

off at 18:55 Moscow time (1555 GMT) from the city of Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East region.

Earlier on the day, the spokeswoman for the ministry Irina Andrianova said Japan has agreed to accept Russian rescue teams.

According to local reports, this is the first time Russia has offered such assistance to Japan.

On Friday, a massive 9-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of Japan's main Honshu Island, which had triggered huge tsunami along Japan's Pacific coast and caused hundreds of deaths and catastrophic damage.

After the quake, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed his condolence to the victims and their families.

Source: Xinhua

IANS

Russia to send rescuers to quake-hit Japanhttp://www.sify.com/news/russia-to-send-rescuers-to-quake-hit-japan-news-international-ldohOcfcgih.html

2011-03-14 07:50:00

Moscow, March 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia will send a team of rescuers to Japan, stricken by the devastating earthquake and tsunami, a spokeswoman for the country's emergencies ministry has said.

Irina Andrianova said Japan had agreed to accept a team of 50 Russian rescuers to join the search for survivors of the disaster.

An Mi-26 helicopter of the Russian emergencies ministry would carry 25 rescuers and a rescue vehicle to Japan.

If Japan asks for additional help, Russia will send more forces, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

The magnitude 8.9 tremor, which struck the Japan's northeast, was the most powerful ever recorded in the country. It triggered a 10-metre tsunami wave that swept away people, houses and cars.

Last group of 18 Russians to return from quake-hit Japan on Monday

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16039775&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 00.54

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) -- The last group of 18 Russian tourists are coming from Japan on Monday, a spokesman for Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency told Itar-Tass.

Early on Monday a Japanese JAL plane will take off from Japan to land at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport at 15:35 Moscow time, Oleg Moiseyev said.

On Sunday, another JAL airplane brought 36 Russians back to Moscow.

He did not rule out however that there might be “individual tourists who have not let know about them selves.” His agency, he said, is trying to find out how many Russian tourists who organized their trips themselves might be staying in Japan. So far, the agency have no information about such people but has pledged to render help to all those who will contact it.

On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry recommended Russians not to travel to Japan.

In the meantime, Russian tour operators have suspended selling tourist vouchers to Japan. As for those who have already paid for their trips to Japan, Moiseyev said, travel companies will return their money in due time. “There should not be problems with compensations, since there are not very many tourists,” he said.

According to the Federal Tourism Agency, about 26,000 Russian tourists visit Japan annually, and about 10,000 make business trips there.

Russians open up homes to Japanese quake victimshttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20110314/162991240.html

09:01 14/03/2011

Dozens of residents on Russia's Pacific coast have volunteered to house some of the thousands of Japanese made homeless by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on Friday, a local NGO said.

Thousands were killed when an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Friday, sparking a tsunami and several powerful aftershocks.

"We sent an appeal to the Japanese government proposing that Japanese victims of the natural disaster be taken in to Russian families," Vladimir Ostapyuk, Chairman of the regional branch of the Russian Union of Afghan Veterans said.

A hotline was set up on Monday morning for residents to volunteer their homes. The organization has already found 50 host families.

On Sunday, the Russian emergencies ministry sent rescue aircraft and equipment to help search for the thousands of people still missing after Friday's disaster.

VLADIVOSTOK, March 14 (RIA Novosti)

Putin Orders Gas for Crisis-Hit Japan http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/putin-orders-gas-for-crisis-hit-japan/432448.html

14 March 2011By Olga Razumovskaya

Two tankers with liquefied natural gas and a planeload of blankets may be what it takes to start easing Russian-Japanese hostilities over a 65-year island dispute.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered extra energy shipments for Japan and the Emergency Situations Ministry prepared a plane with humanitarian aid after a powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake rocked the island nation Friday at 8:46 a.m. Moscow time, provoking a tsunami, an explosion at a nuclear power plant and as many as 10,000 deaths in one region alone.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday that the country was facing its most serious challenge since World War II.

"This is the toughest crisis in Japan's 65 years of postwar history," Kan said in televised remarks. "I'm convinced that we can overcome the crisis."

Japan asked Russia to increase energy supplies after the nuclear power station Fukushima Daiichi north of Tokyo was damaged by the massive earthquake, and Moscow is ready to help, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin told Putin at a meeting Saturday.

"Japan is our neighbor, our friendly neighbor, and despite various problems we have to be reliable partners," Putin said in remarks shown on state television.

Putin asked state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom to consider increasing shipments of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to Japan, where 30 percent of electricity is provided

through nuclear energy and which is the world's biggest LNG buyer with 59.5 million cubic meters a day.

"We are looking for ways to divert two tankers that are en route under other contracts toward Japan for supplies in April and May," Sechin told Putin. "They are two 100,000-metric-ton vessels."

On Sunday morning, a Sakhalin-2 tanker with 19,500 cubic meters of LNG left Sakhalin island for Hiroshima, where it will dock Tuesday. Another tanker with 100,000 cubic meters of LNG will leave for Japan on Monday, Interfax reported.

But both tankers will be delivering LNG under existing contracts, the report said, meaning that no tankers have yet been diverted and that the additional shipments as per Putin's instructions have not begun.

In addition to LNG shipments, Mechel and SUEK will consider boosting coal supplies by 3 million to 4 million tons, Sechin said.

Japan also accepted Russia's offer for humanitarian aid on Sunday after earlier welcoming similar assistance from 69 other countries.

An Il-76 with about 50 people on board, three rescue vehicles and special equipment will leave shortly for Japan, where the team be able to work autonomously for two weeks, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on its web site Sunday.

Russia is "ready to offer Japan all possible aid to cope with the aftermath of this tragedy," President Dmitry Medvedev said in a statement in which he offered his condolences.

Ordinary people also shared Japan's grief, laying flowers outside the Japanese Embassy in Moscow.

The Japanese government thanked the Russians for their support.

"Russians are constantly expressing to me their condolences and showing their solidarity, which warms my heart," Masaharu Kono, Japanese ambassador to Russia, said in a statement faxed to The Moscow Times late Sunday.

The Russian government also mobilized its efforts in the Far East, evacuating some 11,000 residents from coastal areas before the tsunami hit Friday, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. No injuries were reported, and most people had returned to their homes by Sunday.

Tsunami warnings were also issued to 76 fishing ships in the area Friday, Itar-Tass said.

When the immediate danger of the earthquake and tsunami passed, the country's top doctor, Gennady Onishchenko, offered assurances that radiation in the Far East was within the normal range and that local residents had nothing to worry about.

Japanese officials also said radiation levels around the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant were close to normal Sunday.

The official death toll from the quake and tsunami is 1,351, although officials warned it could soar because as many as 10,000 people are feared killed in the northeastern Miyagi region alone.

Onishchenko was quick to dismiss any comparisons to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine that led to one of the biggest nuclear accidents in history.

"The damaged reactor in Fukushima is weaker in capacity than the Chernobyl one, and even in the worst-case scenario this gives us hope," he said, Interfax reported.

Onishchenko, however, expressed concern that many Japanese nuclear power plants are located along the coastline and on landfill. "After the incident, obviously, Japan will have to change its concept for developing civilian nuclear power," he said.

Environmentalists said Russia itself could learn from Japan because of its interest in building floating nuclear power stations, one of which has already been launched in the quake-prone Far East. Moreover, Russia was on the brink of an incident similar to Japan’s current situation in 1993 when the energy supply to the Kola nuclear power plant in northwestern Russia got cut off because of stormy winds.  

"The events in Japan must become a good lesson for Russia," said Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman of Ecodefense, an environmental group. "The lesson is the following: Nuclear power in principle cannot be safe, and new projects, like the floating nuclear power station in the Far East and grounded power stations in seismically dangerous zones only increase the risks borne by the nuclear industry."

As the world's third-largest economy, Japan can deal with the aftermath of the earthquake on its own, experts believe, but given the gravity of the situation, it is best for its people that it does not.

Japan's decision to reach out to Moscow and accept offered aid illustrates the humaneness of both sides despite seriously strained political ties, said Alexander Losyukov, a former Russian ambassador to Japan.

"When your neighbor is in trouble like that, regardless of your political beliefs, you reach out to him and offer help," Losyukov told The Moscow Times.

"I am also glad that [Japan] had wisdom enough to accept the helping hand," he said.

Relations have sunk to near post-World War II lows amid a territorial dispute over four islands that the Soviet Union seized from Japan near the end of the war. The largely unpopulated islands, which suffered no damage in the quake and tsunami, are called the southern Kurils by the Russian side and the Northern Territories by the Japanese and lie as close as 10 kilometers from Japan.

Tokyo, which wants the islands back, has made the resolution of the dispute a priority in recent months, but it reacted angrily when Medvedev visited the islands in November and the Russian military spoke just days ago of fortifying its presence there.

While it remains to be seen whether the tragedy will lead to a mending of fences, at least one Russian politician has made an unusual proposal on how both sides could help each other in the tough, upcoming days. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the eccentric leader of the Liberal Democratic Party who is known for his pro-Russian territorial views, suggested that displaced Japanese be moved to the sparsely populated Russian Far East.

"In this case we are not dividing anything, no islands," he said in a statement on the party's web site Sunday. "We are offering [them a chance] to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

"Let them go to the unoccupied lands, build and support themselves. They will not impede the locals, and Russia will only win if such hard-working people join us."

14 March 2011, 12:07

Russia's participation in aid to Japan will help reconcile two nations, Patriarch Kirill hopeshttp://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8277

Moscow, March 14, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on Saturday expressed sympathy with Japan over the powerful earthquakes and tsunami that have hit the country.

"What has happened in Japan is an enormous tragedy. It's unclear how many people have died. But what we can see in televised news is terrifying. Behind all those pictures is a real tragedy for ordinary people," the Patriarch told reporters in Moscow.

When such calamities occur, "we must all help each other, solidarity between people must be the decisive factor in dealing with these dreadful circumstances," he said.

"God grant that the participation of Russia, among others, in helping Japan should help bring about conciliation between our peoples. We must be together in sorrow so that, in times of peace as well, we are able to peacefully interact and support each other," the Patriarch said.

Aftermath of the Japan earthquake: Implications for the CIS ferrous and carbon sector

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14455

Renaissance CapitalMarch 14, 2011

Event: Steel Business Briefing (SBB) has reported that Japan's most powerful earthquake in more than 300 years could damage 15-20mn tpa of steelmaking capacity across the country. Sumitomo officially confirmed the idling of the 5mn tpa Kashima steel mill, which is near the epicentre. According to SBB, Nippon Steel's and JFE Steel's facilities could also be affected. SBB confirms that large iron ore and coking coal storage yards were damaged by the tsunami that resulted from the quake. Japan is the second-largest steel producer in the world: in 2010, its crude steel output was 110mnt and steel exports reached a record high of 43.4mnt (+26% YoY).

Action: The news is neutral for Mechel and positive for Evraz, in our view.

Rationale: The massive earthquake has created so much confusion and devastation that it is impossible to work with anything more than rough estimates at this juncture. Japan accounts for approximately 6-7% and 14-16% of Russia's coking coal and thermal coal export volumes, respectively. The accidents at Japanese nuclear power facilities appear to us to be bullish for Russian thermal coal exporters (Kuzbassrazrezugol, SUEK and Mechel). The idling of 15-20mn tpa of steelmaking capacity translates into 8-10mn tpa less coking coal consumption (3-4% of global seaborne coking coal volumes). The actual impact on the coking coal market will depend on when Japanese steel operations are restarted and on the coking coal inventories destroyed by the tsunami. Around one-third of Russia's steel exports go to Asia. Taking into account Japan's role as a steel exporter in Asia, companies benefiting from diminished competition in the region in the near term may draw investors' attention. In Russia's case, we think Evraz will benefit: Evraz sold 32% of total 1H10 steel volumes to Asia.

Boris Krasnojenov

03/14 11:54   MEDVEDEV BANS ENTRY TO RUSSIA AND TRANSIT OF GADDAFI'S FAMILY AND ENTOURAGE - DECREE 

03/14 11:54   MEDVEDEV BANS FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF GADDAFI FAMILY ON RUSSIAN TERRITORY

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=228333

http://www.interfax.ru/news.asp?id=181150

Medvedev Bans Financial Operations of Gaddafi Family On Russian Territory

March 14, 2011 11:57 and

Moscow. March 14. INTERFAX.RU - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree that prohibits the leader of the Libyan Revolution Muammar Gaddafi and his family financial transactions in the Russian Federation. In accordance with the decree on the list of persons banned of financial transactions, or financial operations with assets and economic resources available in the Russian Federation are: Muammar Gaddafi, his daughter Aisha, and his sons Hannibal and Khamis.

14 March 2011, 10:15

Mideast opposition not planning to introduce Sharia laws – Lavrovhttp://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8276

Moscow, March 14, Interfax - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Islamists are unlikely to come to power as a result of revolutions in a number of Middle Eastern countries.

"I would not dramatize the situation: the experience shows that Islam and democracy are quite compatible," he said on the Channel 3 television.

"The driving forces of the events both in Libya and in Egypt were mainly educated young people. The current opposition slogans consist in the change of power, in the succession of power based on democratic principles and not the introduction of the Sharia laws," Lavrov added.

He also said he was not inclined to liken the current events in the Middle East and North Africa to the "color revolutions" in the former Soviet republics.

"The domestic factor played a bigger role in the Middle East than in the post-Soviet territories," the minister said.

14 March 2011, 10:12

Islamists jeopardize interreligious peace in Russia - Patriarch Kirillhttp://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8275

Moscow, March 14, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed fears over the threat of radical Islamism existing in Russia.

"We have not had any religious wars in a thousand years. We have always lived together but everyone observed their customs and preserved their traditions. (...) We are still living in the inertia of this tradition which unfortunately is now exposed to a greater risk from radical fundamentalist Islamic groups," the Patriarch said at a meeting with the global leadership group of the World Economic Forum in Moscow on Saturday.

These groups "come to Russia and teach their followers a different style of relationship with non-Muslims," he said.

"I thank God that today an absolute majority of Muslims in Russia continue the tradition of co-existence that has existed in our country for hundreds of years. We are making every effort to preserve this tradition," the Russian Church leader said.

Russia has an Interreligious Council that discusses problems "shared by people of various religious: legislation, social issues and many others," he said.

"If the religious thinking gets radicalized, then inter-religious relations explode. Religious leaders, governments and authorities are faced with an enormous task here," Patriarch Kirill said.

"We perceive with gratefulness what our fathers and forefathers believed in and how they built interreligious relations, and we would like to continue this tradition because it proved its viability," he said.

"People preserve their cultural and religious values but they respect and help one another in their interaction. Today the religious factor is being used by "the evil will" of certain individuals "for political purposes," the Patriarch said.

Lavrov, Rosenthal to discuss Russian-Dutch innovative cooperation

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16039760&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 01.17

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - Russian and Dutch foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Uri Rosenthal will meet in Moscow to discuss stronger economic and innovative cooperation and the Middle East situation.

“The ministers will focus on the bilateral agenda and cooperation in the Russia-EU format, within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council and in international

organizations – the UN, OSCE and the Council of Europe,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.

The two diplomats are expected to exchange opinions on weapon restriction, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against international terrorism and crime.

Lavrov and Rosenthal will sign a program of actions for 2011-2013 that envisions the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in most different areas, including the preparation for the Year of Russia in the Netherlands and the Year of the Netherlands in Russia in 2013.

According to experts, the Netherlands is one of the biggest, most active and promising strategic economic and investment partners of Russia. Last year the two countries’ trade comprised around 48 billion U.S. dollars. In 2002-2010 the investments increased by more than 10 times to 43.3 billion U.S. dollars, of them 15.7 billion U.S. dollars are direct investments.

Moscow and Amsterdam implement large-scale projects, mainly those in energy. Phillips’ energy saving and energy efficiency technologies are being applied in pilot projects aimed at developing infrastructure facilities in Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, and poultry farms of Russia’ s company Evrodon.

The two countries step up cooperation in innovations, bioenergy, agriculture, transport, medicine and pharmaceutics. Dutch companies are active to join the creation of Russia’s innovation hub Skolkovo.

The two ministers also touched upon issues on the international agenda such the Middle East and North Africa, Iran’s problem and the situation in Afghanistan.

Sergei Lavrov to Paris for G8 ministerial to discuss Libya events

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040545&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 11.28

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - Group of Eight ministerial meeting (Russia, the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan) will be opened in Paris on Monday by a conversation at the Elysee Palace with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a working lunch hosted by the country’s foreign minister. The central theme of the two-day discussions are to be events in the Middle East and in North Africa.

All the G8 high guests will arrive in the French capital. The Japanese foreign minister, despite the devastating natural disaster that struck several Japanese cities, on Sunday

made a decision not to cancel his trip to Europe, but only cut the programme. Takeaki Matsumoto will personally thank the colleagues for their willingness to provide assistance to Japan in overcoming the consequences of the strongest earthquake and express determination of his country to cope with any difficulties. Matsumoto’s bilateral meeting, in particular, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is planned “on the sidelines” of the Paris meeting.

Upon arrival in Paris, the foreign ministers of eight states will proceed without delay to discussing the situation in Libya. During a working lunch the parties will be able to explain and clarify each other’s positions. At a plenary meeting in the French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, March 15, the talks’ participants will try to develop a common approach to these circumstances.

