Russia
Russia 091125Basic Political Developments
· Reuters: PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Nov 25
· AP: Mullen leads US in arms control talks with Russia
· Kyivpost: Medvedev: Russian, U.S. aircraft manufacturers could
work together
· European Jewish Press: European Jewish delegation discuss
Shalit, Iran issues with Russian leaders
· The Moscow Times: Putin Will Make Appeal to Renault
· Bloomberg: Poland, Russia May End Gas Talks Tomorrow,
Rzeczpospolita Says
· Dow Jones: Poland May Sign Gas Deal With Russia Thursday -
Official
· RIA: Papoulias says Greece to benefit from fuel deals with
Russia
· Kyivpost: Moscow slams 'hypocrisy' of Ukraine officials
· Reuters: UPDATE 2-Russia relaxes 2010 gas demands on
Ukraine
· Russia Profile: One Step Back, Two Steps Forward
· Itar-Tass: Russia FM sends official note to Japan re Southern
Kurils
· Xinhua: Russian legislator denounces Japan's position on
territorial dispute
· Aysor.am: Medvedev, Aliev discuss Karabakh conflict
· News.az: Russian leader welcomes progess in Karabakh talks
· 24.kg: Kyrgyzstan, Russia pledge closer cooperation between
capitals
· Itar-Tass: French helicopter ship to have joint drill of
Russian helicopter teams in St Petersburg
· RIA: Kazakhstan moves to play down Baikonur spat with
Russia
· Satnews: Arianespace Marks A First — Twice — For Russia:
Arianespace has marked a historic milestone with the arrival of its
first two Soyuz launchers in French Guiana, which will be used to
inaugurate service with this medium-lift workhorse vehicle next
year from the Spaceport.
· Barentsobserver: Next Bulava launch slated for end of
December
· Reuters: Q+A-Russia delays test of troubled Bulava missile
· PakTribune: Ex-Soviet states see threat of Afghan
spillover
· Interfax: Medvedev gave the Defense a month for inventory of
depots and arsenals in Russia
· RIA: Col. Baranets: Russia has right to use nuclear weapons as
it deems necessary – interview
· Gazeta.kz: Russian government approved Customs Code of Customs
Union
· Interfax: The Federation Council approved a law providing for
no increase of transport tax
· iStockAnalyst: Atomstroyexport Ready to Hire Czech, Slovak
Contractors in Npp Projects
· RIA: Over 1% of Russian population HIV-positive - UN
report
· RIA: Court to rule on refusal to investigate Arctic Sea case
abroad
· RIA: Anatoly Chubais had an accident
· FT.com: Control of data slips from Kremlin's grasp - Gorbushka
market, just outside central Moscow, does a thriving trade in any
electronics good you could want: mobile phones, plasma television
sets, the latest DVDs, and, if you ask to see them, software
peddlers will show potential clients a list of "databases". These
consist of CDs with names such as "Ministry of Interior - Federal
Road Safety Service", "Tax Service" and "Federal Anti Narcotics
Service" and cost about $100 apiece.
· Itar-Tass: Over 20,000 Russians make hajj to Saudi Arabia
· Interfax: The court arrested the detainee in Moscow suspected
militants of the bandit Umarov
· Axisglobe: Isa Yamadayev addressed to Russian President as his
hunting reportedly continues in Moscow
· Axisglobe: Russian FSB declared anti-terrorist operation in
Sunzhensk area of Ingushetia and Achkhoy-Martan district of Chechen
republic
· The Jamestown Foundation: Insurgent Violence Reported in
Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan
· Axisglobe: High-scope fete celebrating Russian secret services
agents to be held in St.Petersburg
· Axisglobe: Lieutenant-General Viktor Vlasov appointed chief of
Russian FSB Border Guard directorate in Armenia
· Russia Today: Europe starts extraditing Russian suspects
· RIA: Geneva might seek extradition of Russians over crash
scandal
· Telegraph.co.uk: Oligarch's sons 'have shamed Russia' in
Geneva road crash
· Global voices Online: Russia Begins Registering Domains in
Cyrillic
· The Moscow Times: A Third World Killing - Last week,
37-year-old Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for Hermitage Capital, died
in a Moscow pretrial detention center. - By Yulia Latynina
· Gazeta.ru: The Diary of Sergei Magnitsky disappeared in
Matrosskaya Tishina
· Axisglobe: FSB dissident Litvinenko was murdered for
revelations on KGB and FSB ties with Italian politicians - MP
Guzzanti
National Economic Trends
· WSJ: Crisis Will Continue For 1-2 More Years In Russia -
Kudrin
· Reuters: Too early for Russia to end stimulus –Kudrin
· Reuters: Russia Kudrin says Moscow exchanges overheated
· Prime-Tass: Deputy PM sees gradual retraction of govt
stimulus
· Dow Jones: Russia To Raise Forex Interventions Within Ruble
Trading Band
· Bloomberg: Russia to Cut Rates Further to Stem Hot Capital,
Ulyukavey Says
· RIA: Ulyukayev considers the presence of the budget in the
banks' capital irrational
· RIA: Kudrin introduced a bill to raise banks' capital to 1
billion rubles
· Dow Jones: Russia May Sell Newly-Bought VTB Shares In Two
Years - Kudrin
· Itar-Tass: Second annual RF Pension Forum to be held in Moscow
- The fulfilment of the new pension legislation and important
problems of the development of the pension system are to be
considered at the second annual Russian Pension Forum that is
opening in Moscow on Wednesday. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin will take part in its work, the press service of the RF
cabinet reported.
· Russia Today: Privatisation to step into budget deficit as
government looks to entice investor
· Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia eyes $2.5 bln from privatisations in
2010
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
· Bloomberg: Rosneft, Gazprom, Vozrozhdenie: Russia Stock-Market
Preview
· Bloomberg: Russia Micex to Exceed 1,400 as Oil Rallies:
Technical Analysis
· Reuters: Russia's Sberbank net down 85 pct in Jan-Oct
· Barentsobserver: Norilsk Nickel has $6.1 billion in debt
· Barentsobserver: New terminal strengthens Norilsk Nickel
· FT.com: Daimler double - German car and truckmaker Daimler
yesterday launched two joint ventures to build trucks with its
Russian partner Kamaz, writes Daniel Schäfer in Frankfurt.