The possibility of military interference in the situation in Libya remains a controversial, and perhaps the most sensitive issue. Russia opposes such a scenario and insists that it is the prerogative of the UN Security Council. Moscow also notes if proposals are submitted to the UN Security Council proposals on closing the airspace over Libya, the sides will have to carefully examine the issue, to obtain detailed information about how the authors conceive taking such actions in practice, which of the states would be ready to act as a volunteer to ensure the no-fly zones regime, which means will be applied, and what rules of engagement will be used. Civilian population has suffered more than once within the framework of no-fly zones that had been introduced in other countries in the past, recalls Sergei Lavrov, and this aspect should be taken into account. The most important thing now, according to the Russian foreign minister, is to get an independent and objective assessment of what is happening in Libya.

The Group of Eight at its meeting also plans to examine in detail the plans to provide humanitarian assistance to the region’s population and the related relief measures.

From the “hot’ topics the foreign ministers will proceed to the important ones. In particular, they will discuss issues of disarmament. They will discuss the fulfilment of the final decisions of last year’s Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Russian and the United States expect a positive response of the partners to ratification of the new START Treaty by them. Moscow is also ready the G8 a number of measures on the subject of non-proliferation.

The meeting participants will certainly exchange views on the situation around the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea. The parties will analyse the progress of the Action Plan on combating terrorism and organised crime, adopted at last year’s summit of the Group of Eight in Muskoka. The agenda of the discussions also includes the issue of combating drug trafficking.

The meeting of the G8 foreign ministers is traditionally a key link in the chain of events to prepare the political agenda of the G8 leaders’ meeting. Their summit will be held at Deauville at the end of May. The results of the discussions of the foreign ministers will be recorded in a statement of the chairman.

It is no secret that the Group of Eight is going through a stage of substantial transformation. A considerable part of the economic problems is now being considered within the Group of Twenty. However, the G8 still maintains its role as an important mechanism for collective search for solutions to the most pressing political problems.

The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of six countries in the world: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada joined the group (thus creating the G7). In 1997, the group added Russia thus becoming the G8. In addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. G8 can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8 environment ministers.

Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place.

Lavrov to meet in Paris with G-8 Foreign Ministers http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47350582.html

Mar 14, 2011 01:12 Moscow Time

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is off to Paris to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the G-8 on March 14-15. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, "the meeting will consider the political agenda of the forum in preparation for the G-8 Summit in Deauville, France. The latter meeting is scheduled for May 26-27. The sides will exchange views on the situation in North Africa, the Middle East, on the antiterrorist front, and many other topics.

Mar 15: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to visit Minsk

Mar 15: Council of ministries of union state of Russia and Belarus to hold meeting

Mar 15: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss providing loan for construction of nuclear power plant with Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich

http://www.prime-tass.com/news/calendar/_Russian_calendar_Key_events_for_March_14/-103/%7BBD82EEB2-4FF5-47E3-845A-664A3D4C3980%7D.uif

Biden urges repeal of Jackson-Vanik amendment http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47359712.html

Mar 14, 2011 10:58 Moscow Time

The New York Times quoted Monday US Vice President Joe Biden as urging the Obama Administration to do more to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment and support Russia’s WTO bid.

Biden, who paid a two-day visit to Russia late last week, also stressed the importance of deepening trade and economic collaboration between Moscow and Washington, which he said is still tarnished by the Jackson-Vanik amendment.   

WTO Talks With Georgia Held Up by Customs http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/wto-talks-with-georgia-held-up-by-customs/432436.html

14 March 2011Bloomberg

Georgia may resume talks next month on lifting its opposition to Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.

The two sides made no "significant" progress during negotiations in Switzerland earlier this week, Nikoloz Mchedlishvili, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nika Gilauri, said by telephone in the capital Tbilisi on Friday.

Mchedlishvili said Georgia objects to customs checkpoints in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Getting Russia into the World Trade Organization would help deal with issues about the openness of that nation's economy, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Thursday during a luncheon sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

"It is in our interest to bring the world's largest economy," which isn't subject to WTO rules, into the global trade group, Kirk said.

Senator Benjamin Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said he was skeptical of voting to clear Russia for the WTO.

"I'm just not going to knee-jerk approve these agreements unless I know that we have effective remedies," Cardin told Kirk. "You only have certain leverage points. Once they are in the WTO, our chances of getting enforceable provisions in an understanding with the United States evaporates."

NEW YORK — Real estate mogul Donald Trump appeared at a New York news conference Thursday with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to announce a luxury development project there, The Associated Press reported.

Trump will make an initial investment in Georgia of $250 million, according to the Georgian government web site. "Since the project is of high scales, the sum of it will increase," the web site quoted Trump as saying.

Georgia received $553 million of foreign direct investment last year, the National Statistics Office said on its web site Friday, Bloomberg reported.

Regional security organization head embarks on visit to Tajikistanhttp://en.rian.ru/world/20110314/162988445.html

01:36 14/03/2011

The secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Nikolai Bordyuzha, will visit Tajikistan on March 14-18, the Central Asian country's Foreign Ministry said.

"During meetings in Dushanbe, Bordyuzha will discuss regional security, efforts to counter extremism, terrorism and transnational crime, stabilize the regional situation, and the situation in Afghanistan," Bordyuzha said.

The secretary general will also attend a meeting of the working group on Afghanistan.

The CSTO is a regional security organization. Its seven member states are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

DUSHANBE, March 14 (RIA Novosti)

Farid Niyazov: Kyrgyzstan hopes to settle POL delivery issue 14/03-2011 10:44, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency

Kyrgyzstan hopes to settle POL delivery issue during forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev to Moscow, advisor of Head of Government Farid Niyazov told reporters, commenting on the situation with the POL duty abolishment by Russia.

“All the issues, discussed in the context of continued duty-free fuel supply from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, had been solved ever since. Currently, there is a delay of reached agreements entry into force. Kyrgyzstan hopes to settle the issue in the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev to Moscow, on March 18, 2011,” he explained.

Let’s note, earlier, in mass media appeared information that Russia again introduced POL export duties for Kyrgyzstan.

According to parliamentary deputy Azamat Arapbaev, delivery of duty-free fuel, which had to start on February 15, was not performed.

Previously, officials did not comment these facts. But today they assumed that there were POL delivery problems.

URL: http://eng.24.kg/cis/2011/03/14/16814.html

Uchkunbek Tashbaev: No official information on Russia’s export duties received yet14/03-2011 07:39, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency , by Darya PODOLSKAYA

“Kyrgyzstan has no official notification on introduction of export duties for fuel supplies from Russia,” Minister of Economic Regulation Uchkunbek Tashbaev told 24.kg news agency.

On the eve Russia based news agency REGNUM distributed information that RF reintroduced previously lifted export duties on fuel supplies in Kyrgyzstan. “In the near future Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev will visit Moscow. I believe the negotiations will resolve this issue. Anyway, I must repeat, our department has no official confirmation of this information,” he concluded.

URL: http://eng.24.kg/community/2011/03/14/16803.html

Azamat Arapbaev: The fact that Russia introduced POL export duties for Kyrgyzstan was expectable14/03-2011 07:45, Bishkek – 24.kg news agency , by Darya PODOLSKAYA

“The fact that Russian introduced POL export duties for Kyrgyzstan was expectable,” Azamat Arapbaev, deputy of Ata-Zhurt parliamentary faction, told 24.kg news agency.

Thus, he commented the information of Russian mass media that Russia ignored the agreement with Bishkek, presented by Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, and again introduced POL duties.

“It is worth noting that the delivery of duty-free fuel, which had to start on February 15, was not performed. But spring field works are ahead of us. This fact speaks for sharp POL price increase. I’ll not be surprised if price for a gasoline liter at gas stations goes up to KGS 50,” said Azamat Arapbaev.

Kyrgyz government refrains from commenting on it.

URL: http://eng.24.kg/politic/2011/03/14/16804.html

Mar 15–16: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoganhttp://www.prime-tass.com/news/calendar/_Russian_calendar_Key_events_for_March_14/-103/%7BBD82EEB2-4FF5-47E3-845A-664A3D4C3980%7D.uif

Turkey to strengthen business ties with RussiaFont Size: Larger|SmallerSunday, March 13, 2011ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A crowded delegation led by Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan is set to visit Moscow between Monday and Wednesday. Officials from both sides will attend a bilateral “consultation council” meeting.

As the delegation networks in Moscow, the nearly 150 Turkish businesspeople will participate in a “business forum” in the city that will be attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other top officials.

According to a statement from Çağlayan’s office on Sunday, the meetings will be attended by members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, or TİM, the Foreign Economic

Relations Board, or DEİK, and the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, or TUSKON.

The businessmen are scheduled to meet nearly 150 peers in Russia, from various sectors such as agriculture, food, textiles, automotives, chemicals, medicals, plastics, construction and machinery.

Last year, bilateral trade volume with Russia rose to $26.6 billion, representing an annual increase of 15.7 percent. Turkish exports to Russia surged 44.7 percent last year to $4.6 billion, while imports – consisting mostly of energy items – advanced 11 percent to $21.5 billion.

In January this year, Turkish exports to Russia rose to $420 million, an increase of more than 69 percent compared to January 2010. Imports rose 13.9 percent to $2 billion.

Monday’s visit is expected to strengthen bilateral cooperation further. Russia currently hosts nearly 2,000 Turkish businesses. Companies from Turkey have invested $7 billion in Russia. Turkish contractors have completed 1,252 projects in the country worth $33.8 billion.

Turkey, Russia eye increased cooperation in business, tradehttp://www.todayszaman.com/news-238105-turkey-russia-eye-increased-cooperation-in-business-trade.html

14 March 2011, Monday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA

Turkey and Russia will start two-day talks on Tuesday in an intergovernmental council to further improve bilateral relations, with the main focus on trade and business.  

The two countries agreed last year to launch a high-level strategic cooperation council, an intergovernmental body that is to be led by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Erdoğan, accompanied by a number of Cabinet members and a large business delegation, is representing the Turkish side in the High-Level Strategic Council Meeting, due to end today. Erdoğan is also expected to deliver a speech at the Business Forum, attended by 150 Turkish businessmen and many more Russian counterparts. The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), the largest private business interest group in Turkey, as well as the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) and the Turkish Exporters' Union (TİM) also were included in the prime minister's entourage.

The trade volume between Turkey and Russia increased 15.7 percent last year over 2009, reaching $26.6 billion. Both countries are keen to boost the trade volume to $100 billion within the next five years. The trade volume heavily favors Russia because of the large energy trade going to Turkey that includes natural gas and oil. While Turkish exports to Russia in 2010 jumped 44.7 percent, reaching $4.6 billion on a year-on-year basis, Russian imports to Turkey rose by 11 percent, to $21.5 billion. The trade volume in January 2011, the latest data available, showed exports to Russia jumped 69.3 percent while import grew by 13.9 percent over the same month of a year before. The number of Turkish companies active in Russia is about 2,000 with a total investment of $7 billion.

Cooperation between Turkey and Russia, former Cold War foes, has significantly expanded under Erdoğan's government, with economic ties driving the engine of deepening ties.

The two sides earlier agreed to eliminate visa requirement for their nationals for trips not exceeding 30 days, a measure expected to please Russians who flock to Turkey's southern holiday resorts every year. Some 3 million Russian visitors come to Turkey, mostly to Antalya, annually, and the visa exemption is expected to further increase this number. As the visa liberalization is expected to enter into effect soon, the Turkish national budget will be an immediate loser in the short run. It is expected to lose revenue from the visa fees collected from Russian nationals, which stand at about TL 80 million annually. The government expects an increase in the number of tourists to compensate for the drop in visa revenue.

Another sign of the growing ties was a decision to award the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant in the southern province of Mersin to Russian state-controlled company Atomstroyexport. The construction of the nuclear power plant is expected to take seven years, with the preliminary work to begin in weeks. Russia will not just build the plant but also have a controlling stake in a company to be created to operate it.

The two countries are also working on a proposed Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline that would pump Russian oil from Turkey's Black Sea coast to the Mediterranean. It will run from the Black Sea port of Samsun to the Ceyhan oil terminal in the Mediterranean, where an oil refinery will be set up. The significance of the project is that it is to bypass the Bosporus to alleviate the congested oil tanker traffic through the narrow waterway that bisects İstanbul, where accidents are a concern, as well as the Dardanelles Strait, further south. The Turkish straits are the sole maritime outlet from the Black Sea. Ankara also hopes the pipeline will boost its status as a global hub for energy transportation.

Western countries advocating intervention as pretext for oil grab - Russian envoyhttp://rt.com/news/intervention-libya-military-nato/print/

Published: 13 March, 2011, 11:04Edited: 14 March, 2011, 07:18

As the international community continues to debate the role it should take in the Libyan unrest, Russia's Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin expresses concern over NATO’s plans for military intervention in the country.

He tells RT that certain countries are pushing to get involved in Libya because they are reliant on its oil resources.

RT: Do you support NATO and EU backing for Libya’s rebels?

Dmitriy Rogozin: In principle, what usually happens is this: in order to start military operations, you have to ask someone to invite you. So, it’s not proper to come in uninvited. There should be a side doing the inviting. For this side to look presentable, it has to be legitimized.

What is now happening with the Libyan opposition is approximately the same thing. The problem lies elsewhere. No one knows who those people are. In reality we know just one person who formerly worked as part of Mr. Gaddafi’s entourage.

But all others are total strangers. More than that, there is no information regarding the degree of consolidation of the Libyan opposition. The case in point, quite likely, is different centers in different provinces of that country. This is why, in my view, the fact that separate European countries, like France, for example, or the UK did legitimize the opposition may lead to Europe or the West as a whole being involved, even against its own will, into someone else’s civil conflict. It’s a big problem. It must be said, incidentally, that the latest events in Libya indicate that Mr. Gaddafi is not going to surrender quickly.

There are loyalty problems in his armed forces and the police force, but as long as the Libyan army retains its positions in Libya and wins victories over the Libyan opposition, it is a mistake to say that the collapse of the Gaddafi regime is just round the corner. This is why, to my mind, the West so far has been playing games for its own consumption. They hold meetings with all sorts of people, trying to invest in their powers, but that has nothing to do with the agenda of stabilizing the situation in that North African country.

I think no one knows today what scenario is the optimal one. The problem is, we don’t have the facts or enough information. The conflict inside Libya has become protracted.

Many Arab leaders say as much. Even though the attitude to Mr. Gaddafi in the Arab world has always been highly complex, and despite the pressure that France and the UK are bringing to bear on the Arab League, we cannot say that everyone would be wildly enthusiastic to see a Western invasion in Libya. There is yet another important aspect that Arab analysts are warning about. They say that Mr. Gaddafi, if faced with foreign intervention, will immediately become a martyr, a victim in the eyes of the whole Arab world and a very popular person. And no one in fact wants this to happen.

RT: Are you concerned by France’s call for aerial bombardment of the country?

DR: It’s a big problem how to do it. From the technical military point of view, NATO doesn’t have a clear idea about the level of training and quality of Libya’s air defenses. Let’s assume that a country which begins military intervention by launching an air attack will lose several combat aircraft. Libya possesses some sufficiently modern, including portable, anti-aircraft missile systems. Who will bear responsibility for the first air casualties? No one. This is why, I believe, two processes are currently in progress.

On the one hand, aggressive rhetoric is used and political consultations are held inside the Western states and in the UN Security Council. Work is under way to identify reputable opposition figures.

On the other, military planning is in progress that considers very different options.

AWACS planes are in the air; space reconnaissance systems and naval reconnaissance are fully operational as well, trying to reveal the real situation in Libya, the organization and strength of the Libyan armed forces, and the situation within the framework of regional, provincial conflicts. The info is fed to NATO’s relevant military structures but its readiness for action is equal to zero.

RT: Libya is rich in oil. Is that why the US is so interested in the country?

DR: Everyone says so. I think if Libya were just a banana-growing country, there wouldn’t be so much interest in its domestic situation, including in the humanitarian sphere.

Of course, Libya is a big enough energy supplier to Europe. Certain countries, like Italy, for example, are heavily dependent on Libyan deliveries. Others are not so much dependent, but either way, Libya’s share is considerable. We know that NATO, for example, puts energy security matters at the top of its main agenda.

For this reason I think that this factor has a most direct bearing on the speed of the West’s decision-making regarding Libya. No one wants to let this conflict become protracted. All of them want it to be over as quickly as possible so as to be reassured about guarantees of energy supplies to Europe. I think it’s a very important problem.

Aside from that, there is yet another factor. Some major Western oil companies with an axe to grind, where their concessions and oil development projects in Libya are concerned, are quite likely to be pushing certain Western countries towards hasty decisions with regard to an intervention in Libya.

They think they’ll be able to follow the military and thus get unique access to Libya’s oil riches. So this factor is also taken into account and discussed.

RT:  Would unilateral invasion by NATO be a war crime?

DR: Of course. Any invasion would, be it an initiative of NATO as a whole, or of any NATO member state. If an action is not authorized by the UN, it is an illegal intervention.

What I am saying now is not a warning. It is just a statement of fact. As a matter of fact, many people inside NATO agree with Russia. Note the position of the US on the situation in Libya – Washington is being very restrained, if not passive, here. Some are laughing at the overly-zealous France and the UK, saying that those two are running ahead of Uncle Sam. Nobody knows why this is happening and whether there is some common scenario in place.

I think that the US administration would not like to take any hasty actions against Libya now. Most likely, they are monitoring the situation closely, and preparations to possible military engagement are perhaps in progress, but a new war is dangerous for the US now. Especially now, with presidential elections looming ahead.

RT: Are there any conditions under which you would support foreign military intervention in Libya?