· The Moscow Times: VimpelCom To Raise Capex 50%
· Web News Wire: I-Synergo Opens One of the Largest IT Parks in
CIS With Cisco Technology
· Property Magazine: X5 to acquire Paterson supermarket
chain
· The Moscow Times: Axel Takes Over G+J Magazines - German
publisher Gruner + Jahr said Tuesday that it is selling its Russian
operations to Axel Springer after concluding that it would need to
make too many expensive acquisitions to gain a leading market
position.
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
· Times Online: Shell seeks stake in giant Russian gasfield
· Itar-Tass: TNK-BP starts construction of gas-turbine power
plant in Tyumen region
Gazprom
· Bloomberg: Gazprom May Boost 2011 Spending to $52 Billion,
Vedomosti Says
· EurasiaNet: Turkmenistan: Gazprom To Make Cutback On Gas
Purchases
· Itar-Tass: Naftogaz, Gazprom formalize gas agreements
· Reuters: UPDATE 2-Russia relaxes 2010 gas demands on
Ukraine
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Text ArticlesBasic Political DevelopmentsReuters: PRESS
DIGEST - Russia - Nov 25
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKGEE5AO0CQ20091125
Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:56am GMT
MOSCOW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading
stories in Russia's newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
KOMMERSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- Russian President Medvedev has sacked members of the military
whom he considered responsible for the recent explosions at an arms
depot in Ulyanovsk, the paper writes.
- The supervisory board of retailer X5 (PJPq.L: Quote, Profile,
Research) will meet on Friday and discuss a contract extention for
chief executive Lev Khasis, the daily writes.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- Russia's GDP fell by 8.1 percent in October, the daily writes,
citing economy ministry data.
- Russian gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile,
Research) has agreed to reduce gas supplies to Ukraine for
Nazftogaz, the paper says.
- The paper runs an interview with the CEO of British luxury
car-maker Jaguar Land Rover.
- Russia's largest lender Sberbank (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile,
Research) made a net profit of 8 billion roubles ($277.9 million)
in October, the daily reports.
MOSKOVSKY KOMSOMOLETS
www.mk.ru
- A drunk Moscow policeman beat up a young man from Abkhazia to
death on Monday, the paper writes.
TRUD
www.trud.ru
- Russia's health and social development ministry plans to ban
the showing of any images containing alcohol drinks or people
drinking alcohol on TV in a bid to fight sweeping alcoholism, the
paper says.
((--Writing by Ludmila Danilova, Reuters Messaging:
[email protected], +7 495 775 1242))
($1=28.79 Rouble)
AP: Mullen leads US in arms control talks with Russia
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gg4hJ4bvyJwzqAFtHNexFIGNbwPgD9C64NU00
(AP) – 5 hours ago
GENEVA — President Barack Obama's top military adviser attended
the latest talks with Russia to replace an expiring Cold War-era
arms control agreement, the U.S. said Tuesday.
Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met
with Russian officials from Sunday to Tuesday, U.S. spokesman in
Geneva Michael Parmly said.
Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev want to conclude a
new treaty by Dec. 5, when the 1991 START I accord cutting U.S. and
Russian nuclear arsenals expires.
Mullen met Tuesday in Geneva with Russian armed forces chief of
staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov, and the two discussed "military and
technical issues" related to START, a spokesman for Mullen
said.
"Both sides noted that the discussions were both candid and
productive and that negotiations were proceeding in a positive
direction," the spokesman, Capt. John Kirby, said in a
statement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said
Tuesday that the talks on a replacement for START were in the "home
stretch," but he stressed "they are not over."
He said both sides were intensely focused on substantive issues
and on "the search for mutually acceptable compromises" as they try
to reach agreement.
U.S. officials have said there is the broad outline of an
agreement, but talks are ongoing on how to verify new cuts in
nuclear arsenals.
Kyivpost: Medvedev: Russian, U.S. aircraft manufacturers could
work together
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/53539/
Today at 10:44 | Interfax-Ukraine
Russian and U.S. aircraft manufacturers could work together
Dmitry Medvedev told workers of the Aviastar-SP joint venture set
up on the basis of the Ulyanovsk Aviation Complex.
"Advanced models must be developed," he said when the facility's
plans were discussed.
As an example he named the plant's well-known product - the
Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft. "The market is enormous, so
are the transportation volumes. Such planes are actually not made
elsewhere in the world," he said noting that only the U.S. C-5 can
be compared to Ruslan.
"Someone will occupy the niche. And it would be better if we did
that," Medvedev said. "Or we could do it together with the
Americans," he added.
European Jewish Press: European Jewish delegation discuss
Shalit, Iran issues with Russian leaders
http://www.ejpress.org/article/40655
by: Yossi Lempkowicz
Updated: 25/Nov/2009 07:27
MOSCOW (EJP)---Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a
Jewish delegation that the continuing captivity of Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit by Hamas in Gaza is intolerable and a humanitarian
issue of the highest regard.
The delegation from the European Jewish Congress (EJC), led by
the organization’s President Moshe Kantor, brought up the issue of
Shalit during a meeting with Lavrov Tuesday in Moscow.
Shalit was kidnapped more than three years ago by Palestinian
groups, including Hamas, near the Gaza border.
According to the EJC, Lavrov told the delegation that he is in
constant communication with the Shalit family and that the Russian
government would provide any assistance that would be required.
Kantor, who spoke about how important the Shalit affair was for
the EJC, presented the Russian Foreign Minister with a book that
Gilad Shalit wrote when he was 11 years old called “When the Shark
and the Fish First Met”.
“The continuing incarceration of Gilad Shalit is a humanitarian
issue of great concern to Israel and the Jewish people,” Kantor
told Lavrov.
”Given Russian influence in the Middle East we would like to ask
what Russia can do to help solve this issue,” he said.
The EJC delegation is in Russia to discuss several major issues
of concern to the Jewish community and is to meet with Russian
President Dimitry Medvedev on Thursday.
Among the issues is also Russia’s attitude towards tough
sanctions against Iran in the wake of the stalled talks on the
Iranian nuclear program.
“It is vital that there is consensus on the next step should the
talks fail. Russia is a vital part of any chances that a strong
sanctions program will achieve its object and end the nuclear
stand-off peacefully,” Kantor said.
“We also asked the Russian leaders to impress the need for tough
sanctions with their allies, including the Chinese.”
Another issue of particular concern to the EJC is the possible
delivery to Iran from Russia of the S-300 missile system.
“If the S-300’s were in the hands of the Iranians we can kiss
goodbye to any chance of a peaceful resolution to the Iranian
nuclear issue,” Kantor continued. “It is clear that the Iranians
already see themselves as able to dictate terms to the
international community, this missile system would allow them to
think of themselves as completely above the law and would act with
complete impunity.”
The EJC is a representative umbrella body of Jewish communities
across Europe.
The Moscow Times: Putin Will Make Appeal to Renault
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/putin-will-make-appeal-to-renault/390280.html
25 November 2009
Combined Reports
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will talk to Renault management
personally in Paris this week before finalizing plans to rescue
Lada maker AvtoVAZ, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said
Tuesday.
“We will start implementing AvtoVAZ’s development program after
high-level talks in Paris,” Shuvalov said in a statement. The
government is keen for Renault to offer to increase its current 25
percent stake in AvtoVAZ, which owes 60 billion rubles ($2.08
billion) in short-term loans. The French partner has yet to reveal
its plans.
Putin will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on
Thursday in Paris, where they are expected to oversee the signing
of a memorandum between the companies.
AvtoVAZ, which Putin insists must involve the French carmaker as
a key investor in Russia’s largest car firm, employs nearly 100,000
workers in Tolyatti.
(Reuters, MT)
Bloomberg: Poland, Russia May End Gas Talks Tomorrow,
Rzeczpospolita Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aDqPezOCZ8hM
By Marta Waldoch
Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Poland and Russia may tomorrow end
negotiations of an agreement increasing deliveries of gas to Poland
to about 10.3 billion cubic meters from next year, Rzeczpospolita
reported, without saying where it got the information.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marta Waldoch in Warsaw
on [email protected]
Last Updated: November 25, 2009 01:35 EST
NOVEMBER 25, 2009, 3:12 A.M. ET
Dow Jones: Poland May Sign Gas Deal With Russia Thursday -
Official
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091125-702455.html
WARSAW (Dow Jones)--Poland may sign a new natural gas agreement
with Russia as early as Thursday, Polish Economy Minister Waldemar
Pawlak told Polish public radio Wednesday.
"The agreement will be signed if there are no obstacles," he
said.
According to Pawlak, the agreement guarantees stable natural gas
deliveries to Polish gas monopoly PGNiG (PGN.WA) from Russia's OAO
Gazprom (GAZP.RS) at a reasonable price.
"The price in the contract has not changed and is linked with
oil prices, which guarantees supplies at a relatively reasonable
price," he said.
In late October, PGNiG said it reached an agreement with Gazprom
to increase natural gas supplies to Poland. Its implementation
requires changes to Polish-Russian government-level gas
agreements.
The latest agreement includes the extension of an existing gas
supply contract until 2037, and involves the operations of EuRoPol
Gaz, the operator of the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe gas
pipeline, and the tariff policy for EuRoPol Gaz.
PGNiG said it will increase Russian gas purchases to 10.27
billion cubic meters a year, measured in accordance with Polish
norms.
-By Marcin Sobczyk, Dow Jones Newswires; +4822 447-2432;
[email protected]
RIA: Papoulias says Greece to benefit from fuel deals with
Russia
http://en.rian.ru/world/20091125/156975335.html
02:4925/11/2009
ATHENS, November 24 (RIA Novosti) - Greece and Bulgaria will
benefit from joint energy projects with Russia, Greek President
Karolos Papoulias said during an official dinner to mark the visit
of his Bulgarian counterpart.
"We [Greece and Bulgaria] could become the main hubs of energy
supplies to Europe, international players in the energy sector," he
said.
He added that the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil
pipeline and the South Stream project could be implemented "in the
near future," and that the political and economic benefits of the
projects "are evident."
"Greece, Bulgaria and Russia have a very close cooperation in
the energy sector. This cooperation is in our interests," he
said.
Burgas-Alexandroupolis is a project between Russia, Greece and
Bulgaria to pump Russian and Caspian oil from the Bulgarian Black
Sea port of Burgas to the Greek Aegean port of Alexandroupolis.
Once completed, the pipeline will pump 35 million metric tons of
oil a year (257 million bbl), a volume that could eventually be
increased to 50 million metric tons (368 million bbl). Under an
inter-governmental agreement signed in 2007, Russia holds 51% in
the project company, while Greece and Bulgaria hold 24.5% each.
Greece and Bulgaria have also joined the South Stream gas
project, which is a part of Russia's efforts to cut dependence on
transit nations and is a rival project to the EU-backed Nabucco,
which would bypass Russia. It is scheduled to be completed by
2015.
Kyivpost: Moscow slams 'hypocrisy' of Ukraine officials
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/53535/
Today at 10:07 | Interfax-Ukraine
Moscow, November 24 (Interfax) - Moscow expressed annoyance at
an incident at Kyiv's Boryspil airport on Nov. 24 in which two
Russians were denied entry to Ukraine, slamming it as "one more
incident" that "highlighted the hypocrisy of state officials who
verbally advocate a constructive dialogue with Russia but in
practice block bilateral contacts."
"The Ukrainian authorities did not allow two Russian scholars
who had arrived in Kyiv, V. L. Frolov and Y. V. Meskova, to take
part in an international conference on key problems of youth policy
in Ukraine and in Russia that is being arranged by nongovernmental
organizations," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"It appears that certain political forces in Ukraine are clearly
displeased with the bilateral dialogue that has gradually been
resuming recently and that aims to create conditions for returning
the nature of mutually beneficial partnership to our relations," it
said.
"Responsibly-minded politicians in Kyiv would be well-advised to
think hard about potential consequences of this practice and to
take measures to eradicate it as soon as possible," the ministry
said.
Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesman Serhiy Astakhov
told Interfax onNov. 24evening that the two scholars "were denied
entry to Ukraine under instructions to that effect from law
enforcement agencies."
No comments have come so far from any of Ukraine's law
enforcement agencies or from the country's Foreign Ministry.