DR: Facts, that's all. Only facts on the table of the UN Security Council saying that weapons were used against peaceful civilians in Libya, or heavy military machinery was used against humanitarian targets, may force the Security Council to consider measures more substantial than political sanctions against the regime.

The thing is, we don’t have any facts. We only have reports from BBC, CNN, and other media, featuring some machine gunner firing his machine gun in the air. At the same time, we don’t see any aircraft attacking; instead, we see people applauding the gunner for looking so cool. If there were a real aircraft attack in progress, they wouldn't be applauding there.

The footage we see on American and British channels looks fake. They create an illusion of military action. Where are the aircraft? Where are the bomb raids? Where are the destruction and casualties we hear so much about?  If all that it true, evidence should be now on the table of the Security Council.

Doing that requires carrying out the decisions already passed by the Council, including the creation of special committees that should establish the facts. Unless the facts are established, the Council cannot take the responsibility of judging something that doesn’t exist.

RT: How are the rebels holding out against Gaddafi’s regular army? Are they already being aided by the West?

DR: We assume that something is being done by the rebels and by the opposition and that the Special Forces that were used to evacuate citizens of Western countries from Libya

have most likely remained there. There have been instances of the rebels themselves detaining members of Special Forces combat groups from the West.

We are not naïve and are well aware that some parts of special operations have long been done in Libya, on the side of the opposition.

Otherwise, Gaddafi, to whom most of the army and police forces are loyal, could long have clamped down on the opposition. Since he has not done so as yet, it is a question of secret and illegal military backing by Special Forces. This is my personal opinion. I have no facts yet, but I have experience and I can analyze the situation.

I can’t confirm this, but I think it’s true.

RT: In an ideal world, how integrated would NATO’s missile defense be integrated with Russia’s.

DR: What is missile interception? It’s to see the attack on you, to track it and then to shoot. What stage does the co-operation occur at? At the stage of exchanging information on transforming the risks into threats; then at the stage of detecting by the tracking stations of started the attack started; thirdly, at the stage of identification of the target – this attack may be across Russia towards Europe, or US bases, or across Europe on Russia.

So, tracking the identification of the targeting is the third task.

And the fourth task is to destroy the target jointly.

Some NATO skeptics tell us that, or Russo-skeptics, rather, tell us that NATO can’t be involved in the outsourcing of security for Europe. Well, it’s stupid, because Russia also means Europe. Russia is Europe and not only up to the Urals. In a political sense, it’s as far as the Far East.

Therefore, I do believe it’s our common European cause, and we should think strategy-wise about the people’s, but not our own egoistic, interests. Not to dabble in politics, but be politicians. This kind of system should be created in such a way so it could equally guarantee security both to Russia, on the one hand, and to its partners on the European continent, on the other.

And we still have time for that, let me emphasize this.

Rosatom Denies Holding Price Talks with Bulgaria over Belene NPPhttp://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126180

Energy | March 13, 2011, Sunday

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has refuted a Bulgarian minister's statements that it is currently negotiating with Bulgaria over the price for the construction of the second Bulgarian nuclear power plant in Belene.

"We would like to clarify that at present there are no official talks with Rosatom for the price of the Belene NPP project," Rosatom declared in a statement to the Bulgarian media on Sunday, March 13, 2011.

In the same statement, Rosatom slammed Bulgaria's Economy, Energy, and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov hinting that he is incompetent as he said that the future Russian reactors in Belene will be of the 2+ instead of the 3+ generation.

"There is a chance that Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant in Belene will be built but we firth have to negotiate a price. If there is no solution in the talks with Rosatom, we need to think about how to utilize the EUR 100 M we already paid them out of a total of EUR 600 M we owe them for the two reactors for Belene," Traikov declared on Darik Radio. Another EUR 200 M that Bulgaria owes Rosatom for the first 1000-MW Belene reactor are due to be paid.

Traikov has thus restated the official position of the Bulgarian government that it is continuing to haggle with the Russians for the price of Belene – which, according to Rosatom, is untrue.

Traikov also mentioned for the second time his idea that if Bulgaria fails to strike a final deal with Russia for the Belene NPP, it can "reshuffle" its nuclear plants and use the first reactor that it was supposed to get from Russia for the Belene plant to install it as a seventh reactor in the existing Kozloduy nuclear power plant.

Last week for the first time Bulgaria's Economy Minister made public his idea that Bulgaria could use the equipment already ordered for its intended second nuclear power plant in Belene in order to build a new, seventh reactor in its only operational NPP  in Kozloduy.

"It is worth considering an option in which the equipment already produced for the Belene NPP will be installed in the Kozloduy NPP. Thus, instead of building two reactors in Belene, we can first construct a new nuclear reactor in Kozloduy," Traikov said in Sofia last Monday pointing out that thus the Kozloduy NPP will become "fully Russian" – i.e. with Russian technology, while Bulgaria can then "seek another solution" for the Belene NPP.

Traikov refused to provide more details about his curious nuclear reshuffle idea, and did not specify whether it has already been discussed with the Russian side. In its Sunday's statement, Rosatom has made no mention of Traikov's nuclear reshuffle idea and whether it has even been notified about it.

Traikov's statement comes to suggest that Bulgaria has difficulties reaching a final agreement with Russia on the construction of its second NPP in Belene.

The Bulgarian government continues to be haggling with the Russian company Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Rosatom, over the price for the construction of two 1000-MW reactors in the future second plant in Belene, and to be struggling to find strategic foreign investors. Traikov himself has indicated several times that Bulgaria could decide to build one or two more reactors in Kozloduy regardless of the fate of the questionable Belene project.

Atomstroyexport was selected with a tender in 2008 to build two 1000-MW nuclear reactors at Belene, a troubled project first started in the late 1980s.

The equipment for Bulgaria's intended second nuclear power plant has already been ordered to Rosatom, and the first of the two reactors is expected to be ready at the end of the spring. The construction site in the Danube town of Belene has been conserved over the talks going on in the past months over the price.

It is still unclear if the idea to shift nuclear equipment from Belene to the existing plant in Kozloduy stands any chance of realization, if it has clear-cut benefits for Bulgaria, and if the Russians will agree on it.

Should it be realized, however, it may pave the way for attracting other potential foreign investors to Belene. An example in hand could be a potential interest on part of China. In talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in New York City in September 2010, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao declared that China wanted to invest in Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant in Belene but only if the plant were to use a Chinese nuclear technology. Back then the Bulgarian government reacted by thanking for the offer but saying that its predecessors had already signed a deal with the Russians.

In November, shortly after a visit to Sofia by Russian PM Putin, Bulgaria's National Electric Company NEK and Russian state company Rosatom signed a memorandum providing for a final fixed price for the two reactors of EUR 6.298 B.

This sum is still not final since the document is not binding; a final binding agreement for the establishing of a joint company for Belene was expected to emerge in 4-5 months, according to Rosatom head Sergey Kirienko, who was in Sofia to sign the document. Five months later Kirienko's prediction about a final agreement has failed to materialize.

The other non-binding documents on Belene signed at the same time provided for participation in the project of Finnish company Fortum with a share of 1%, and of French company Altran Technologies with a share of 1%-25%. NEK is to keep a majority share of 51%, while Rosatom is also expected to have a share of 25%.

Serbia has expressed interest in acquiring a share of 5%-10% but the talks for that have not been finalized yet. It is unclear what share Areva might go for if it ultimately decides to seek participation in Belene.

After it was first started in the 1980s, the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant at Belene on the Danube was stopped in the early 1990s over lack of money and environmental protests.

After selecting the Russian company Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Rosatom, to build a two 1000-MW reactors at Belene and signing a deal for the construction, allegedly for the price of EUR 3.997 B, with the Russians during Putin's visit to Sofia in January 2008, in September 2008, former Prime Minister Stanishev gave a formal restart of the building of Belene. At the end of 2008, German energy giant RWE was selected as a strategic foreign investor for the plant.

The Belene NPP was de facto frozen in the fall of 2009 when the previously selected strategic investor, the German company RWE, which was supposed to provide EUR 2 B in exchange for a 49% stake, pulled out.

Subsequently, in the last months of the Stanishev government in early 2009, Putin offered Bulgaria a Russian state loan of EUR 4 B, which ex PM Stanishev refused.

In late 2009, after the Borisov government took over, Rosatom offered Bulgaria a loan of EUR 2 B so that the construction can continue, in exchange for a stake in the future plant that the Bulgarian government could then buy out by returning the money. The offer was refused by the Borisov Cabinet which also made it clear it would construct the Belene plant only if an European (apparently meaning EU or Western European) strategic investor can be found.

Under Bulgaria's preliminary contract with Atomstroyexport signed in 2008, the construction of the Belene plant with two 1000-MW VVER nuclear reactors is supposed to cost EUR 3.997 B.

As the contract expired on September 30, 2010, Bulgaria and Russia decided to extend it by 6 months until they reach a final agreement on how much the construction of the Belene NPP will cost.

In mid November, the Bulgarian Energy Holding, NEK's parent company, picked HSBC, one of UK's biggest banks, for a consultant to help it decide how to proceed and attract new investors for the planned Belene nuclear power plant.

During his visit to Sofia in November, Sergey Kiriyenko, CEO of Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom admitted that Bulgaria and Russia had made a mistake by not specifying the exact raise of cost for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant.

Rosatom Mad at Bulgarian Minister for 'Downgrading' Their Reactorshttp://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=126177

Energy | March 13, 2011, Sunday

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has slammed Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traicho Traikov over a statement he made about the troubled project for Bulgaria's second NPP in Belene.

Speaking on Darik Radio on Saturday, Traikov declared that the two reactors that Rosatom and its subsidiary Atomstroyexport are supposed to provide for the Belene Nuclear Power Plant will be of the 2+ generation, with sufficiently reliable protection against earthquakes with magnitude of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

Traikov was commenting on the reliability of the nuclear facilities in Bulgaria over concerns caused by the damages on nuclear plants in Japan by Friday's devastating earthquake there.

"State corporation Rosatom expresses its great surprise at the statement of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Minister... We believe that because of his position, the Minister should be aware that the Belene NPP project offers reactors of generation 3+, certified according to European Utility Requirements (EUR), with an unique combination of passive and active safety defense ... that cannot be found in any other type of reactors produced at the moment," Rosatom said in a statement to the Bulgarian media.

In its statement Rosatom also denied being involved in any official talks with Bulgaria over the price of the construction of the Belene NPP - while the Bulgarian government has been talking about being in such talks for months.

It further points out that the protection of such a reactor can withstand the crash of a 400-ton aircraft, and confirms Traikov's words that the reactor can function in the event of an earthquake of 7th degree on the Richter scale in accordance with the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rosatom says that its CEO Sergey Kirienko is going to make a formal inquiry with Traikov about the reasons for his statement.

Putin’s Serbia: A Message to the Balkans and the EU

http://www.neurope.eu/articles/105249.php

Author: Kostis Geropoulos14 March 2011 - Issue : 926

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is likely to use his upcoming visit to Serbia to breathe new life into the South Stream project. Putin will visit Slovenia on 22 March and Serbia on 23 March, the Russian embassies in Ljubljana and Belgrade confirmed to New Europe by phone on 11 March. Both countries are potential buyers of South Stream gas.

“No agenda yet - no one knows what it will be,” a Russian official in Belgrade quipped. But if I was a betting man I would have some Serbian Dinars on Putin delivering a message that Europe needs South Stream as part of its energy security because it can no longer rely on North Africa as a safe alternative. “I would imagine that Putin will use the visit to Serbia to try to put new life into the project,” Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Uralsib bank, told New Europe by phone on 10 March. “My guess is that he will use the instability in North Africa, in Libya and potentially in Algeria as a catalyst to revive South Stream, essentially saying to the Europeans: ‘Look you see what’s happening in North Africa, that’s an unreliable route for energy supplies. You need South Stream as part of your energy security,’” Weafer said.

The last couple of months it seems as if the momentum behind South Stream and competing Nabucco projects has been declining, Weafer said, adding that there isn’t a strong commercial case for either one of these projects. Pavel Sorokin, an oil and gas analyst at Moscow’s Alfa Bank, agreed. There are political factors that drive South Stream and Nabucco forward, he told New Europe by phone on 10 March.

Nevertheless, Serbia is definitely a country which can be used to tap a fairly lucrative market and definitely secure a better position in Europe, Sorokin said. Weafer said that Serbia is a very critical part of the whole South Stream project. “It is a major junction on the route and I would be very surprised if we didn’t hear Putin making that message very clearly that Europe needs South Stream as part of its energy security,” Weafer said. Serbia always leaned politically more towards Moscow. “I would guess that the Serbians certainly would be very willing partners in the project,” he said.

Putin also wouldn't miss the opportunity to deliver a message to neighboring Bulgaria to make up its mind on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, Weafer said. “I would expect Putin to make a very direct reference to Bulgaria’s delay in approving Burgas-Alexandroupolis and try to push them along, essentially saying that if they don’t agree to the project then Russia will look for alternatives and cut Bulgaria out of the energy equation indefinitely,” Weafer said. “Messages like that have more of an impact if they’re made in the region - in Serbia - than if they are made in Moscow.” He noted the strong political and historical relationship between Belgrade and Moscow. “That’s a good

platform for Putin to use to deliver a message meant both for Europe and the region as a whole,” Weafer said.

 KGeropoulos@NEurope.eu follow on twitter @energyinsider

Russia and Poland trade more than insults http://www.bne.eu/storyf2564/Russia_and_Poland_trade_more_than_insults

Jaroslaw Adamowski in Warsaw March 14, 2011

Dmitry Medvedev's ice-breaking visit to Warsaw in December, the first official visit of a Russian president to Poland since 2002, was expected to open a new chapter in the often-troubled relations between the two neighbours. And indeed, within months of Medvedev's visit, a deal that could be the first in a series of new Russian ventures in Poland was sealed, while Polish investors are lining up to set up production facilities in at least 10 regions of Russia.

Since it joined the EU in 2004, Poland has weighed heavily on Russia's relations with the bloc, often slamming the Kremlin for human rights abuses and its hawkish foreign policy in what it calls its "near abroad". However, after last year's election of Bronislaw Komorowski as Poland's president, replacing the nationalistic late president Lech Kaczynski, hopes were high in Warsaw that the change at helm would pave the way for a more effective dialogue with Moscow, on top of boosting the flow of Russian capital into the nation's economy.

Then on February 7, Russian-British car maker Intrall Rus signed a letter of intent with the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) and regional authorities to set up a car plant and a research and development centre in Szczecin, in the country's north-western region of Zachodniopomorskie. Construction of the plant is expected to commence in late 2011, while the first vehicles should come off the production lines by 2014, company officials said. The factory will make a range of commercial vehicles, vans and pick-up trucks for both domestic and foreign markets. Intrall intends to create up to 600 new jobs in Szczecin.

The latest venture by Intrall, valued at about €270m, represents the biggest Russian investment in Poland in years, despite Russia being ranked as its sixth largest export market and the second largest importer from Poland, according to data from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Polish government is reportedly likely to provide a grant to support the investment, which is Intrall's second attempt at establishing itself in the local market. In 2003, the

company acquired the troubled Daewoo Motor Poland car factory in Lublin, but it was forced to halt production four years later.

But the investment flow is not just one way. On March 10, Andrzej Zygmunt, first secretary of the Polish Embassy in Russia, was reported by RIA Novosti as saying during a meeting with Smolensk First Deputy Mayor Sergei Maslakov that Polish investors are interested in setting up production facilities in at least 10 regions of Russia, because it's more profitable to manufacture goods for the Russian market on Russian territory than import them from Poland.

Though the level of accumulated Polish investments in Russia is rather low at present, a mere $600m, Zygmunt said Polish business activity in Russia is growing every year, with the embassy receiving 3,000 applications from Polish businessmen wishing to set up operations in different parts of Russia. He said Moscow and the region surrounding it account for about 50% of Polish imports, with rest going to the regions of Smolensk, Kemerovo, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk and others.

Automotive hub

According to Anatoly Leyrikh, chief executive of Intrall Rus, the carmaker has been long planning to invest in Poland, and was particularly interested in launching its latest venture in the Zachodniopomorskie region. The convenient locale of the region, which lies at the crossroads of transport routes connecting Western and Eastern Europe, and its positive investment climate have played a decisive role in sealing the deal, he said. These factors, as well as the presence of highly-qualified engineers, "create proper conditions for establishing a research and development centre where we will design the majority of our new cars," Leyrich said at the signing ceremony on February 7.

Hopefully, the latest project by Intrall could lure other automotive investments to Poland, also from across the eastern border, industry analysts say. They also point out that there is a potentially strong demand for cheaper, locally-built commercial vehicles in Poland, and Intrall's cars would likely fit into this niche.

Poland is home to 16 out of a total of 41 vehicle and engine plants located in the EU's emerging European member states. However, one major preoccupation of Poles is the growing competition the country's automotive industry faces from other automotive hubs in the region, such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. "Poland's latest car plant was set up back in 2000. Since then, all major manufacturers have chosen to invest in neighbouring countries," says Wojciech Drzewiecki, head of Samar, an automotive market research firm based in Warsaw. "If Poland wants to foster new automotive investments, the government should focus on encouraging investments by leading manufacturers... but also on strengthening the domestic market. Domestic sales account for less than 3% of Poland's car output, which is far below the level expected by potential investors."

Recent data from Samar confirms that Poland's automotive industry is chiefly export-

oriented. In 2010, a total of 799,255 passenger vehicles rolled off the local assembly lines, down 4.1% from the year earlier, including some 533,455 units which left the production lines at the country's largest production facility, the Fiat Auto Poland plant in Tychy. Of these, approximately 97.4% were exported, Samar says.

In Poland's light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment, the disproportion is just as apparent. Last year, some 87,986 LCVs were made at Volkswagen's factory in Poznan and Fiat's plant in Tychy. According to Samar, nearly 96.7% of the aggregate output by the two OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) was intended for export. "With such high dependency from foreign markets, it will probably be long before Poland's automotive market reaches stability," says Drzewiecki, adding that this weakness is echoed in the way the country's monthly car sales often fluctuate wildly from month to month.

March 14, 2011 11:46

Navy aviation to be attached to Air Force – sourcehttp://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=228333

MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax-AVN) - The Navy aviation will be attached to the Air Force starting from April 1, a source at the Russian Navy Staff told Interfax-AVN on Monday.

"Starting from April 1, the Air Force will be in command of the Navy aviation in keeping with the directive of the General Staff Chief," he said.

Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets, Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptors, Tupolev Tu-22 bombers and some cargo jets of the Navy will be handed over to the Air Force before the end of this year, the source said.

"The Navy aviation will keep Ilyushin Il-38 and Tupolev Tu-142 anti-submarine ships, Beriyev Be-12 anti-sub hydroplanes, and ship-based Sukhoi Su-33 fighters and Kamov Ka-27 helicopters," he said.

09:11LAUNCH OF SOYUZ TMA-21 SPACECRAFT MAY BE PUT OFF FOR A LATER DATE - SOURCE

http://www.interfax.com/news.asp

Brakes put on Russia space flighthttp://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/space/brakes-put-on-russia-space-flight-1.1041038

March 14 2011 at 09:45am

Moscow - Russia may have to delay a planned rocket launch to the International Space Station that was timed to honour the 50th anniversary of the first human space flight, Interfax reported on Monday.

The Souyuz craft bearing the name of pioneering Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin had been due to take off from Russia's Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on March 30.

But the manned flight may have to be delayed due to technical problems with the craft, Interfax quoted a Russian space industry official as saying.

“Today we will have a state committee meeting that will examine a new date for the manned flight,” the news agency quoted its source as saying. “The cause is of a technical nature.”

Soyuz rockets will provide the world's only link to the International Space Station after the three-decade old US shuttle programme formally closes after Endeavour and Atlantis take their final spaceflights in the coming months.

Russia's potential delay was reported just two weeks after a top government official accused the space agency of committing “childish” errors that included the loss of three satellites in December.

The ISS is orbiting 350 kilometres from Earth, with its first module launched by Russia in 1998. - Sapa-AFP

Delo: US Wants Russian President to Seek New Termhttp://www.sta.si/en/vest.php?s=a&id=1615587

Ljubljana, 14 March (STA) - Delo supports the theory of Russian newspaper Nezavismaya Gazeta that the main purpose of US Vice-President Joe Biden's recent visit to Russia was to convince President Dmitry Medvedev to seek a second term next year.

Medvedev to grapple with Russia's energy security http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47355308.html

Mar 14, 2011 09:43 Moscow Time

President Dmitry Medvedev meets Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin in Moscow on Monday to discuss Russia’s energy security.

A report to this effect will be delivered by Sechin later in the day.

Speaking at a State Council session late last week, Medvedev told the government to hammer out a draft law on the country’s energy security, a document that Medvedev said “should have already been on the table.”

The topic especially came to the fore in the wake of a deadly accident at Russia’s Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant in August 2009 and an explosion at the country’s Baksanskaya hydroelectric power station in July 2010. 

Posted: Mar 14th, 2011

RUSNANO, Micran, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Tomsk Administration Sign Agreement to Manufacture 4G LTE Equipment http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=20523.php

(Nanowerk News) RUSNANO, Micran, Nokia Siemens Networks, and the Tomsk Oblast Administration signed a letter of intent today for production of fourth-generation LTE telecommunications equipment. The hardware will be produced in the Tomsk Special Economic Zone.

The four parties signed the document prior to a conference in Tomsk led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin—Perfecting Instruments for Innovative Development in the Regions (Special Economic Zones, Technoparks, Science Cities).

"This project demonstrates how rapidly the high-technology sector is gaining momentum in the country's economy. For RUSNANO, technology transfer to Russia, transfer of knowledge from one of the world's leading telecommunications companies, makes this project especially interesting. Moreover, it offers Russian manufacturers a chance to become vendors of the latest equipment for fourth-generation telecom networks," said Executive Board Chairman Anatoly Chubais.

"Our company employs some of the country's best design engineers in radio-relay links, microwave frequency test instrumentation, and transmitter-receiver modules for active phased array antennas. We have every reason to believe that Micran will make valuable contributions to the success of this project," Micran General Director Victor Gyunter said. "The lead that Nokia Siemens Networks has in LTE will help us master essential skills quickly and produce really innovative and competitive products."

"This agreement demonstrates the strategic importance of Russian market for our company," added Kristina Tikhonova, General Director of Nokia Siemens Networks in Russia. "This is

a tangible and substantial step in transferring to Russian companies competencies of developing innovative technologies. The government support for our R&D, engineering and production chain in Russia is very important for us. We are working towards establishing all the building blocks in Russia, from R&D to localized production and support centers for our solutions."

Nokia Siemens Networks

Nokia Siemens Networks is a global leader in equipment and solutions for telecommunications services. Focusing on innovation and sustainability, the company offers the entire spectrum of mobile, fixed, and converged network technology, professional services (including consulting, systems integration, deployment, installation, servicing, and network management). The company is one of the largest telecommunications hardware, software, and professional services companies in the world, with operations in 150 countries across the globe. Its headquarters are in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

Micran

Micran is a top Russian developer and producer of equipment for wireless communications, microwave frequency instrumentation, single- and multifunctional microwave modules, and complex integrated items built on the modules. Micran possesses state-of-the-art design technology, production, and measurement of GaAs for monolithic integrated circuits based on high electron mobility transistors with frequencies to 100 GHz. Headquartered in Tomsk, Micran is a full-cycle vertically integrated company engaged in marketing, development, commercial production, and product servicing for the microwave radio electronics sector. www.micran.ru

Source: RUSNANO (press release)

Putin to visit Tomsk special economic zone

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16039756&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 00.31

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday will make a working trip to the Russian Siberian city of Tomsk to hold a meeting dedicated to special economic zones, technoparks and research hubs, the government’s press service reported.

The meeting will be held at the Tomsk special economic zone of the research type. In will focus on issues of upgrading the legal base underlining such zones, boosting their investment attractiveness, removing excessive administrative barriers, modernizing mechanisms of government financial support to innovation centres.

The meeting will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Communications Igor Shchegolev, top-ranking officials from other ministries and government agencies, men of science, and representatives from operating innovation centres.

As of now, Russia has 24 special economic zones of four types, i.e. four research zones, four industrial zones, 13 tourist and recreation zones, and three port zones.

Research zones operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, and in the Moscow region (Dudna). These zones are an instrument of creating an innovation infrastructure aimed at encouraging research and development potential of the regions.

The government supports such zones through easy taxes and customs privileges, and lower land rental tariffs. Their infrastructure is funded from budgets of all levels – investors are given a land plot will all necessary engineering infrastructure.

As of March 9, 2011, 200 resident companies were registered in research zones. As many as 52 of them are already turning out research and development products to the total sum exceeding 4.4 billion roubles.

Investments from their resident companies have exceeded 4.5 billion roubles. About 2,000 new jobs have been created, 35 patents and more than 36 state registration certificates have been issued.

RUSSIA REGIONAL ELECTIONS

United Russia wins legislature elections in 12 RF constituents

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040600&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 11.45

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - The United Russia party is confidently in the lead at elections in all 12 constituent entities of the Russian federation, where elections to regional parliaments were held on Sunday, March 13.

United Russia has had the biggest success in the Chukotka Autonomous Area, where it got more than 71 percent of the votes.

In all other regions - with the exception of the Kirov region (where it got 36.7 percent) – the United Russia party lists got more than 40 percent. However, in the Kirov region as

well, by winning in single-mandate constituencies, United Russia will get half of the seats in the regional parliament.

These are only preliminary data of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the official results will be summed up by the commissions of the related RF subjects. In addition, it should be taken into account that the votes got by candidates of parties in single-mandate constituencies will also be counted.

United Russia is the largest political party in the Russian Federation, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. It describes itself as a conservative party and supports the policies of the presidential administration of Dmitry Medvedev. The party’s association with popular former President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has been the key to its success. There is also evidence that the electorate credits the party for improvements in the economy. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties. United Russia is a large and diverse party. This has resulted into creation of internal subdivisions. The party has 4 internal groupings, organised around common policy interests. In addition, the party makes use of 3 internal political clubs to debate policy: one that is pro-market oriented, a social-democratic one and a third which focuses on patriotic and moral concerns.

United Russia leads in Sunday’s regional electionshttp://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47355892.html

Mar 14, 2011 09:57 Moscow Time

According to the Central Elections Commission, the United Russia party is in the lead following a single voting day in Russia’s 74 territorial entities on Sunday. The Communists are second in most of the Russian regions, save for Chukotka, where they failed to poll 5% to qualify for seats in local legislatures, and also in Dagestan, where they lost to the Patriots of Russia party. The other parliamentary parties, - the Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, have mostly shared the third and the fourth places. According to the Central Elections Commission, the turnout proved higher than in previous years. Observers refer to Sunday’s regional elections as a sort of general rehearsal in the run-up to the State Duma elections that are due in December.  

Putin's party wins Russia vote

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1116362/1/.html

Posted: 14 March 2011 1353 hrs

MOSCOW: Russia's ruling party scored a resounding victory Monday in regional elections that served as a closely watched test run for December's parliamentary and next year's presidential polls.

Preliminary results showed United Russia with commanding leads in each of the 12 local legislative elections in a vote that the losing Communist Party said was riddled with fraud.

Election monitors from Russia's Golos association also said the vote had been rigged.

United Russia rides the coattails of its chairman and Russia's former president Vladimir Putin and already includes the vast majority of the country's political elite.

The party's leader in parliament -- where it can pass Kremlin legislations without anyone else's support -- said the results showed that United Russia's dominance in Russia was here to stay.

"This tells us that the country's political system ... works in the voters' favour and that they they trust it," Boris Gryzlov said in statement posted on the party's website.

"I would like to thank all the voters. This is both an evaluation of the party, (a sign of) support for the authorities, support of the president and support for our party leader Putin," he added in televised remarks.

United Russia was further boosted by figures showing turnout of about 50 percent -- higher than previous local elections.

The results flew in the face of polls indicating lower levels of support for a party that in November was personally condemned by President Dmitry Medvedev for "showing symptoms of stagnation".

The state-controlled media has recently highlighted a series of corruption scandals involving United Russia officials. Surveys had suggested that voters' resentment was also growing because of rising food prices.

Communist Party boss Gennady Zyuganov called the polls the most fraud-riddled in Russia's post-Soviet era.

"We witnessed United Russia using all the dirty tricks invented in the past 15-20 years," Interfax quoted Zyuganov as saying. "This ugliness did not exist before."

The Communist Party had its best showing in central Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region where it looked to be placed second with about 29 percent of the vote.

Zyuganov's claims of fraud were confirmed by activists from Russia's Golos association, an independent election monitoring organisation.

More than 400 Golos election observers had been expected to monitor polls, but many gave up after reportedly being contacted by either the police or Russia's powerful Federal Security Service (FSB).

One of the group's correspondents said he had been beaten up at a polling station in the Kaliningrad region as election officials and the authorities looked on.

-AFP/ac

The Irish Times - Monday, March 14, 2011

Putin expected to hold majority following electionshttp://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0314/1224292062891.html

MOSCOW – Russians from the Bering Strait to the Baltic voted in regional elections yesterday, the last big test for prime minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party before December’s parliamentary polls and a presidential vote next March.

However, with critics at home and abroad accusing Mr Putin of rolling back democracy and muzzling opponents, some analysts said the Kremlin wanted a cleaner vote that would bolster the legitimacy of his “tandem” rule with President Dmitry Medvedev.

United Russia, which Mr Putin uses as both a source and a instrument of power, is expected to maintain majorities in the 12 regional legislatures at stake despite sagging support.

The Kremlin will use the elections to gauge the mood ahead of the parliamentary polls and the presidential vote in which Mr Putin has suggested he will return to the Kremlin or endorse incumbent Mr Medvedev for a new term.

About 20 million Russians were eligible to vote in the regional legislative polls, byelections and mayoral and municipal council contests in the country of 142 million people.

Inflation is the chief worry of voters and the government is struggling to balance the need to check it with the desire to speed up sluggish growth and the temptation to spend generously in a campaign year as oil revenues flow in.

Prices rose 3.3 per cent in the first nine weeks of 2011, severely testing the state’s full-year target of 6 per cent to 7 per cent.

“Without question the protest mood is growing, but it is not yet clear what direction it will take,” said Sergei Markov, a political analyst and United Russia politician in the state Duma, Russia’s lower parliament house.

United Russia still strongly outpolls the only other parties in the state Duma: the Communist Party; flamboyant nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s Liberal Democratic Party, widely seen as a tool of the Kremlin; and the pro-Kremlin Just Russia.

Opponents say United Russia has abused its power to get out the vote in its favour.

Independent monitoring group Golos has accused United Russia of violations in previous elections. It said it expected further violations to take place yesterday, including repeat voting and pressure by state bosses and university administrators to vote for the party.

“Regional authorities will have to fulfil orders to ensure United Russia high results despite its slipping popularity,” Golos deputy director Grigory Melkoyants said. “They will have to employ some tricks to meet these expectations.”

After eight years as president, Mr Putin steered Mr Medvedev into the Kremlin in 2008 to avoid violating a constitutional bar on a third consecutive term.

He is still seen as Russia’s paramount leader and has shown no sign of plans to give that role up.

Convincing United Russia victories yesterday and in December would further bolster the popular Mr Putin’s mandate.

While a significant decline in support for the party would not affect his chances of winning the presidency if he runs, it would hurt his image by signalling discontent with the power structure he has built in the past decade. – (Reuters)

90 complaints come to CEC during single election day

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16039748&PageNum=0

13.03.2011, 23.09

MOSCOW, March 13 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) received 90 complaints during the single election day in the country on Sunday, CEC deputy chairman Leonid Ivlev told journalists.

He recalled that during the previous such elections on October 10, 2010 the CEC received 76 complaints. “But then elections of regional parliaments were held in four Russian regions, while today 12 regions elected their legislatures,” he noted.

According to Ivlev, as many as 18 complaints came from member of the Russia State Duma lower parliament house, seven of them were from LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and another seven – from CPRF faction member Dmitry Novikov. As for political parties, the Fair Russia submitted 26 complaints, CPRF – five complaints, and LDPR – one complaint. “One complaint came from election commissions, and 27 – from voters,” he said.

The bulk of complaints came from the Caucasian republic of Dagestan, and the Khanty-Mansi autonomous area (eight complaints from each of them). Seven complaints came from the Tver region and another seven – from Kirov region, six – from the Orenburg region, and six – from Nizhny Novgorod region. Two complaints came from the Caucasian republic of Adygea, and two – from the Tambov region.

According to chairman of Dagestan’s election commission, Magomed Dibirov, the election commission received 10 complaints from election associations and individuals. “These complaints were of individual rather than systemic character. The bulk of them proved to be ungrounded after a heck,” he said. “In any case they cannot impact the voting results.” He also noted that today’s elections were smooth.

In the mean time, Leonid Ivlev has pledged that “all complaints will be considered in due time and if necessary will be sent to courts or police.”

Earlier in the day, he said that many of the complaints were “of explanatory of inquiry character,” i.e. asking to clarify provisions of the law, while some complaints looked rather dubious.

Turnout, Dirty Tricks 'Grow' at Regional Vote http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/turnout-dirty-tricks-grow-at-regional-vote/432465.html

14 March 2011By Alexandra Odynova

Increased turnout and allegations of foul play were two hallmarks of the last big vote before State Duma vote in December, as almost 3,000 elections took place in all but nine regions nationwide Sunday.

Purported dirty tricks ranged from free moonshine and pop concert tickets to old-fashioned beatings and ballot stuffing, with both the ruling United Russia party — which is expected to sweep the elections — and the opposition pointing the finger at each other.

New legislatures were being elected in 12 regions: the Kursk, Kirov, Orenburg, Tambov, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod and Tver regions, the Chukotka and Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous districts and the republics of Dagestan, Adygeya and Komi.

Overall turnout "grew 3 to 5 percent compared with the previous elections" in these regions in 2006 and 2007, Central Elections Commission deputy head Leonid Ivlev told journalists Sunday afternoon, Interfax reported.

Early results indicated turnout was 40 percent to 44 percent in most regional legislature votes. In Dagestan, 70 percent of voters came to polling stations, the commission said, according to Interfax.

There were also more violations reported than in 2010 regional elections, the country's sole independent elections watchdog, Golos, said in an e-mailed statement. Most violations were related to voting outside polling stations; also, those who have absentee voting certificates are often allowed to keep them, which enables people to vote more than once, the group said.

Chukotka boasted an unusually high turnout of about 70 percent — which the Communists said was due to officials luring in voters with free tickets to an election day concert. A slew of pop stars, including Eurovision contest winner Dima Bilan, performed in the Arctic region on Sunday.

United Russia accused its opponents of dirty campaigning in a number of regions, including Kursk, Saratov and Stavropol. Most reported violations related to a smear campaign against the party that saw nighttime calls to sleeping voters urging them to support United Russia.