Reuters: UPDATE 2-Russia relaxes 2010 gas demands on Ukraine
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINGEE5AN2Q720091124
Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:12am IST
* Gazprom, Naftogaz agree to reduced gas volumes
* Ukraine to import 33.75 bcm of Russian gas in 2010
* Gazprom agrees to waive fines for 2009 (Adds details,
background)
By Robin Paxton and Pavel Polityuk
MOSCOW/KIEV, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Russia relaxed demands on
Ukraine for importing gas in 2010 and agreed on Tuesday to waive
fines on this year's supplies in a deal easing European fears of a
renewed dispute along a route supplying a fifth of its gas.
Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), Russia's powerful
state-run gas export monopoly, agreed that Ukraine -- whose economy
has been crippled by the global financial crisis -- could buy 35
percent less gas than originally contracted for next year.
"The volumes have been corrected in accordance with actual
consumption in Ukraine in conditions of crisis," Gazprom Chief
Executive Alexei Miller said after four hours of talks with Oleh
Dubyna, the head of Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz.
"These volumes remove the risk of the payment of fines by
Naftogaz Ukraine in 2010 for the non-use of contracted gas."
Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine was cut off for three weeks in
January after the ex-Soviet states argued over pricing and transit,
a dispute that shook confidence in Russia's ability to supply gas
and Ukraine's ability to give it safe passage.
Europe is concerned the dispute, which damaged industry and left
hundreds of thousands in the cold, could flare up again at New
Year, especially as rival political factions in Ukraine jostle for
support ahead of a Jan. 17 presidential election.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose often fierce
rhetoric has worried European consumers, has said existing gas
deals with Ukraine were a guarantee of stable energy supplies but
has also warned Ukraine not to siphon gas meant for Europe.
His earlier pledge to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
that Russia would waive fines for under-consumption of gas this
year were formalised in Tuesday's agreement between Gazprom and
Naftogaz, both companies said in a joint statement.
"We secured final agreement that Gazprom will not charge fines
for the non-use of 13 bcm of gas in the first 10 months of 2009,"
Miller said.
LOWER VOLUMES
Putin and Tymoshenko, a front-runner in the Ukrainian
presidential election, laid the groundwork for Tuesday's deal when
they agreed at a Nov. 19 meeting in Yalta to cut the amount of gas
Ukraine must take next year. [ID:nLJ170609]
Naftogaz agreed to purchase 33.75 billion cubic metres of gas
(bcm) from Gazprom in 2010, both companies said in the joint
statement. This was less than the 52 bcm agreed by the two
countries in January.
"Considering the way the financial crisis has affected our
country, we have taken considerably less gas than contracted this
year and we made this request to our partners," Naftogaz head
Dubyna said. "We have found understanding on this issue."
Ukraine had already been lobbying for a reduction. Tymoshenko
has said she wanted to import between 27 and 33 bcm next year,
depending on the economic situation in her country.
[ID:nL3432316]
Though Ukraine has so far settled all its monthly gas bills on
time, Tymoshenko has conceded this has been a struggle. Russian
leaders have also accused her of political infighting with her
rival, President Viktor Yushchenko, and of disrupting the
process.
Gazprom said 80 percent of contracted gas volumes were subject
to "take or pay" conditions -- meaning Ukraine would have to pay
for the gas regardless of whether it was used.
Ukraine purchased 18.85 bcm of gas from Russia in the first 10
months of this year, only 59 percent of contracted volumes of 31.7
bcm for the period, a decline in consumption attributable to the
global economic crisis, Gazprom said. (Additional reporting by
Conor Humphries; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
(([email protected]; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging:
[email protected])) ((For help: Click "Contact
Us" in your desk top, click here [HELP] or call 1-800-738-8377 for
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November 24, 2009Russia Profile: One Step Back, Two Steps
Forward
http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=International&articleid=a1259082820
By Tom BalmforthRussia Profile
In the Run Up to the Ukrainian Presidential Elections, Russia
Seems to Have Gained More Than It Forfeited in the New Gas Deal
On November 19, the likelihood of a gas conflict between Ukraine
and Russia at the end of this year appeared to have been
significantly reduced after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a
key concession on gas trade at a meeting with his Ukrainian
counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko in Yalta. Tymoshenko, a front-runner
in the Ukrainian presidential race, walked away from the deal
looking good. But analysts say that fundamental problems, such as
Ukraine’s domestic gas policy, still remain a potentially explosive
flashpoint in Russia-Ukraine gas relations in the near future.
The Ukrainian economy has been battered by the financial crisis
and Ukraine has subsequently found it particularly hard to meet its
contractual obligations to Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly
Gazprom. Vastly reduced gas consumption during the economic crisis
has meant that Ukraine has fallen short of its consumption quota
for gas in 2009, making it eligible for sizeable sanctions in line
with its “take or pay” style gas contract. Russia has now, however,
agreed to waive these fines. Moreover, at the meeting in Yalta
Putin promised that Gazprom would agree to set a new volume of gas
to be exported to Ukraine in 2010, taking the currently reduced
demand into account. “We sincerely expect that all earlier reached
agreements will be implemented, and from our side we guarantee full
implementation,” Reuters quoted Putin as saying at a news
conference after the deal was struck. “It would be nice to see a
New Year without any shocks,” he added.
The deal will bring a sigh of relief from the millions of
Europeans who were left shivering in January this year after
disagreement between Ukraine and Russia resulted in a temporary
disruption in gas supply. Roughly a fifth of Europe’s gas arrives
from Russia through Ukraine’s transit network. Past conflicts over
gas between Ukraine and Russia have prompted temporary cessations
in gas delivery to Europe, often around January, when contracts
between Russia and Ukraine are due for renegotiation. This year,
political instability in the run up to Ukraine’s approaching
presidential elections, slated for January 17, has made conflict
over gas into a real worry.
But after Russia’s concession was agreed, there seemed to be a
sense of optimism. “Without any doubt, removing the ‘take or pay’
obligations in the contract is good for Ukraine,” said Pierre Noël,
a research fellow for energy issues at the European Council for
Foreign Relations. “If Ukraine is able to buy less gas next year,
that will be a great help to Ukraine’s beleaguered budget,” said
Andrew Wilson, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on
Foreign Relations and senior lecturer of Ukrainian studies at the
School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies. “I think removing
the ‘take or pay’ obligation obviously makes the contract much more
favorable to Ukraine in the longer-term, in the sense that, even if
gas consumption never really recovers, or recovers really slowly,
they still do not have to worry about that,” said Noël.