Election-related violence was reported in Kaliningrad and Dagestan, where police were on high alert to prevent clashes. A Dagestan lawmaker with the Communists, Alibulat Gasanov, was injured and his brother shot dead when unidentified gunmen pelted their car with bullets late Friday. Police said the attack might be related to the brother's activities, not Gasanov's re-election bid, but Central Elections Commission head Vladimir Churov nevertheless asked local police to boost security measures to protect candidates and their families.

In Kaliningrad, a Golos observer and reporter with its newspaper, Grazhdansky Golos was beaten at a village polling station, the watchdog said, adding that police were present at the scene but did not intervene. Local election officials said Vladimir Bogatyryov was expelled from the station because he made a scandal, but did not elaborate.

Another complaint was filed by two voters from the Kursk region, who said unidentified men attempted to buy their votes with bottles of vodka that turned out to be low-quality moonshine, Ivlev said. He did not specify which party attempted to purchase the vote this way.

The Central Elections Commission said Sunday evening that no serious violations had been registered.

Billionaire Roman Abramovich reelected Chukotka MP http://rt.com/news/line/2011-03-14/#id5319

03:41

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been reelected to the parliament of Russia’s Chukotka region, RIA Novosti news agency reports. Preliminary results suggest that the billionaire has won over 90 per cent of the votes in the Western election area. Before becoming speaker in 2008, Abramovich had, for several years, served as the region’s governor.  On Sunday, March 13, most Russian regions were choosing local legislators and heads of executive bodies. According to preliminary results, representatives of the United Russia party have won a majority of seats in regional parliaments, RIA Novosti reports.

Abramovich re-elected to Chukotka legislature

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16040379&PageNum=0

14.03.2011, 10.53

MOSCOW, March 14 (Itar-Tass) - United Russia won 7 of 12 seats in the legislature of the Chukotka Autonomous Area, and incumbent speaker Roman Abramovich was reelected with 92.6 percent of votes, chairwoman of the district election commission Lyumila Umanskaya said during a video link with the Central Election Commission.

The LDPR and Just Russia have exceeded the 5-percent threshold, with 11.9 percent and 7.9 percent of votes, respectively, but the Communists only got 4.8 percent and will not be represented.

United Russia will get 7 seats, Just Russia and the LDPR one each, and the remaining three seats were won by self-nominees, among whom was former Chukotka governor, incumbent local legislature speaker Roman Abramovich, with 92.6 percent of votes, Umanskaya said.

Kadyrov to be inaugurated for second term as Chechen leader April 5http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110314/162992931.html

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is to be inaugurated for his second term as the leader of the North Caucus republic on April 5, a representative of Kadyrov's administration and the republic's government said on Monday.

The Parliament of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya unanimously approved Ramzan Kadyrov as head of the republic for a second five-year term at an extraordinary session earlier this month.

"Famous figures who have made significant contributions to the stability in the region are to be invited to the [inauguration] ceremony," the spokesman said.

Kadyrov's candidacy to head the republic was submitted to the parliament by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on February 28. All 41 members of the parliament attended the session on Saturday, unanimously supporting the Russian president's proposal.

The 34-year-old leader of Chechnya told the parliament members that his main tasks as the head of the republic are the people's wealth, strengthening of human rights and justice in society.

The previous president of Chechnya, Ramzan's father Akhmad Kadyrov, was killed by a bomb explosion at a stadium in Chechnya's capital, Grozny, during a WWII commemoration victory parade on May 9, 2004.

GROZNY, March 14 (RIA Novosti)

One Kyrgyz Killed, Uzbek Hurt In Moscow Attack http://www.rferl.org/content/one_kyrgyz_killed_uzbek_hurt_in_moscow_attack/2337175.html

March 14, 2011 Report says that one Kyrgyz teenager was stabbed to death and another injured during an attack near a subway station in northwestern Moscow.

Interfax news agency quotes an unnamed source assaying that that the knife attack on an 18-year old man occurred late on March 12.

Also on March 12 assailants beat up a 25-year-old Uzbek in northeastern Moscow and stole his car, which was later found completely burned nearby.

Racist attacks, often fatal, have increased in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

compiled from agency reports

One Kyrghyz killed, another hurt in Moscow attack: media http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n244435

13 March 2011 | 21:08 | FOCUS News AgencyHome / WorldMoscow. A Kyrghyz teenager was stabbed to death and another injured during an attack near a subway station in Northwestern Moscow, Interfax news agency reported Sunday, as cited by AFP.The source told Interfax that the knife attack occurred late Saturday."An 18-year-old Kyrghyz national was killed on the spot and his colleague was hospitalised with knife injuries to the chest," the source said, pointing out that the weapon used was a kitchen knife found on the scene.Also Saturday assailants beat up a 25-year-old Uzbek in Northeastern Moscow and ran way with his car which was later found completely burned nearby.Racist attacks, often fatal, have increased in Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.Last year, nationalists killed 37 people and injured 382, said the report co-authored by Galina Kozhevnikova, a founder and director of the SOVA Center, an independent group that monitors hate crimes in Russia.

Sobyanin to Limit New Building in Moscow Center, Vedomosti Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/east-europe-today-troika-purchase-moves-dealmaking-to-stake.html

By James M. Gomez - Mar 14, 2011 7:44 AM GMT+0100

Moscow decided to place limitations on new building in Moscow’s city center that will practically halt construction, Vedomosti said, citing Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague 1 at dlytle@bloomberg.net

March 14, 2011 10:20

Moscow press review for March 14, 2011http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=228295

MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on March 14. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.

VEDOMOSTI

The TNK-BP Board of Directors met in Paris last Saturday to decide on the company's involvement in the deal between BP and Rosneft (RTS: ROSN). No decision was made, as BP representatives voted against and representatives of AAR (Alfa, Access and Renova) for the deal, the TNK-BP press service reports. In line with the shareholder agreement this means that TNK-BP cannot enter the deal with Rosneft. "The management is extremely disappointed," TNK-BP CEO and coowner Mikhail Fridman said." Involvement in the deal with Rosneft could have been extremely beneficial for TNK-BP and its shareholders financially and strategically."

Inter RAO will place 16 issues of exchange bonds worth a total sum of 100 billion rubles. The company disclosed the decision made by its Board of Directors on Friday. These will be three-year bonds and each issue will be worth 5 billion to 10 billion rubles. The company needs the money for replenishing its working capital, for general corporate needs and for refinancing current debts, a company statement says.

Why Sberbank bought Troika Dialog, why the terms of the deals were such as they were and how Troika is going to evolve within the Sberbank group was disclosed to Vedomosti by Andrei Donskikh who oversaw the deal. "In the first place we were choosing a comprehensive, universal player with a leading position. Secondly, we were choosing a team that would be close to us in its corporate culture and could adapt our culture," he said. Donskikh said that other options were also considered. "At the end two were left. Previously we considered all key players on the Russian market holding the first to the tenth position in investment and banking. However, the synergy volume with them would have been insignificant," he said. ("We bought Time for Money," - Andrei Donskikh, Sberbank Deputy CEO)

The Ukrainian State Property Fund announced that it signed a trade deal for 92.7% in Ukrtelecom with EPIC Services Ukraine which manages "projects of building, upgrading and servicing" cellular communication networks and which has belonged to EPIC fund (Austria) since July 2006. The price of the stake in Ukrtelecom was evaluated at 10.575 billion hryvni ($1.33 billion). The buyer has to pay the sum within 60 days with the exception of the 10% pledge that was submitted earlier. According to Interfax, EPIC plans to consolidate Ukrtelecom market positions with an eye of selling it to a strategic investor or taking it to the exchange in 4-5 years. ("Ukrtelecom goes to Austrians")

KOMMERSANT

The Russian government intends to put off the transition to state programs as a mechanism of financing government investment from 2012 to 2013. This will reduce the burden on the state machinery in the process of shaping the 2012 budget but will open up an opportunity to increase social spending in 2011 ahead of the elections. On Friday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that the government is thinking of an unscheduled hike in the salaries of public workers. The issue of boosting pension payments ahead of elections is highly likely to appear on the agenda too. (p. 8 "State Programs look Ill-Timed")

The Russian market remains in the center of attention of foreign investors. Last week foreign funds working with Russian securities attracted almost $500 million which is the third biggest result in five years. Investors prefer the most liquid oil and gas shares with an eye on being involved in the growth of world oil prices and the growth of the Russian oil and gas sector itself. (p. 10 "Oil swallows Investment")

New domestic aircraft continues to cause losses to its users. In 2010 Rossia airlines lost 300 million rubles on the use of the Russian-Ukrainian Antonov An-148 aircraft. The delivery of SSJ to Aeroflot is again being put off. The biggest operator of Russian aircraft Red Wings airlines has estimated its losses in profitability compared to Western analogs at 30%. Officials admit that the state will have to subsidize not only the production but also the use of loss-making aircraft. (p. 11 "Russian Aircraft to be fuelled from Budget")

ml

PRESS DIGEST - Russia - March 14http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/press-digest-russia-march-idUSLDE72D03R20110314

3:31am EDT

MOSCOW March 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.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- Russia's central committee has registered many complaints during regional elections held on Sunday, the daily says, adding it expects the number of them to grow.

- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has banned new construction in the centre of the capital and is planning to cut the land leasing period for developers from 49 to only 5-6 years.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Russia's No. 1 lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has acquired Russian investment bank Troika Dialog for one billion dollars.

- Moscow developers have raised their prices after Sobyanin's placed a restriction on a new construction project in the capital, the daily reports.

- Exit polls have shown a plunge in popularity of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party.

ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA

www.rg.ru

- Russia's atomic energy experts say there is no cause for grave concern after explosions struck Japan's nuclear power plants following the island nation's massive earthquake.

- Russia will toughen punishment for crimes committed by extremists, the paper says.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- Russia's Far East regions have not been affected by the situation surrounding Japan's atomic stations, the daily reports.

- Russia is in talks to buy 500 armoured carriers in France for 200 million euros ($278.7 million) to equip its border guards, the daily reports.

Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, March 14, 2011http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110314/162991802.html

09:36 14/03/2011

POLITICS

Japanese premier Naoto Kan said Japan was facing its most difficult situation since World War II, with the death toll likely to exceed 13,000 people. Economists say the country could use the disaster to boost its economic development.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Two tankers with liquefied natural gas and a planeload of blankets may be what it takes to start easing Russian-Japanese hostilities over a 65-year island dispute.

(Moscow Times)

The United Russia party gained some 40% in many regions at Sunday's elections to regional legislative assemblies, according to exit polls. Opposition parties called the election results a failure for the ruling party.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Increased turnout and allegations of foul play were two hallmarks of the last big vote before State Duma elections in December, as almost 3,000 elections took place in all but nine regions nationwide on Sunday.

(Moscow Times)

President Dmitry Medvedev has jumped onto the visa-free travel bandwagon, with his top foreign policy adviser declaring that the Kremlin sent a proposal to cancel visas to the White House before last week's surprise announcement by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

(Moscow Times)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender and oldest bank, announced on Friday the much-anticipated purchase of the private investment banking outfit, Troika Dialog, for $1 billion.

(Moscow Times, Vedomosti)

The Russian market remains in the focus of foreign investors' attention. Foreign funds working with Russian securities attracted some $500 million last week.

(Kommersant)

SOCIETY

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin banned construction in the city center.

(Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Criminal capital outflow from Russia in 2010 totaled 163 billion rubles ($5.7bn).

(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

SCIENCE

Experts at Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, discuss what could happen next at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

Qaddafi’s Russian Cheerleaders

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/new/blogs/kara-murza/Qaddafis_Russian_Cheerleaders

12 Mar 2011 EE OnlineVladimir Kara-Murza

Since its creation in 2005 for the purpose of preventing an “orange revolution” in Russia, Nashi (translation: “Ours”), a Kremlin-sponsored youth movement popularly dubbed “Putinjugend,” has served its political masters loyally and without too much scrupulousness. Those who crossed the regime’s path, be they domestic opponents or foreign diplomats, could count on Nashi’s attention. In at least two cases of assault on opposition leader Boris Nemtsov — in November 2007 and in March 2009 — the attackers were identified as current or former Nashi operatives (in the latter case, during the Sochi mayoral campaign, Mr. Nemtsov’s eyes were doused with ammonia). The opposition leader was not the only target. After columnist Alexander Podrabinek criticized the decision to rename the Anti-Soviet café in Moscow at the demand of a former senior Communist Party official, his family was harassed by Nashi members who set up pickets outside their home; he himself was forced into hiding after receiving threats.

Other examples of the movement’s “activism” include the public trampling of portraits of opposition figures and an installation titled “You are not welcome here” featuring Russian anti-Kremlin politicians and foreign leaders dressed in Nazi uniforms. The latter was featured at the 2010 Nashi annual summer camp at Lake Seliger, attended in person by President Dmitri Medvedev. In 2006 and 2007, Nashi targeted the ambassadors from Britain and Estonia — respectively, over the support for Russian civil society, and for the relocation of a Soviet-era war memorial in Tallinn. Tony Brenton and Marina Kaljurand were repeatedly heckled and insulted. Nashi’s founder, Vasily Yakemenko (currently a minister in Vladimir Putin’s government), called for “dismantling” the Estonian Embassy, which came under siege by Nashi members. Needless to say, these actions violated Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which requires that a host state treat any foreign diplomat “with due respect” and “take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on his person, freedom or dignity.” The European Union responded by placing Mr. Yakemenko on its visa blacklist, where he remains to this day.

Like his younger brother Vasily, Boris Yakemenko, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and one of Nashi’s chief ideologists, is not one to mince words. He has linked the opposition to terrorist attacks in the Moscow metro, openly praised the assault on Mr. Nemtsov, and supported calls for turning Mr. Podrabinek’s life into “a nightmare.” So his recent comment should not have come as a surprise. In an article titled “The Correct Way” — published on Nashi’s official website — Boris Yakemenko praised Libya’s rogue leader Muammar el-Qaddafi for the use of aerial bombardments against his own citizens. “Colonel M. Qaddafi has shown the whole world how to deal with provocateurs,” the Nashi ideologist admiringly wrote. “He began to destroy them. With missiles and everything he has. And this is the most correct way to end the use of

American ‘revolutionary’ technologies.” “We are all witnessing another US attempt to take control of a Middle Eastern country,” he continued, “but, it appears, it will be a failure. Way to go, Colonel Qaddafi. If only everyone behaved like this.”

Despite its track record, Nashi continues to enjoy open patronage from the highest levels of Russia’s government. Its summer camps on Lake Seliger were visited by President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin. Its congresses were attended by Kremlin deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov, who assured Nashi members that “we are with you” and that “your work is valued.” Vasily Yakemenko has referred to Mr. Surkov as “our spiritual teacher, one of the ideologists of the movement.” On December 11, 2010, at a meeting with Nashi representatives, Vladislav Surkov told them: “Prepare for elections, train … your muscles. You can always count on our support.” It is worth noting that any state-sponsored harassment during election campaigns constitutes a direct violation of international law. Paragraph (7.7) of the OSCE Copenhagen Document states that “political campaigning [must be] conducted in a fair and free atmosphere in which neither administrative action, violence nor intimidation bars the parties and the candidates from freely presenting their views and qualifications.”

Boris Yakemenko, less constrained in his rhetoric than senior officials, may be saying what others are thinking. The Kremlin’s attitude toward the pro-democracy opposition is well known. In the event of major anti-regime protests, Russian leaders may turn to methods not dissimilar to those used by the Libyan colonel. The likelihood of such protests, as Russia nears what will almost certainly be another round of “stolen” elections in December 2011 and March 2012, seems much greater than even a few months ago: a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation showed that an unprecedented 49 percent of Russians are ready to take part in protest rallies. Russia’s OSCE partners, including the United States, should make it abundantly clear to Kremlin leadership — now — that any use of force against peaceful protesters is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Mar 10, 2011 11:58:00 AM EST

National Economic Trends

Increase in oil revenue amid unrest in Arab world gives Russia some breathing roomhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/oil-revenue-gives-russia-some-breathing-room/2011/03/04/ABbbW9P_story.html

By Will Englund, Thursday, March 10, 8:16 AM

MOSCOW — With the price of oil climbing to more than $100 a barrel, Russia has a little more weight to throw around on the world stage, and it is doing just that.

The stepped-up flow of petrodollars into the government’s coffers relieves what had been a worrisome budget deficit and lessens the urgency of reform. Good relations with the West — and especially the “reset” with Washington — are not quite so pressing when the economy here is in good shape.

Russia is benefiting tangibly from the turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. Urals crude sold for $113 this week, up from $75 a year ago. Of that, $76.50 goes into the Russian treasury. And the spike in oil income has compensated for growing weakness elsewhere. It arrived just as Gazprom — the natural-gas giant that until recently was a potent weapon in Russia’s foreign policy — has seen its clout in Europe washing away amid a flood of competition.

An emboldened Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Brussels in late February angrily lecturing the Europeans on energy policy and the uprisings in the Arab world. After months in which Moscow and Washington have tried to put their differences over Georgia on a back burner, President Dmitry Medvedev two weeks ago accused the country of threatening the security of the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in Sochi, near the border of a breakaway region of Georgia.

Earlier this year, Russia’s warming relations with Poland went sour over the handling of the investigation into the plane crash that killed Poland’s president and other top leaders this past spring.

But with increased oil revenue also comes the danger of complacency. Bureaucrats, defense contractors, pensioners and workers in construction and finance all stand to gain from the money coming in, along with the oil companies. But the cash also feeds corruption, encourages increased financial opacity and discourages attempts to shake up the system — all of which could spell trouble for Russia down the road.

“All of the dominant groups in Russia get a share of the increased oil revenue,” said Alexander Auzan, an economist and adviser to Medvedev. “Yet it contradicts their long-term interests.”

Largest oil producer

It’s a powerful prop for the status quo — which Auzan and others say is unsustainable.

But as Sergei Guriev, head of the New Economic School in Moscow, pointed out, any change is going to involve a cost for someone, so why take the risk if the money is flowing in?

Russia is currently the world’s largest oil producer. When the price last spiked, in 2007, Moscow was flooded with money and people close to Putin were suggesting that Russia was genuinely self-sufficient and had no need to engage more deeply with the West. The economic crisis the following year brought that talk to an abrupt end, and Medvedev

began pushing for a Western-oriented program of modernization and diversification away from dependence on energy exports.

The Kremlin moved to stimulate the economy in 2008 by increasing government salaries and hiking pensions by 35 percent. Now it is stuck with those increases. With oil revenue providing 40 percent of the Russian budget, the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy here has calculated that at any price less than $105 a barrel the government will be in the red.

That tempers any inclination toward hubris, said Daniel Treisman, a political scientist at UCLA who follows Russian developments. The Kremlin was looking at a difficult financial crunch, with parliamentary elections coming late this year and a presidential election next March, so the timing of this rise in revenue is more a relief than a goad to aggressive behavior.

“We don’t need high prices,” said Leonid Grigoriev, an economist and former World Bank adviser. “We need good relations, a long-term market and reasonable prices,” which he put in the $70-to-$90 range.

Russia will not turn its back on the West, by any means, he said. But, especially in an election year, its leaders may be more vocal in pointing up differences with the West. In 2010, Russia had enough problems at home that it was actively trying to avoid them abroad; now, with money to address domestic issues, that caution may not be so evident.

Treisman, like many others, did not think much would ever come of Medvedev’s modernization plans — it’s not the sort of change, he said, that can be ordered from the top down. But the oil bulge makes the Westernization of the Russian economy less likely. It helps big companies — which, Grigoriev said, already dominate the economy to a much greater extent than in other developed countries — and it hurts small ones, where jobs and creativity tend to be nurtured.

Information technology firms, with high labor costs, will suffer, Guriev said, and they are central to Medvedev’s vision for the future of Russia.

Gazprom loses clout

Part of what got Putin so riled up in Brussels was Europe’s treatment of Gazprom, a gigantic state-owned operation that at one time had unchallenged sway in the European energy market. Gazprom was a powerful tool in the Kremlin’s hands, useful when threatening Ukraine and a reminder to the rest of Europe that Russia had to be given its due.

But that was before American companies began extracting cheap natural gas from shale deposits, and before developments in liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology made inexpensive transportation by ship possible.

Qatar set up a new LNG port to ship gas to the United States, but when it couldn’t compete there it turned to Europe instead. Today, Europe can buy gas cheaper from Qatar than it can get by pipeline from Russia. European companies have been renegotiating their contracts with Gazprom — downward — and the European Union has insisted that Gazprom divest itself of its pipelines.

Russia will still sell gas to Europe, said Pierre Noel, an energy expert at England’s University of Cambridge, “but the pricing regime is changing.” Gazprom, he said, will eventually have to change with it.

But the turmoil in North Africa has temporarily masked even Gazprom’s difficulties. When the Libyan gas pipeline across the Mediterranean was shut down, Italy, which is Gazprom’s second-biggest customer, relented for now in trying to renegotiate its contract.

If production in Algeria, a much bigger supplier than Libya, were to be disrupted, that would make Gazprom a power to be reckoned with again.

englundw@washpost.com

Budget runs a surplus in January-February http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14455

Troika DialogMarch 14, 2011

Federal budget revenues reached R1.5 trln ($50.7 bln) in 2m11, while expenditures were at R1.45 trln ($49 bln), the budget thus running a surplus of R52.8 bln ($1.7 bln) in January•February. Due to a seasonal decline in revenues and increase in expenditures last month, the budget ran a deficit of R94.7 bln ($3.2 bln), in drastic contrast to the R147.5 bln ($4.9 bln) surplus in January. The budget deficit explains why liquidity in the financial system remained high in February and the amount of banks' voluntary reserves (which include current accounts and deposits with the Central Bank and OBRs) shrank by only R145 bln to R1,756 bln at month end.

We reiterate our view that the breakeven oil price for the budget is around $105/bbl Urals. If it remains at its current high level and the government does not increase expenditures over the planned level, the budget's performance will improve substantially in 2011 over 2010. This will support the process of disinflation in the country.

Evgeny Gavrilenkov

High oil prices not reflected in February budget revenues http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14455

Renaissance CapitalMarch 14, 2011

According to the Ministry of Finance, the preliminary budget deficit was 2.5% of GDP in February. For 2M11, the budget had a surplus of 0.7% of GDP. Government spending was approximately the same as in January-February 2010, totalling RUB1.45trn, which implies that government spending is likely to be distributed unequally throughout the year, as it was last year. In this regard, Minister of Finance Alexey Kudrin asked for cooperation from the Federal Treasury in evening out the distribution of expenditures during 2011.

Despite a significant rise in the oil price (up approximately 40% YoY in February), 2M11 oil and gas revenues were up just 15% YoY to RUB700bn. We explain this by the lagging nature of the main components of budget income: February's export duty was based on the oil price until mid-January, and February's natural resource tax was calculated from the oil price before February. At the same time, these taxes already reflect the rapidly declining rouble/dollar exchange rate. We believe high oil prices will start to register in tax payments in March-April. In March, the mineral extraction tax will reflect the average oil price for February (only $102/bbl). The March export duty will be based on the oil price until mid-February (only $96/bbl).

According to the Ministry of Finance, income from sources other than the Federal Tax Service and Federal Customs Service amounted to RUB100bn. Adjusted for income from Reserve Fund management, this figure was RUB50bn, reflecting the net transfer of import duties from other participants in the Customs Union.

In 2M11, net borrowing amounted to RUB230bn. The Ministry of Finance is trying to support its borrowing programme via regular deposit placements, but nonetheless the ministry is continuing to withdraw liquidity from the banking system. In February, it took out approximately RUB70bn, or RUB600bn in 2M11. Therefore, we continue to believe that the Ministry of Finance will play a major role in containing inflation through the course of 2011, as it did in the 2000s.

January import growth reported at 41% y/y http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14455

Alfa BankMarch 14, 2011

According to trade balance statistics released by the CBR on Friday, imports grew by 41.0% y/y in January, substantially exceeding the 8.0% y/y growth seen in January 2010 and the 29.7% y/y reported for FY10. This figure calls into question even our bullish 20% y/y import growth assumption, but it adds credence to our modest 3% y/y GDP

growth forecast despite the recent spike in oil prices.

While the January trade balance rose to $17.3bn from $15.4bn in December, reflecting higher oil prices, this strong figure masks an excessive increase in imports. The 41.0% y/y growth is the fastest rate since August 2010, when imports rose by 53.7% y/y. It is also surprisingly fast for January, a month that usually sees seasonally low business activity; another surprise is that the fast growth coincided with a very poor investment and consumption trend. We therefore do not take this growth rate as a good proxy for this year's growth rate and expect import growth to decelerate in the coming months. Even so, it suggests that our 15% y/y import growth expectation under a conservative $75/bbl annual oil price assumption, and our 20% y/y forecast under $95/bbl, may be too optimistic.

Another consideration is that the higher-than-expected import growth could offset the positive impact of high oil prices on the Russian economy. We previously assumed that given the consensus forecast of $93/bbl for 2011, GDP growth would accelerate to 4.0% y/y from the 3.0% y/y we expect based on our $75/bbl assumption. However, if import growth remains at 30-40% y/y in the coming months, it could limit the increase in GDP growth coming from high oil prices.

Natalia Orlova

Russia to produce 80-85 mln tonnes of grainshttp://www.agrimarket.info/showart.php?id=105261

03/14/2011 10:30  

While presenting his report at the Turkish Congress & Exhibition: wheat, licensed warehouse and futures, Pavel Skurikhin, President of the National Grain Producers and Traders Union of Russia, informed on prospects of the grain sowing campaign in the Russian Federation in 2011.

In particular, according to the expert, wheat sowing areas for the harvest-2011 will total 26.6 mln ha, including 12.6 mln ha of winter wheat areas, and nearly 14 mln ha of spring wheat. The National Grain Union forecasts that barley sowing areas will reach the level of 8.1 mln ha, rye – 2 mln ha.

Russia needs to harvest 80-85 mln tonnes of grains in order to keep the required grain balance in the new season, and to date the country has good chances to reach such figures, but the planned indices heavily depend on results of the spring sowing campaign.

Besides, P.Skurikhin informed on the main target of the Union activity in the nearest future, which contains forming of the real plan-forecast of grain production in the nearest two seasons.

Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions

TNK-BP, Rosneft, Gazprom, Polyus Gold May Move: Russia Previewhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-13/tnk-bp-rosneft-gazprom-polyus-gold-may-move-russia-preview.html

By Henry Meyer - Mar 14, 2011 5:00 AM GMT+0100

The following companies may be active in Russian trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and share prices are from the previous close in Moscow.

The 30-stock Micex Index (INDEXCF) dropped 0.7 percent to 1,719.95.

OAO TNK-BP (TNBP RX) and OAO Rosneft (ROSN RX): The 50-50 venture between BP Plc and four Russian billionaires failed to replace BP in an alliance with Rosneft and said it would wait for arbitration on its dispute with the U.K. company. The shares in TNK-BP fell 1.8 percent to 84.92 rubles. Rosneft, Russia’s biggest producer of crude, fell 0.1 percent in Moscow to 253.17 rubles.

OAO Gazprom (GAZP RX): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government asked Gazprom to consider increasing liquefied natural gas shipments to Japan after an earthquake shut some of the Asian country’s nuclear power plants, curtailing electricity supplies. The largest gas producer in the world’s shares rose 0.5 percent to 209.01 rubles.

OAO Polyus Gold (PLZL RX): Gold may gain as concern that unrest in North Africa and the Middle East and Europe’s debt crisis boost the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment, a Bloomberg survey found. Shares in the country’s biggest gold producer fell 1.9 percent to 1,664.1 rubles.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Willy Morris at wmorris@bloomberg.net

Shareholders agree on Norilsk Nickel management

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110314105819.shtml

      RBC, 14.03.2011, Moscow 10:58:19.Russia's iron ore holding Metalloinvest and aluminum giant UC Rusal have agreed on joint actions aimed at developing metals and mining company Norilsk Nickel, a representative of Metalloinvest's controlling shareholder Alisher Usmanov told RBC today.

      Metalloinvest is committed to its policy of improving the efficiency of Norilsk Nickel's management in the interests of all shareholders rather than just one of them, the representative said. In addition, Metalloinvest pursues the strategic goal of merging Norilsk Nickel along with other metals companies into a holding that will mine iron ore in addition to producing non-ferrous metals, the representative added.

      The holding expects its executive Farhad Moshiri to be elected to the board of directors of Norilsk Nickel, the representative went on to say. Metalloinvest owns about 4 percent, UC Rusal owns 25 percent, Vladimir Potanin's Interros owns about 30 percent, and oil trader Trafigura Beheer BV holds around 8 percent in Norilsk Nickel.

Usmanov Backs Deripaska in Norilsk Dispute, Kommersant Reports

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/east-europe-today-troika-purchase-moves-dealmaking-to-stake.html

By James M. Gomez - Mar 14, 2011 7:44 AM GMT+0100

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov supports Oleg Deripaska’s United Co. Rusal in its dispute over the management of OAO Norilsk Nickel, Kommersant reported, citing an unidentified Usmanov representative.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague 1 at dlytle@bloomberg.net

Usmanov Says Metalloinvest to Buy Norilsk Shares on Open Market

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/east-europe-today-troika-purchase-moves-dealmaking-to-stake.html

By James M. Gomez - Mar 14, 2011 7:44 AM GMT+0100

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov said his Metalloinvest holding company plans to buy shares in OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel via the stock market as he seeks a merger of the country’s biggest metals companies.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague 1 at dlytle@bloomberg.net

Sberbank Buying Troika Moves Dealmaking to State: Russia Credit

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/east-europe-today-troika-purchase-moves-dealmaking-to-stake.html

By James M. Gomez - Mar 14, 2011 7:44 AM GMT+0100

Russia is tightening control over capital markets as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s government embarks on its biggest asset-sale program since the 1990s.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague 1 at dlytle@bloomberg.net

Sberbank RAS net profit more than doubles in January-February

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110314120121.shtml

      RBC, 14.03.2011, Moscow 12:01:21.Sberbank's RAS net profit more than doubled year-on-year to RUB 52.8bn (approx. USD 1.8bn) in January-February, the bank announced today.

Russian Green Groups to Protest Firm’s H.K. Listing, SCMP Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/east-europe-today-troika-purchase-moves-dealmaking-to-stake.html

By James M. Gomez - Mar 14, 2011 7:44 AM GMT+0100

Russian environmental groups including Greenpeace Russia will present a petition to the Hong Kong stock exchange today calling on it to block the planned listing in the city of EuroSibEnergo, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an official at Rivers Without Borders.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Douglas Lytle in Prague 1 at dlytle@bloomberg.net

Evroset having second thoughts on IPO plans

http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14455

bneMarch 14, 2011

Evroset is having second thoughts on plans to seek equity funding this year following the series of disastrous IPO attempts by Russian companies last month, reports Reuters.

The mobile phone retailer said on Friday that it will still consider a plan to float in London in 2011, but added that it is still looking at other fund-raising options. The company, part-owned by Vimpelcom, said last year that - expecting the market to return to pre-crisis levels at some point - it planned to list in 2011.

Finance director Dmitry Milshtein said in October that 30% of the stock would be offered to the market in either spring or autumn. By late January, the company had picked banks to organise the listing, sources told Reuters.

However, following the failed floats of the likes of KOKS, ChelPipe and Nord Gold in February, the company appears to be having second thoughts. "Evroset continues to look into various strategic possibilities for the company's growth and development this year, including the possible IPO," the company said. It did not name the other development strategies it is looking at.

It's not an easy decision. On the one hand, Evroset has many advantages over the failed attempts to list by commodities-facing companies earlier in the year. Investors have illustrated over the last few months that they're ready to pay significantly higher prices for exposure to the Russian consumer than they are for the busy sectors exposed to global commodities markets.

On the other, the sale of a 10% stake in state bank VTB was also a significant distraction for investors looking at growing Russian exposure in February, and with a $50bn privatization plan ready to roll over the next five years, companies hoping to take advantage of erratic market sentiment will also need luck to avoid coming up against other sales from the state.

Moscow court unfreezes shares of developer PIK Grouphttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/pik-idINLDE72D03220110314

11:17am IST

MOSCOW, March 14 (Reuters) - The Moscow Arbitration Court said late on Friday it had unfrozen shares of Russian real estate developer PIK Group (PIKK.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) (PKGPq.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

The court had frozen an 8.6 percent stake in the company as part of a conflict between PIK shareholder Yuri Zhukov and mid-size lender Nomos bank. [ID:nLDE71A09Y] (Reporting by Olga Sichkar; writing by Maria Kiselyova; editing by Amie Ferris-Rotman)

Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)

Vankor Tax Break Up, Deputy Minister Says http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/vankor-tax-break-up-deputy-minister-says/432466.html

14 March 2011Reuters

ZURICH — Russia does not plan to extend the favorable low export duty for the Vankor oil field, run by Rosneft, beyond May 1, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said.

The Vankor field in the Arctic has been a major driver behind the country's record-high oil output, which exceeds 10 million barrels per day.

"The plan is to end it in May," Shatalov told Reuters on the sidelines of an economics conference in Zurich.

He said the decision was not yet formal.

The government of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has offered a series of tax relief measures, including a zero export duty for 22 oil fields in East Siberia and extended preferential treatment to the Vankor oil field for at least four months. It is set to expire on May 1.

Rosneft said in December that it saw output at the prized Vankor field at 15 million tons in 2011.

Russia, dependent on the oil and gas industry for 50 percent of its budget revenue in 2010, is working out policies, mainly tax incentives, to keep crude flowing in the face of new drilling challenges. Its 2010 output reached a post-Soviet peak.

There was a chance the government would come out with a new tax package in May, Shatalov also said.

Russia Bashneft to tie up with LUKOIL on Arctic oilhttp://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/bashneft-idINLDE72D0HX20110314

2:13pm IST

MOSCOW, March 14 (Reuters) - Russia's mid-size oil producer Bashneft (BANE.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research) is in final talks with LUKOIL (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) on the joint development of the giant Trebs and Titov deposits, the chairman of Bashneft's board said on Monday.

Bashneft, owned by oil-to-telecoms group Sistema (SSAq.L: Quote, Profile, Research), has said investment in the Arctic fields will be around $5-6 billion. The company has been searching for a partner that could share the development cost for several months.

Bashneft's chairman Alexander Goncharuk also told reporters that Bashneft plans to increase annual oil production to 18-20 million tonnes by 2013-2014, prior to the launch of Trebs and Titov. (Reporting Olesya Ostakhova; writing by Jessica Bachman; editing by Maria Kiselyova)

Bashneft mulls selling 25% to ONGC

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110314120413.shtml

      RBC, 14.03.2011, Moscow 12:04:13.Russian oil company Bashneft is considering selling a 20-25 percent equity stake to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Alexander Goncharuk, chairman of Bashneft board of directors, told reporters today.