But still, “Europe is just crossing its fingers,” said Noël.
“There is a sense of relief. But you just hope it’s justified.” A
gas row this year, or early next, remains a real possibility,
because “the risk of a conflict in the coming weeks is more linked
to the ability of Ukraine to pay for its gas in the short-term than
to the structure of the contract,” he added. And Ukraine’s current
economic health is extremely poor. When on November 11, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it would not be
releasing a $3.8 billion bailout earmarked for Ukraine, Tymoshenko
recognized that Ukraine was entering an “extremely difficult”
period. Putin followed the news up with tough rhetoric underlining
that Russia would once again turn off the taps to Ukraine if it
fails to pay for its gas on time, or else siphons off gas destined
for Europe. “The fact that Ukraine messed up its agreement with the
IMF clearly increases the risk that it will not be able to pay,”
said Noël.
One reason Ukraine struggles to afford its gas imports is
because it sells imported gas to consumers at a cheap rate.
“Ukraine has always paid for its gas by borrowing one way or
another. They seem to be structurally unable to charge the gas to
consumers in Ukraine at a price that reflects the price they pay
Gazprom. This is unsustainable. It is a recipe for a crisis and at
some point they won’t be able to borrow any more,” said Noël.
“Obviously, politically it is very difficult. But so long as I
don’t see the price of gas in Ukraine reflecting the import price,
I will be worried about the Ukraine-Russia gas relationship. Even
if you take the politics and geopolitics aside, it is simply not
possible to buy large quantities of gas at a price that you don’t
charge to your customers. It’s as simple as that,” he
said.
So, why did Russia make this concession to Ukraine? On the one
hand there is a clear economic rationale to the deal. “The reality
is that Ukraine’s gas contract had probably become impossible to
honor exactly as it was signed. So it’s just adapting to reality -
all contracts do that. Of course they were less high-profile
negotiations, but after all Russia agreed to drastically reduce the
‘take or pay’ obligations of its European contracts during the last
month. So after doing that with France, Germany, Italy, then why
not Ukraine?” said Noël.
Politically speaking, the deal with Russia also served to
promote Tymoshenko’s candidacy for president, at the expense of the
current President Viktor Yushchenko’s. As Wilson said, after the
agreement was reached, “it does now seem that Putin’s personal
favorite is Tymoshenko.” Yushchenko’s pro-Western policies have
made him extremely unpopular amongst Russia’s political
establishment, and when on November 19 he appealed to the Kremlin
for a revised gas deal in an open letter, he was simply snubbed,
which made Tymoshenko look even better when she won a concession
from Putin. “Tymoshenko’s smile [after the deal] is not at all
surprising,” said Wilson.
Beyond this, however, there was no clear indication of Russia
working a secondary political agenda, because Russia has no reason
to rock the boat. With Yushchenko’s popularity rating languishing
around the five percent mark (scarcely in the frame for a
president), Russia has little political stake in another conflict
over gas, analysts said. “It wouldn’t be in Russia’s interest to
have a gas row where it couldn’t control the consequences, given
that it seems to be happy with either [front-runners] Viktor
Yanukovich or Tymoshenko for president. Yushchenko is polling so
low at the moment that there don’t seem to be any political
incentives to have another row,” Wilson noted.
Itar-Tass: Russia FM sends official note to Japan re Southern
Kurils
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14566788&PageNum=0
25.11.2009, 06.41
MOSCOW, November 25 (Itar-Tass) - the Russian Foreign Ministry
has called “unacceptable” the approval by the Japanese government
of a document that says about the “illegal occupation by Russia” of
the Kuril Islands, it is said in a statement of the RF Foreign
Ministry released on Tuesday.
“Moscow has given the most serious attention to the aforesaid
step of the Japanese government,” the ministry’s document says. “We
consider it necessary to stress that the Southern Kuril Islands are
an inseparable part of the Russian Federation territory on legal
grounds based on the WW2 results in accordance with the legally
binding agreements and treaties between the ally states, as well as
the UN Charter that was ratified by Japan.”
“The approval by the Japanese government of a document with the
above wording cannot be assessed any other than unacceptable. The
Russian side, including at the top level, has repeatedly warned
about counter-productivity of such actions for the bilateral
dialogue on the peace treaty problem, including the border
delimitation aspect. The current steps of Tokyo contradict the
fixed by the leaders of the Russian federation and Japan mutual
understanding of the need to create a normal, mutually respectful
atmosphere of bilateral cooperation, including the dialogue on the
peace treaty problem and border delimitation. The Russian side is
ready to continue the corresponding dialogue only in this manner,”
the RF Foreign Ministry stated.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry has sent the corresponding
official note to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. We hope that Tokyo
will draw due conclusions from the situation emerged as a result of
its actions,” the statement says.
“Russia for its part is committed to the development of
relations with Japan in the constructive spirit that characterises
contacts between the RF president and Japanese prime minister,” the
Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
The Kuril Islands dispute, also known as the Northern
Territories dispute, is a dispute between Japan and Russia over
sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands. The disputed islands,
which were occupied by Soviet forces during the Manchurian
Strategic Offensive Operation at the end of World War II, are under
Russian administration as South Kuril District of the Sakhalin
Oblast, but are claimed by Japan, which refers to them as the
Northern Territories, being part of the Nemuro Subprefecture of
Hokkaido Prefecture. The San Francisco Peace Treaty between the
Allied Powers and Japan from 1951 states that Japan must give up
all claims to the Kuril islands, but it also does not recognize the
Soviet Union's sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. Russia
maintains, that Soviet Union's sovereignty over the islands was
recognized following agreements at the end of the Second World War,
however Japan has disputed this claim. The disputed islands are:
Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai rocks.
Russia maintains that all the Kuril Islands, including those
that Japan calls the Northern Territories, are legally a part of
Russia as a result of World War II, and that this acquisition was
as proper as any other change of international boundaries following
the war. Moscow cites the following basic points:
The explicit language of the Yalta Treaty gave the Soviet Union
a right to the Kurils, and the Soviet Union upheld its own
obligations under that treaty. The nation of Russia inherited
possession of the islands from the former Soviet Union, in
accordance with international law.
The Japanese assertion that the disputed islands are not part of
the Kurils is simply a tactic to bolster Tokyo's territorial claim
and is not supported by history or geography.
Russia has said it is open to a negotiated "solution" to the
island dispute while declaring that the legality of its own claim
to the islands is not open to question. In other words, Japan would
first have to recognize Russia's right to the islands and then try
to acquire some or all of them through negotiations.
On February 6, 2008, Japan Today, an English-language news site
in Japan, reported that the Russian president had suggested to
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to finally settle all
territorial disputes over the Kuril Islands and had sent him a
letter inviting him to come to Russia for discussions.
The dispute over the Kuril Islands was further exacerbated on
July 16, 2008, when the Japanese government published new school
textbook guidelines directing teachers to say that Japan has
sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. The Russian Ministry of Foreign
affairs announced on July 18, “[these actions] contribute neither
to the development of positive cooperation between the two
countries, nor to the settlement of the dispute” and reaffirmed its
sovereignty over the islands.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev met in Sakhalin on February 18, 2009 to discuss the Kuril
Islands issue. Aso said after the meeting that they had agreed to
speed up efforts to resolve the dispute so that it would not be
left to future generations to find a solution.
Xinhua: Russian legislator denounces Japan's position on
territorial dispute
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/24/content_12533420.htm
2009-11-24 23:29:34
MOSCOW, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government's position
on the four disputed islands is counterproductive to dialogue on
the territorial issue, a senior Russian lawmaker said Tuesday.
The Pacific islands, known as the
Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia,
were occupied by Soviet troops in 1945 and are currently under
Russian control.
Japan's parliament passed a law
describing the islands as an "integral part" of Japan this summer.
The Japanese government on Tuesday reiterated that "the Russian
Federation is illegally occupying four northern islands" when
responding to a parliamentary query.
The Japanese position is "an attempt to
exert pressure on the Russian Federation and obtain concessions,"
Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the international affairs committee
in the lower house of Russia's parliament, was quoted as saying by
Russian news agencies.
The Russian authorities, primarily the
Foreign Ministry, should provide "a harsh official reaction to this
document," Kosachyov said.
Russia and Japan have long been at odds
on the four Pacific islands, which has blocked a peace treaty
between the two countries since the end of World War II.
Aysor.am: Medvedev, Aliev discuss Karabakh conflict
http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2009/11/25/medvedev-aliev/
Wednesday,November 25
Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents had a detailed discussion on
negotiations for settlement of Karabakh conflict, Kremlin’s
spokeswoman Natalia Timakova said.
“Ilham Aliev has told President Medvedev a detailed resume of
last round of negotiations between Azerbaijani leader and Armenia’s
President Serge Sargsyan with participation of Minsk Group
co-chairs.” She said Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev “has
welcomed positive move of negotiation process and assumed Moscow
will continue contribute to settling of Karabakh conflict.”
Meanwhile, Russian experts and analysts try to predict Dmitry
Medvedev’s position at meeting with Azerbaijani counterpart.
“Aliev’s threats gave mediators a fright,” said expert at the
International Relations and World economy Institute of Russian
Academy of Science, Alexander Krylov.
“I guess Medvedev tried to calm Aliev down and bring round the
futility of acting by force,” he said pointing that it is not in
Russia’s interest if the region goes in war as in this case in
acceptance with the Madrid principles foreign peacekeepers would be
deployed including those from NATO states.
News.az: Russian leader welcomes progess in Karabakh talks
http://www.news.az/articles/3307
Wed 25 November 2009 | 07:01 GMT
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed progress in the
negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh and said that Moscow will continue
work to resolve the conflict.
Medvedev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev discussed the
negotiating process on the Karabakh conflict settlement during
their meeting in Ulyanovsk on Tuesday, Russian presidential
spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said.
"Ilham Aliyev briefed Dmitry Medvedev on the results of the
latest round of talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
involving the Minsk Group representatives," she said.
"The Russian president welcomed the positive progress in the
negotiating process and gave assurances that Moscow will continue
working to resolve the Karabakh conflict," Timakova said.
She said the presidents had also discussed bilateral
cooperation, including on the economy, and the schedule of further
high level contacts.
24.kg: Kyrgyzstan, Russia pledge closer cooperation between
capitals
http://eng.24.kg/bishkek24/2009/11/25/9748.html
25/11-2009 12:01, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Aizada
KUTUEVA
Nariman Tyuleev, the Bishkek city governor on Wednesday vowed
closer cooperation with Moscow at the end of his official visit to
the Russian capital.
In course of bilateral meetings Tyuleev and his Moscow
counterpart Yuri Luzhkov outlined importance of strategic
partnership, development of traditional business, economic,
cultural and humanitarian ties in new economic climate.
“The heads of the administrations have marked spheres for
extension of cooperation. It is municipal housing economy, health
care, cultural and humanitarian spheres, capital construction and
investments. New cooperation agreement between the two cities is to
be signed in the nearest days,” the report said.
Itar-Tass: French helicopter ship to have joint drill of Russian
helicopter teams in St Petersburg
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14566767&PageNum=0
24.11.2009, 21.55
MOSCOW, November 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The French Mistral helicopter
ship will have a joint drill with Russian helicopter teams in St.
Petersburg, the captain said on Tuesday.
The ship arrived in St. Petersburg on Monday.
In the words of the captain, the joint drill was a usual element
of a foreign ship’s visit to a port of a friendly state.
He also noted that the visit was not directly related to the
wish of the Russian Navy to buy the ship, but Russian engineers,
shipbuilders and Navy representatives had a chance to tour it.
The captain invited average citizens to visit the ship on
Wednesday.
The Mistral helicopter ship can move at the speed of 18 knots to
the distance of 20,000 miles. It has a crew of 160 and may take
aboard 450 marines on long voyages and 900 marines on brief
voyages. The ship carries 16 helicopters, including six that can be
positioned on the ship deck simultaneously. The ship hold can
contain over 40 tanks or 70 vehicles.
NATO has not developed an official position on Russia-France
negotiations on the possible acquisition of a Mistral helicopter
ship, alliance spokesman James Appathurai said earlier in the
day.
He said the alliance was aware of the negotiations. If the
negotiations are successful, NATO hopes they observe the laws and
customs commitments, he said.
The Russian Navy took an interest in the helicopter ship at the
St. Petersburg naval show held this June, and the Navy command
confirmed the possibility of the ship acquisition in August.