First Russian Petroleum Congress opens in Moscow http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/03/14/47350576.html

Mar 14, 2011 01:00 Moscow Time

Moscow hosts the 1st Russian Petroleum Congress. Spanning three days, it brings together over 2000 representatives from business, industry and science. The congress shall look at: oil as a global source of energy, modernization of Russia’s oil and gas complex, strategy development and improvement of technologies for modernization of petrochemical and oil refining.

   The forum also has a special program on offer targeting young people from different countries.

A memorandum will be signed on the closing day for Moscow to host in 2014 the 21st World Petroleum Congress. Russia won the tender for it last year.

Russia, Japan May Join Global Bidding War for U.S. Oil, Shale Gas Assetshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-14/russia-japan-may-join-global-race-for-u-s-oil-and-gas-assets.html

By David Wethe and Jim Polson - Mar 14, 2011 5:02 AM GMT+0100

U.S. and Canadian oil and natural- gas companies are outpacing last year’s $122.5 billion in mergers and acquisitions, with sales announced so far this year valued at $19.2 billion more than in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

So far, U.S. and Canadian oil and gas companies have sold assets in 85 transactions valued collectively at $28.5 billion.

Japanese, South Korean and Russian companies will likely jockey for stakes in difficult-to-tap U.S. reservoirs, joining cash-rich Reliance Industries Ltd., China Petrochemical Corp., and Cnooc Ltd., which may expand their acquisitions from last year, according to bankers, lawyers and company executives interviewed during CERAWeek, a Houston conference sponsored by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Transactions won’t be limited to North America.

“I think you’ll see more activity globally,” said David Asmus, leader of the energy practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, a lawfirm in Houston. “Certainly there will be some significant-sized deals.” There’s a possibility of deals in excess of $5 billion, he said.

Transactions already have edged toward the $5 billion mark, as BHP Billiton Ltd. paid $4.75 billion for Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s gas assets in the Fayetteville shale formation. Overseas companies are competing to access U.S. shale reserves, which hold enough gas to meet 34 years of demand at current consumption levels, according to U.S. energy department estimates.

Most Since 2007

Last year’s deal volume of $122.5 billion was the most since 2007, when U.S. and Canadian energy companies were targets in $125 billion of sales, according to Bloomberg data. The 580 oil and gas transactions in 2010 were the most since 2007.

In North America, growing oil and gas production onshore is creating a greater need for pipelines, processing plants and storage. Demand for those assets also will drive deals, Asmus said. Growth has been driven by development of more “unconventional” resources such as those found in dense shale rock and Canada’s oilsands. Advances in

directional drilling and so-called hydraulic fracturing techniques have increased production from shale fields. Hydraulic fracturing injects water, sand and chemicals into the rock to break it open and release the gas.

The number of transactions this year should surpass 2010 because oil prices above $100 a barrel are offering greater cash flow, and because debt markets are making money more available for independent producers, Asmus said. Private equity players also are expected to be more active this year in the energy industry, he said.

‘Corporate to Corporate’

“I think we’ll see more corporate to corporate business than we did in 2010,” said Peter Gaw, global head of oil and gas at Standard Chartered Bank. The deals will supplement acquisitions of single assets or asset stakes.

U.S. natural-gas producers, increasingly cash-strapped after a decline in gas prices, are eager to find partners to develop new unconventional assets, said John B. Connally, a partner with the Houston law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP.

As U.S. producers paired their expertise with cash-rich overseas companies inexperienced in operating in unconventional oil and gas operations, “it was kind of a delightful match,” Connally said.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., which has clinched seven joint ventures in the past four years, is planning another this year in an undisclosed field, Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon said last month.

Asia Interest

Japanese and South Korean companies may lead the next round of joint-venture stakes, Scott Sheffield, chief executive officer of Pioneer Natural Resources said in an interview at CERAWeek. Sheffield declined to name which companies might be involved. Pioneer sold a 45 percent stake in its holdings within the Eagle Ford oil and gas field of south Texas last year to India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. for $266 million in cash and a commitment to fund $1.1 billion in Pioneer’s drilling costs.

Cnooc Ltd. is expected to generate free cash flow of $3.87 billion this quarter, second among global energy companies behind Exxon Mobil Corp., at $6.1 billion, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, refiner TNK-BP Holding, BP Plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Total SA, Sasol Ltd. and OAO Lukoil all are forecast to have more than $1 billion left over after operational expenses and planned capital spending.

Finding a Partner

OAO Lukoil, Russia’s largest non-state-controlled oil company, is scouting oil and natural-gas investments in U.S. shale fields, President Vagit Alekperov said March 8 in an interview at CERAWeek.

“If we are lucky in identifying a good partner, we are ready to be actively involved in the U.S.,” Alekperov said.

“You will see more debt-funded acquisitions by independents, which we haven’t seen for several years because of the credit markets,” Asmus, of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said. “I think you may also see somewhat larger deals, because the extra availability of credit will allow companies to make larger acquisitions than they might have done otherwise.”

Bruce Bilger, a senior adviser at Lazard Ltd. sees a global convergence in mergers and acquisitions.

“It’s much easier today than it was five years ago, 10 years ago, to find investment opportunities” around the world, he said, speaking at a forum at CERAWeek on March 8.

‘Just the Start’

BHP’s purchase of Chesapeake’s Arkansas shale assets “is just the start,” Mike Yeager, chief executive officer of the Melbourne-based company’s petroleum division, told reporters Feb. 21. ‘This now gives us an instant, credible avenue to go do more.”

Sasol Ltd., the largest producer of motor fuels made from coal and natural gas, doubled its initial investment in Canadian shale-gas fields March 8, agreeing to pay C$1.05 billion for a stake in a second project of Talisman Energy Inc.

“Shale gas is clearly a game changer in the U.S. and it’s changing the dynamics, the gas market dynamics in North America,” Pat Davies, Sasol’s Chief Executive said on an earnings call on March. 7. “We’ll be looking at further gas acquisitions.

“We certainly have the balance sheet to be able to do that,” Davies said.

For Related News and Information:

To contact the reporters on this story: David Wethe in Houston at dwethe@bloomberg.net Jim Polson in New York at jpolson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Susan Warren at susanwarren@bloomberg.net.

TNK-BP Fails To Settle Dispute With BP Over Rosneft Deal http://www.rttnews.com/Content/TopStories.aspx?Node=B1&Id=1574378

3/14/2011 12:52 AM ET(RTTNews) - British oil giant BP plc (BP: News ,BP_UN.TO: News ,BP.L: News ) and its Russian joint venture TNK-BP failed to settle their dispute regarding a planned $16 billion deal between BP and Russian state-controlled oil company OAO Rosneft.

Talks at a board meeting held in Paris between BP and TNK-BP's management on Saturday ended in a stalemate over whether to allow TNK-BP to participate in the deal reached between BP and Rosneft in January to explore the Russian Arctic.

The BP-Rosneft deal proposes a share swap that would give Rosneft a 5 percent stake in BP and allow BP to jointly explore and develop parts of the Russian Arctic with Rosneft. In turn, BP would get 9.5 percent of Rosneft's shares in the deal. The arctic development project comprises three license blocks that were awarded to Rosneft in 2010 and cover about 125,000 square kilometers in a highly prospective area of the South Kara Sea.

BP and a group of Russian billionaires, known as the Alfa-Access-Renova or AAR consortium, co-own the TNK-BP joint venture. TNK-BP is the third largest oil company in Russia.

AAR has contended that BP's deal with Rosneft is a violation of its shareholder agreement with BP for the Russian joint venture. AAR has proposed that both the share swap and the Arctic development project with Rosneft should be transferred from BP to TNK-BP.

The AAR consortium has four representatives on the TNK-BP board, which also includes four BP-nominated directors and three independent directors.

A proposal submitted by Mikhail Fridman, TNK-BP's chief executive, had proposed to the venture's board that BP be replaced by TNK-BP in both the share swap and the Arctic exploration with Rosneft. But BP's representatives on the TNK-BP board voted against the plan at the meeting on Saturday.

BP said it was prepared to explore the possibility that it be replaced by TNK-BP in the Arctic development project, but would not change the terms of its share swap.

BP said that a proposal offered by its nominated directors which would have allowed TNK-BP to hold talks with Rosneft about pursuing the Arctic exploration project was rejected by AAR.

TNK-BP's management countered BP's statement saying that the company's comments were "misleading and inaccurate". They added that the BP proposal had ruled out involving TNK-BP in the share swap.

"If BP, which owns 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP, will be the largest private shareholder of one of the major competitors of TNK-BP, this will inevitably lead to conflicts of interest and create new tensions between the shareholders," TNK-BP said in a statement.

TNK-BP makes no Rosneft pacthttp://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article248391.ece

Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP failed again at the weekend to settle a dispute over an alliance between partner BP and Rosneft , sparking new recriminations between its shareholders.

News wires  14 March 2011 00:27 GMT

A Saturday board meeting held in Paris ended with BP and Russian-led management deadlocked over how, if at all, to involve TNK-BP in a pact struck in January by BP and Rosneft to explore the Arctic offshore, Reuters reported.

The partnership, which includes a $16 billion share swap, marks a watershed in the development of Russia's oil sector, with the Kremlin softening its doctrine of resource nationalism and opening the door to global energy majors.

State-controlled Rosneft, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, has described as "strategic" its alliance with BP and sees no place for TNK-BP, Russia's third largest oil company, in the deal due to its lack of deepwater expertise.

TNK-BP's shareholder managers, led by tycoon Mikhail Fridman and represented by the Alfa, Access and Renova (AAR) consortium, counter that the Rosneft-BP alliance violates TNK-BP's shareholder agreement and poses an existential threat to the company's business.

AAR chief executive Stan Polovets said having BP, a 50% shareholder in TNK-BP, become the largest private shareholder in one of TNK-BP's main competitors would inevitably lead to conflicts of interest, Reuters reported.

AAR has won a London court injunction to keep the deal on hold pending an arbitration review, which TNK-BP said could be completed within weeks.

Fridman and his partners, Viktor Vekselberg and German Khan, have proposed that TNK-BP supplants BP in the share swap, paying $7.6 billion to buy 5% of BP which would be then exchanged for a 10% stake in Rosneft.

The fallout from Saturday's board meeting centred on whether any talks on bringing TNK-BP into the Rosneft partnership would indeed involve involving it in the share swap.

"A proposal by BP's nominated directors which would have allowed TNK-BP to hold initial discussions with Rosneft about pursuing the Arctic opportunity, was rejected by (AAR)," BP said in a statement.

TNK-BP management responded that BP's comments were "misleading and inaccurate", adding that the BP proposal had ruled out involving TNK-BP in the share swap.

Analysts note that, while the letter of the shareholder agreement forces BP to engage in at least a formal dialogue with TNK-BP management over the Rosneft deal, the power relations in Russia are likely to trump the UK court system.

This was a view supported by Sechin, Reuters reported.

"The issues of mineral resources usage fall into the Russian government's remit. This is not a matter for the London courts," he told Interfax news agency.

TNK-BP's board comprises four BP nominees, four from the AAR consortium and three independents -- Germany's former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Russian industry lobby head Alexander Shokhin and former Corus chief executive James Leng.

The BP nominees rejected TNK-BP's management offer to fully replace BP in the deal with Rosneft, while saying TNK-BP can only start talks on the possibility of joining the Arctic deal.

TNK-BP, which accounts for around 10% of BP's profit, said the AAR-nominated directors and three independent directors voted in favor of management's proposal.

Saturday's meeting ended in stalemate as unanimous agreement was required for either motion to be approved.

Published: 14 March 2011 00:27 GMT  | Last updated: 14 March 2011 00:28 GMT

BP’s Dispute Over a Joint Venture in Russia Intensifieshttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/business/14bp.html?src=busln

By BLOOMBERG NEWS

Published: March 14, 2011 BP’s directors who serve on the board of a Russian joint venture voted against a proposal to swap shares and join an exploration venture with Rosneft, escalating a long-running dispute.

The joint venture, TNK-BP, said on Sunday that BP’s deal to set up a strategic alliance with Rosneft, largest oil producer, “would inevitably lead to conflicts of interest and new tensions between the shareholders.”

A group of Russian billionaires who own shares of TNK-BP had proposed to replace BP in the planned partnership with Rosneft, an arrangement that was rejected on Saturday at a meeting in Paris by all of BP’s directors on the TNK-BP board.

In January, BP agreed to swap $7.8 billion in shares as part of a broader alliance with Rosneft, a deal that was given the blessing of Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin’s Russian government. The Russian group of billionaires, BP’s partners in TNK-BP, opposed the plan and won an injunction to stop the transaction.

The two groups of shareholders had a dispute in 2008, which led to Robert Dudley’s resignation from the top post at TNK-BP, Russia’s third largest oil producer. Mr. Dudley is now BP’s chief executive.

“BP is unwilling to issue BP shares to TNK-BP for cash and has genuine concerns about the finance, strategy and technical risks for TNK-BP in pursuing the BP-Rosneft opportunity,” a BP spokesman, Toby Odone, said in an e-mail. “BP has long been a partner with Rosneft for offshore exploration, off Sakhalin for example.”

BP proposed to allow TNK-BP to start talks with Rosneft about the Arctic exploration, while reserving the right to carry out a share swap with Rosneft. AAR, the entity that represents the billionaires, rejected the offer on Saturday, BP said in a separate e-mailed statement.

BP’s statement was “misleading” and “the share swap would reduce TNK-BP’s negotiating leverage with Rosneft,” allowing “an alliance between BP and one of TNK-BP’s main competitors,” TNK-BP said in its statement.

№ 2 (February 2011)

Cooperation Between Russia and China in the Energy Sector Interests, Problems and Prospectshttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/articles/p/134/article/1427/

   Unlike the U.S.-China axis, where the two sides compete for global energy resources, on the industrial and food markets, and in the future may become rivals on the financial services market, links between the Russian and the Chinese economies structurally complement each other; besides this, huge deposits of Russia’s primary resources are geographically close to the Chinese border.

By Andrei Korzhubaev

Options for Cooperation

   China uses its significant investment reserves to acquire primary resources globally, wherever possible. This strategy targets several issues: access to real assets that will grow in price, unlike the financial assets; ensuring energy security of the own economy; and creating an opportunity to establish a foothold in the host country for studying the political and economic environment.Russia has several options of using its natural resources, which constitute a significant part of the global reserve: supply of raw materials for sale at the point of manufacture (the African scenario);sale of raw materials at the border (the Central Asian scenario);sale of raw materials using “delivery to the customer” option (the Middle Eastern scenario);processing raw materials domestically or joining refining and sales in the buyer country (the Canadian-Australian scenario).

   Today’s Russian oil and gas business encompasses all four options presented. Which of these will dominate in the development of large-scale energy cooperation with China will depend on the state’s industrial and regional strategy and governmental and business position on the issues of international trade and foreign investment.

Russia’s Interests

   Russia ranks first in the world in oil and gas production. The bulk of its volume is delivered to international markets. In 2010, oil and gas production reached almost 1.1 billion TOE (in terms of oil by energy value), including 505 million tons of oil and 650 billion cubic meters of gas; oil and oil products export topped 370 million tons, gas export – 185 billion cubic meters (Fig. 1-2).

   West Siberia is currently the key hydrocarbons (HC) production area, producing some 70 percent of Russian oil and over 90 percent of the country’s gas. In the future, East Siberia and the Far East will become new major centers for oil and gas industry.

   Russia’s interests, based on its ongoing geopolitical and economic goals, regional developments in the global economy, trends in the international energy supply system, include: diversifying exports by switching oil export flows from the “overheated”, basically stagnant European market to receptive, dynamic Asia-Pacific Rim markets (primarily China and Korea); providing direct access to the traditional and new markets for crude oil, oil products and gas (bypassing transit countries);securing long-term guarantees on purchases of crude oil, oil products and gas; participation in management (joint operation), of transit, transportation and distribution infrastructure for crude oil, oil products and gas on the territory of the destination countries;  participation in profits from the sale of crude oil, oil products and gas on the territory of

the destination countries.

China’s Energy Supply

   The Chinese economy is the world’s second largest (after the U.S.) in terms of aggregate GDP and is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. China is also the second largest global consumer of energy resources (in 2010 – over 2.3 billion TOE pa). Continued rapid economic advance, growing population, improved living standards, modernization of industry, agriculture and transport require further growth of energy consumption levels. Over the past ten years, oil consumption growth in mainland China is comparable with the growth elsewhere, but the country’s oil consumption continued to grow rapidly even in 2008–2010, against the backdrop of a global recession and then stagnation.

   Development of the China’s economy copies industrial model of Europe and North America with a lag of 25-35 years (depending on the segment). The country continues large-scale introduction of existing industrial, energy, transport technologies with service life of at least 20-30 years. High persistence of technological systems means that in the coming decades China will further boost its energy consumption levels.

   In order to continue economic growth, China is forced to use all opportunities of energy supply: the country is implementing the nuclear power plants program, developing wind, solar and bioenergy segments. Still, in modern economic and technological conditions, only the traditional sources – oil, gas and coal – have the actual capacity to meet the growing energy needs of the country.

   In 2009, China produced some 3.1 billion tons of coal, with forecasted short-term growth rise to over 3.5 billion tons – which is the ceiling for this energy carrier, both resource- and technology-wise (current proven reserves will last for just over 40 years, compared to global average of about 150  years). Also, China is facing increasingly serious constraints on its growing anthropogenic pressures on the environment, which is largely linked to the expansion of coal production and use. Over 80 percent of all freight traffic in China is coal. This forces the leadership of China to encourage the development of oil and gas industry, organizing supply routes from various regions of the world.