The Navy thinks the helicopter ship can be used for
peacekeeping, rescue and anti-piracy missions. If the ship is
acquired, Russia may use the technology for making similar vessels
at domestic shipyards.
RIA: Kazakhstan moves to play down Baikonur spat with Russia
http://en.rian.ru/world/20091125/156978520.html
11:0925/11/2009
Kazakhstan moved to play down a spat with Russia over a delay in
a rocket launch from the Russian-leased space center in the Central
Asian republic earlier this week, saying it was a result of a
misunderstanding.
Russia's launch of a European communications satellite on a
Proton rocket from Baikonur was delayed from Monday until late
Tuesday, which sparked a bitter exchange of accusations between the
two ex-Soviet nations.
"There has been no scandal around the launch. It was a typical
misunderstanding. One side had put an inaccurately worded phrase in
documents, and the other had to change a whole range of procedures
as a result," Talgat Musabayev, head of Kazcosmos space agency told
reporters, adding the two countries should streamline
organizational procedures.
Kazcosmos accused Russia's space agency on Monday of constantly
changing launch plans, which led to the delay in the Proton-M
blast.
Roscosmos said it had submitted all documents in time and blamed
its Kazakh partners for slowly issuing government approvals for
launches.
"This is not the first time the launch of a spacecraft has been
threatened with failure for reasons not depending on Russia,"
Roscosmos said.
Musabayev said on Wednesday that "Kazakhstan has remained
Russia's reliable partner," and Kazcosmos hopes "its Russian
brothers and friends" will help the country join the club of space
powers.
Russia rents the Soviet-built launching facility in Kazakhstan
since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, paying an annual rent of
$115 million.
Its activities in the area have been marred by Proton accidents
and Kazakhstan's complaints about toxic pollution. Russia is
building a new launching site in the Far East to cut its reliance
on Baikonur.
ASTANA, November 25 (RIA Novosti)
November 24, 2009
Satnews: Arianespace Marks A First — Twice — For Russia
http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=63616374
Arianespace has marked a historic milestone with the arrival of
its first two Soyuz launchers in French Guiana, which will be used
to inaugurate service with this medium-lift workhorse vehicle next
year from the Spaceport.
Containers with the stages for Arianespace’s first two Soyuz
launchers are rolled out from the MN Colibri’s interior cargo
compartment.
The Soyuz 2-1a launchers were carried aboard the MN Colibri
roll-on/roll-off transport ship, which docked on schedule yesterday
morning (November 23) at Pariacabo port near Kourou after
completing the transatlantic crossing from St. Petersburg,
Russia.
Unloading operations at Pariacabo started with refined kerosene
propellant for the launcher's strap-on boosters and its Block A and
Block I stages, along with UDMH, N2O4 and hydrazine for its Fregat
upper stage. The activity began yesterday from the ship's
upper deck, and continued through this morning.
Also brought ashore yesterday from the MN Colibri's upper deck
was a functional model of the Fregat, which will be used for
fueling tests in French Guiana.
This was followed by today's rollout of containers with the
Soyuz launchers' four first-stage strap-on boosters, their Block A
core stages and Block I third stages, Fregat upper stages, as well
as the Soyuz ST-type payload fairings. The transfer of these
elements began in road convoys to the Spaceport today, and will be
completed tomorrow.
One of the two Fregat upper stages brought to French Guiana by
the MN Colibri is transported from Pariacabo port to the
Spaceport.
Claude Bessemoulin, Arianespace's head of logistics, said the
unloading operations went very well, and followed the procedures
employed for years in transporting Ariane launchers from Europe to
French Guiana - a process that utilizes the MN Colibri and its
sister ship, the MN Toucan.
Soyuz is one of the world's most utilized launchers, having been
operated in 1,750 missions from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
and Russia's northern launch site at Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Its
introduction at French Guiana will bring this venerable medium-life
vehicle into Arianespace's growing launcher family, joining its
heavy-lift Ariane 5 now operational at the Spaceport, and
subsequently the lightweight Vega.
Barentsobserver: Next Bulava launch slated for end of
December
http://www.barentsobserver.com/next-bulava-launch-slated-for-end-of-december.4657044-58932.html
2009-11-25
Russia’s new submarine-launched ballistic missile will be
test-launched in the end of December. The launch was planned to
take place yesterday.
Yesterday’splanned launch of Russia’s troubled missile has been
postponed until the end of the year, RIA Novosti reports. This is
the second time the launch has been postponed. The last test-launch
of Bulava took place on July 15 2009 and became the sixth failed
launch out of 12.
- Because of the need for coordination of several questions –
including technical questions, between the producers and the
Russian Ministry of Defence, the test-launch will only be conducted
at the end of the year, a source told RIA Novosti.
The Bulava missile is designed for the “Borei” class submarines,
the fourth generation nuclear subs, the first of which are now
being tested in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast. The vessel “Yury
Dolgoruky” will be the flagship in the Russian submarine fleet.
Another two vessels of the kind is under construction in the
yard.
Reuters: Q+A-Russia delays test of troubled Bulava missile
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AN0F7
Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:30am EST
MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday delayed the latest
test launch of its troubled new submarine-launched Bulava
intercontinental ballistic missile, the state RIA news agency
reported.
RIA said the launch -- which was first scheduled for late
October -- should have taken place on Tuesday but had been delayed
again.
"In connection with the need to agree a host of questions,
including technical ones... the latest launch of the Bulava should
take place before the end of the year," RIA quoted an unidentified
source in the Russian defence sector as saying.
The following are key details about the missile:
WHAT IS IT?
The Bulava (Mace), which is capable of carrying 6-10 nuclear
warheads 8,000 km (5,000 miles), is designed to be deployed on
Russia's Project 955 atomic Borei (Arctic Wind) Class
submarines.
The 37-tonne, 12-metre (39 ft) intercontinental ballistic
missile is known as the Bulava-30 inside the Russian military. Its
NATO reporting name is the SS-NX-30 and in international treaties
it is known as the RSM-56.
Russia's Borei class submarines can carry at least 12 of the
missiles, which are the sea-based version of the Topol-M
intercontinental missile.
HOW MANY FAILURES?
Of 11 previous tests that have been openly reported, at least
six have been unsuccessful, including a test on July 15 when a
Bulava self-destructed after a malfunction during the first stage
of its flight from the White Sea.