   Changes in the energy supply technologies, further motorization of economy and population, transformation of energy balance structure would propel the demand for oil and gas skywards.

   In 2020 China would consume 560-600 million tons of oil, importing 380-420 million tons. In these conditions, oil exports from Russia, particularly pipeline export to the western and northeastern China will face no serious competition from other suppliers.

   In 2020 gas demand in China will reach 300-350 billion cubic meters. Burma deliveries will not exceed 10 billion cubic meters per year, shipments from Central Asia – 30-35 billion cubic meters per year. Considering the possibility of boosting domestic gas

production to 115 billion cubic meters per year and the plans for developing LNG infrastructure to 80 billion cubic meters; starting 2020, the Chinese market will be able to accommodate 60 billion cubic meters per year of Russian gas, with a tendency to a further rapid increase. Starting 2018, the largest APR gas supplier – Indonesia and after 2025 – Malaysia will leave the market, becoming net importers of gas; this will open new opportunities for Russia on the China’s market.

Options for Russia’s Oil and Gas Exports to China

   In recent years, Russia has been exporting to China just over 20 million tons of oil and oil products, mainly by railway through Manchuria, as well as via Kazakhstan and own Far Eastern ports. Oil flow via the new Skovorodino – Daqing pipeline started in December 2010.

   Implementation of intergovernmental agreement (signed in April 2009) will allow Russia to boost its share in oil export to China in 2011 to 15-16 percent (35-40 million tons). Further consolidation of Russian presence on the Chinese market requires boosting Skovorodino-Daqing pipeline capacity to 30 million tons per year, expanding shipments from the Khabarovsk, Primorye and Sakhalin seaports, increasing transit flow through Kazakhstan to Xinjiang using Omsk – Atasu – Alashankou pipeline. Total export of Russia’s oil and oil products to China may reach 70-80 million tons by 2020.

   In the gas segment, Russia would be advised to set up shipments of standard gas and LNG, as well as gas supplies with the participation of Russian companies (primarily Gazprom) from other regions of the world. Being a global energy company, Gazprom has an opportunity to enter the swap projects on LNG supply to China (now being organized by international and multinational companies from various regions of the globe), exchanging such entry for access to production projects in Western and Eastern Siberia. Creating gas and LNG transportation infrastructure will allow Russia to dominate the Chinese gas market supplying 80-100 billion cubic meters per year starting 2020–2025.

Altai Gas Pipeline

   The Altai gas pipeline is the nearest workable option for organizing large-scale gas exports from Russia to China. This trunk gas pipeline route was initially proposed in 1998 by Alexei Kontorovich, member of the Academy of Sciences, in a RAS study commissioned by Gazprom, as an alternative to the difficult northern route offered by the company’s top management at the time (SRTO – Podkamennaya Tunguska – Far East – China).

   The construction of another trunk gas pipeline within the transport corridor Yamal-Nenets Autonomy (PS Purpeyskaya) – Surgut – Kuzbass – Altai – China is also in the cards. To implement shipments from West Siberia, Russia is planning a new pipeline system in the existing transport corridor, with a subsequent extension to China via the Canas mountain crossing and the Ukok plateau which will link to the existing trans-China pipelines West – East, West – East-2 and West – South.

   Pipeline gas shipments to the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous District could begin as early as 2015–2016. The length of the pipeline to China’s border is about 2,670 km, and the pipeline has a diameter of 1,420 millimeters. The projected annual export is at least 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

   Gazprom and CNPC are already closing in on a mutually acceptable price for gas shipments. Currently state-regulated prices for natural gas in the Shanghai area are close to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters, which is higher than the price paid for Russian gas by some CIS countries. Yet growing competition from LNG, including on the traditional markets, is putting extra pressure on Gazprom. The growing flexibility of the Chinese is due to the steady rise in domestic prices (in contrast to the global trend), on the background of high economic growth, yuan revaluation and exacerbation of environmental and energy problems.

   CNPC participation in financing the Altai pipeline project on Russian territory is also  reccommended. This might be followed by the establishment of a joint venture for geological and geophysical work and gas production in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. Both solutions will provide acceptable for Gazprom and CNPC price formula, also attracting Chinese investment in long-term capital-intensive projects and opening a huge new terrain for Russian gas exports.Importantly, in developing cooperation with CNPC, Gazprom must have the opportunity to participate in projects on transportation, storage and distribution to end-users in China. Gazprom also should participate in mainland and offshore upstream projects in China as this would ensure inside control of the market via its own oil and gas production projects in the Middle Kingdom.

KazMunaiGas Buys 50% Stake in Urals Group http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=105036

JSC KazMunai Gas Exploration ProductionFriday, March 11, 2011

KazMunaiGas has reached an agreement with Exploration Venture Limited (EVL) to acquire 50% of Ural Group Limited (UGL), which owns the exploration license for the block Fedorovskiy through 100% stake in LLP "Ural Oil and Gas" (UOG). The block is located in Western Kazakhstan near Uralsk city in close proximity to a number of large producing fields.

KMG EP will pay US $149.1MM for the 50% stake in UGL, including US $61.3MM for shares and US $87.8MM of shareholder loans (as of January 1, 2010) to be repaid to KMG EP after commercial production starts. The final price of shareholder loans is subject to adjustment due EVL's work program financing obligations until the deal close. The deal will be financed with the KMG EP's own funds.

UOG operates under a Subsoil Exploration Contract that expires in May 2014 with the right to extend the contract for production of hydrocarbons. In 2008 Rozhkovskoye oil

and gas field was discovered at the Fedorovskiy block. Currently UOG is in the process of evaluating the hydrocarbons deposit. According to the estimates approved by the RK State Commission, the block's total recoverable gas and condensate reserves of category C1+C2 are 203.4 million barrels of oil equivalent. Gazprom's Orenburg-Western Europe gas pipeline lies through the territory of Fedorovskiy block and the main export oil pipeline Atyrau-Samara lies within close proximity of the block as well as the Karachaganak-Atyrau oil pipeline which provides access to world markets via Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

Kenzhebek Ibrashev, the CEO of KMG EP, said, "We assess the Fedorovskiy block as a very promising and attractive asset. Acquisition of a stake in the block gives us access to a new region, where we intend to develop actively. This transaction is a good addition to our portfolio of exploration assets. This is another step in implementation of KMG EP's strategy which puts a strong emphasis on organic growth through exploration."

The acquisition was approved by the KMG EP Board of Directors and the seller's Board of Directors and is subject to regulatory approvals. Some of the necessary approvals are already obtained. The deal will be closed upon receiving the remaining approvals.

Gazprom

Putin reappoints Miller as Gazprom CEO http://www.neurope.eu/articles/Putin-reappoints-Miller--as-Gazprom-CEO/105252.php

14 March 2011 - Issue : 926

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has reappointed Alexei Miller as CEO of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. Miller has been in charge of Gazprom since 2001. His contract was set to expire on May 31, 2011. He has now been reappointed for five more years. Putin said he had instructed government representatives on the board of the state-held giant to vote for Miller’s reappointment for another five-year term.

Asked — during a visit to Bryansk, central Russia — whether he had signed a letter recommending Miller’s reappointment, Putin replied “that is the case.” Miller has overseen a near-10-fold increase in the state-owned company’s share price since he took over as CEO in 2001. But some experts said might be dismissed as the company has been criticized for ineffectiveness and cost overruns. Two weeks ago, Gazprom scored a big victory over the country’s biggest oil producer Rosneft, winning the right to develop the Kovykta field in East Siberia – a deal, which analysts said, was also a personal victory for Miller.

A former Deputy Energy Minister, Miller has close ties with Putin. From 1991-1996 he worked under him in the St Petersburg mayor’s external relations committee.

Naftogaz transfers over USD 2 billion to Gazpromhttp://www.steelguru.com/russian_news/Naftogaz_transfers_over_USD_2_billion_to_Gazprom/195465.html

Saturday, 12 Mar 2011Ukrainian Journal reported that Naftogaz Ukrayiny has transferred over USD 1.6 billion to Russia's Gazprom as payment for natural gas supplied to Ukraine.

The statement said that Naftogaz Ukrayiny is meeting its commitments to Gazprom on the payment for imported natural gas each month on time and in full.

Mr Yevhen Bakulin CEO of Naftogaz said that Naftogaz had imported 6.3 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas in February 2011.

(Sourced from www.ukrainianjournal.com)

LUKoil, Gazprom sign swap deal for 8.35 bcm of gas in 2012

http://www.neurope.eu/articles/LUKoil-Gazprom-sign-swap-deal-for-835-bcm-of-gas-in-2012/105251.php

14 March 2011 - Issue : 926

Russian oil major LUKoil said Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has agreed to buy natural gas from fields in West Siberia and the Caspian Sea, in a sign the gas giant is loosening its grip on the country’s pipeline system. LUKoil signed a contract to continue supplying Gazprom with gas from its fields in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region over 2012-16, the companies said in separate statements.

LUKoil will supply 8.25 billion cubic meters in 2012 but volumes in subsequent years could vary depending on whether LUKoil commissions wells in the Bolshekhetsky depression in Yamal-Nenets autonomous region and the available capacity in Gazprom’s pipeline system, the companies said. LUKoil’s Nakhodkinskoye field in the Bolshekhetsky depression has been supplying gas to Gazprom since 2005, according to Gazprom. Under the latest deal, which was signed by LUKoil’s CEO Vagit Alekperov and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, LUKoil will also be able to pump gas from its North Caspian field into Gazprom’s network, receiving an equal amount of gas in return elsewhere, the statements said. 

Gazprom has been accused of not giving independent producers fair access to its pipelines, undermining the domestic market and causing oil producers to flare large volumes of associated gas. Last month, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized Gazprom over pipeline access.

11.03.2011

Gazprom Neft completes seismic survey work on the Equatorial Guinea shelfhttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/10728

Gazprom Neft has completed 3-D seismic survey work on the Equatorial Guinea shelf (block T) in the Niger Delta river basin. The seismic studies covered around 300 square kilometres of the block's area, which meets the company's commitments regarding the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) under whose conditions the project is being carried out.

   The tests were carried out by the ship Nordic, in collaboration with the Geoex and Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) geophysics companies, and with the participation of representatives from Gazprom Neft and Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy.

   Gazprom Neft, along with the Russian geophysics company Largeo, will be responsible for the processing of geological information obtained from the results of the work, and also the interpretation of historical seismic data for two blocks (T and U). An independent appraisal of the geological model created following interpretation of the data will be carried out by the international company RPS Energy, which has considerable experience in geological modelling in the Gulf of Guinea.

   An analysis of the geological information is planned to be completed by the end of 2011/start of 2012, after which the parties to the PSA will make a decision regarding the advisability of drilling exploratory wells in the blocks.“Gazprom Neft is successively building up a portfolio of international assets, which by 2020 should account for around 10% of consolidated hydrocarbon production. In addition, the implementation of these projects in Equatorial Guinea will help extend the company's experience of working on offshore deposits, including working as an operator", said Boris Zilbermints, Gazprom Neft's Deputy CEO for Exploration and Production.

REFERENCE:Gazprom Neft is carrying out the project for the development of two offshore blocks - T (located in the Niger Delta river basin) and U (in the Rio Muni basin) in Equatorial Guinea - under the conditions of a PSA. The agreement was signed in June 2010 with Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy and the National Oil Company of Equatorial Guinea GEPetrol, and was ratified by Theodore Obiang Ngemo Mbasogo, President of the Republic, in August 2010. The agreement provides for the costs incurred by the investors to be refunded after the start of commercial production of oil, with income-generating production being subsequently divided between the investor and the state.

   Gazprom Neft is the project operator. Individual PSAs and collaboration agreements with GEPetrol have been concluded for each of the two blocks. Gazprom Neft has the

right to exit from the project upon completion of any of the intermediate stages of exploration.

   At the exploration stage, 80% of the project will belong to Gazprom Neft and 20% to GEPetrol, with the possibility of increasing the latter's share to 45%. In the event of commercial discovery of hydrocarbons, GEPetrol can increase its share, once it has begun to finance the project costs proportionally and having reimbursed the historical exploration costs incurred earlier by Gazprom Neft.According to preliminary assessments, the oil reserves in the two blocks may amount to 110 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The estimated operational period for the deposit is 30 years for oil and 35 years for gas.

PRESS SERVICEJSC GAZPROM NEFTphone: +7 (495) 777-3143fax: +7 (495) 777-3142e-mail: pr@gazprom-neft.ruweb: www.gazprom-neft.ru

Nord Stream: Build it, Gas Will Comehttp://www.neurope.eu/articles/Nord-Stream-Build-it-Gas-Will-Come-/105257.php

Author: Kostis Geropoulos 14 March 2011 - Issue : 926Nord Stream is not concerned by reports of lagging European gas demand, saying the pipeline being built across the Baltic Seabed from Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald in Germany by the Russian-European consortium has already signed long-term contracts.

“The largest share is already under contract of the deliveries through Nord Stream and, of course, we have seen that predictions for gas consumption are foreseeing less of an increase in demand than before the financial crisis but still there is an increase in consumption in mid-and-long run. At the same time the domestic resources in the EU are depleting so even if consumption doesn’t grow as fast as originally foreseen, it still leaves us with a supply gap than needs to be covered and Nord Stream is definitely within that and therefore definitely needed,” Sebastian Sass, head of Nord Stream’s representation to the EU, told New Europe by phone on 11 March.

The financial crisis and less expensive supplies on the spot market damped demand for Russian gas monopoly Gazprom’s pipeline shipments, most of which are tied under long-term contracts to oil and product prices. Gazprom exported 139 billion cubic meters to Europe last year, failing to meet its target to ship as much gas to its key market by revenue as in 2009, when it sold about 141 billion cubic meters, according to reports. Sales to Germany, the biggest buyer of Russian gas on the continent, plunged more than 25% in the fourth quarter. Supplies to France fell almost 50%.

Gazprom says the unrest in northern Africa will likely boost European demand for its own supplies via the planned South Stream pipeline from the Black Sea. But Nord Stream told New Europe on 11 March that the crisis in Northern Africa does not affect the Baltic route. “We are going to fill old pipelines to the maximum regardless and therefore independent of those developments in Northern Africa. We continue with our business model unaffected,” Sass said. “At the moment we can’t see that it has a material impact on the gas demand from Russia, but I think that’s something that would need to be evaluated after some more time has passed.”

Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Moscow’s Uralsib bank, told New Europe by phone on 10 March that while Nord Stream seems like a done deal, the South Stream gas pipeline also led by Gazprom and the competing EU-backed Nabucco in Europe’s Southern Gas Corridor remain uncertain. “With Gazprom progressing very well with Nord Stream and talking about building the second line of the Nord Stream pipeline, which will bring that capacity up to 55 bcm, definitely the sense was that South Stream project momentum declined similar to the one of Nabucco,” he said.

Earlier, Nord Stream and its shareholders scored another big victory by securing the Phase II financing of €2.5 billion for the construction of Nord Stream. This financing comes partly from Nord Stream’s shareholders who are providing investment totaling 30% of the total project cost pro rata to their holding in the company with 70% external project financing coming from the bank market.

According to Matthias Warnig, Managing Director of Nord Stream AG Line 1 of Nord Stream nearly complete and with construction of Line 2 due to start in May, it is clear that lenders see Nord Stream as a solid project with a sound economic background. “Nord Stream is on track to deliver gas to Europe from later this year”, he added.

Twenty-four banks are participating in a deal that was oversubscribed by 60% and that mirrors the solid and successful financial structure of Phase I financing that took place in early 2010. The high interest in Nord Stream’s Phase II financing attests to the continued strategic importance of the pipeline project. Line 1 is due for construction completion in April 2011, the start of pipe laying for Line 2 will commence thereafter with completion due in April 2012.

The very positive response from lenders has meant that Nord Stream was heavily oversubscribed for the €2.5 billion funding. Nord Stream has RBS, Commerzbank and Societe Generale acting as financial advisers. Unicredit have a limited advisory role in connection to the untied loan program of the German government.

Alexei Miller, Management Committee Chairman of Gazprom, said: “Nord Stream is an example of success on a pan-European scale. Over the years of planning it has won the reputation of being ecologically safe and transparent, and it is the most advanced of all the new projects aimed at transporting gas to Europe.”

According to Rainer Seele, Chairman of BASF/Wintershall gas production in Europe is declining steadily, which means that more gas has to be imported in the future and that Nord Stream will supply Europe for decades with secure and climate-friendly energy. The 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas that will flow through the Nord Stream Pipeline to Europe equal the capacity of 55 coal-fired power plants or 20 new nuclear power plants.

Meanwhile, Gazprom said it sees no problem with supplying the Nord Stream pipeline through the Baltic Sea with Russian gas even if the development of the Shtokman field is delayed. Nord Stream was originally based on the Yuzhno-Russkoye deposit, but will now also draw on the Yamal deposit, besides a number of other projects that will work towards filling the pipe, too. “Currently we have enough production capacity of existing fields to fill the whole pipeline Nord Stream with gas,” Dow Jones Deutschland quoted Gazprom’s CFO Andrei Kruglov as saying on 4 March in Berlin.

Pavel Sorokin, an oil and gas analyst at Moscow’s Alfa Bank, told New Europe by phone on 10 March that Russia surely has enough gas to fill Nord Stream. “The question here if there is enough demand in Europe to take on the additional gas,” he said.