A test launch planned for late October was aborted and the
submarine which was supposed to fire the missile returned to base,
local media quoted a navy source as saying.
The Russian navy does not release detailed information about the
missile launches, citing national security.
WHO TESTS IT?
The missiles are usually tested by the Dmitry Donskoy Project
941 Akula (Shark) submarine, which operates as part of the navy's
North Fleet.
The missiles are usually fired from underwater in northwestern
Russia towards the Kura testing site on the Kamchatka peninsula in
the Pacific.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The missile has been billed as Russia's newest technological
breakthrough to support its nuclear deterrent and a way to bolster
the country's once mighty submarine fleet.
But the repeated test failures are an embarrassment for the
Kremlin which has touted the missile as a unique weapon capable of
breaching any air defence.
The test failures have convinced a growing number of analysts --
and even senior navy officers -- that the Bulava is fundamentally
doomed and that it would be cheaper and safer to start from scratch
on a new project.
Some Russian defence analysts say the project is eating up funds
better spent on other projects and that the repeated failures of
Bulava are eroding morale in the navy.
Russia's chief of the general staff, Nikolai Makarov, said in
August that the missile has to fly otherwise Russia would have to
refit all of its new generation Borei class nuclear submarines.
Asked if it would be better to deploy the reliable, Soviet-era
designed Sineva missile on the new submarines, Makarov said: "The
Bulava is a totally different system...To refit a submarine for the
Bulava means to redesign it completely."
Makarov blamed technical glitches rather than a fundamental
design fault for the test launch mishaps. He said that the chief
constructor of the missile, the head of Moscow's Institute of
Thermal Technology, Yuri Solomonov, had resigned.
If Russia did scrap the Bulava it would have to scramble to
develop a new submarine-launched ballistic missile before its
current Soviet-built nuclear submarines reach decommissioning age
in the next two decades. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, editing
by Jon Boyle) (([email protected], +7 495 775 12
42))
PakTribune: Ex-Soviet states see threat of Afghan spillover
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?221739
Wednesday November 25, 2009 (1147 PST)
ALMATY: Afghanistan’s Taliban may seek to establish a foothold
in ex-Soviet Central Asia to recruit supporters and disrupt
supplies for US troops in Afghanistan, regional security officials
said on Tuesday.
Former Soviet republics Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan act as transit nations for US Afghan supplies and all
but Kazakhstan have reported armed clashes with Islamists this
year.
In the past year, the Taliban insurgency has spread to parts of
northern Afghanistan that had long been relatively peaceful, even
as violence raged in the south and east of the country.
“The deteriorating situation in northern Afghanistan enables the
Taliban to spread their influence in that region, giving
international terrorists more opportunities to infiltrate the
territory of Central Asian states,” Mikhail Melikhov, a senior
official at the Common Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), told a
conference in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
CSTO, dominated by Russia, is a defence bloc of ex-Soviet
republics. Marat Imankulov, the head of the anti-terrorist centre
of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), another
post-Soviet bloc that focuses on economic and political ties, said
security risks were compounded by the economic downturn.
“Frankly speaking, the economic crisis in the CIS countries is
turning into a social one,” he told the conference. “We cannot
avoid talking about the growing risks of extremist and terrorist
activities.”
Imankulov said some security analysts expected the Taliban to
try destabilising Central Asian states “to disrupt equipment and
food supply channels for coalition forces.”
25.11.09 08:36 Interfax: Medvedev gave the Defense a month for
inventory of depots and arsenals in Russia
http://www.interfax-russia.ru/main.asp?id=57173
/Google translation/
November 25. Interfax-Russia.ru - President Dmitry Medvedev
called for a real security personnel and residents of Ulyanovsk,
associated with work in the warehouses of ammunition. "We need to
ensure real security and military personnel who are involved in the
commission of such works, and residents of Ulyanovsk. And not only
here, in Ulyanovsk, and elsewhere. We have a similar depots and
arsenals in the country a lot, the quality of storage of munitions
it is necessary to check" , - said Dmitry Medvedev during a meeting
in Ulyanovsk on the situation with the explosions at ammunition
depots in the city. Dmitry Medvedev recalled that he had
commissioned a full inventory depots and arsenals, "with pictures,
with a technical description of what is happening there." "As far
as I know, when it all happened on 13 November, the authorities,
which correspond to the arsenal, at midnight could not find" - said
the President. He noted that such an inventory should be conducted,
and to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of everyone who
has to do with it. The President gave the Defense Ministry a month
to conduct the inventory. "November 13 at the warehouse the Navy in
Ulyanovsk been a major emergency, people died, and this became
possible because of lack of control by the Ministry of Defense and
the criminal negligence of those who were instructed to dispose of
ammunition at a time" - said Dmitry Medvedev. He noted that this
incident was being investigated, however, despite the arrival of a
large number of chiefs from Moscow as from the Ministry of Defense,
and representatives of the district, yesterday there was absolutely
unconscionable thing. " "Yesterday, at the same arsenal of killing
people, and this tragedy already makes to think about more serious
things. It is a consequence of the complete lack of discipline in
the organization of this work, it is a consequence of the guilt of
persons who have not fulfilled their direct duties," - said the
president. He stressed that those responsible must answer in
accordance with the disciplinary and criminal law. "Here, we
present and the chief military prosecutor and head of the
Investigative Division of the Prosecutor General. I authorize you
to conduct the necessary investigations and as part of a
preliminary investigation to take all necessary action" - said
Dmitry Medvedev, addressing the participants of the meeting.
November 13 at 31-m of the Navy's arsenal in Ulyanovsk there was a
fire in one of the shops where there is a waste of ammunition. As a
result, PE, killing two soldiers, injured 60 people, including six
were hospitalized. According to preliminary information, the cause
of the fire was the violation of technology in the disposal of
ammunition. November 23, when loading ordnance on the 31-m of the
Navy's arsenal in Ulyanovsk detonated one of the shells, because of
the exploded munitions loaded into the car. Killing two officers
and six soldiers on contract service, two were hospitalized.
RIA: Col. Baranets: Russia has right to use nuclear weapons as
it deems necessary
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20091124/156973187.html
21:5624/11/2009
Our guest today is Colonel Viktor Baranets, a military
commentator from Komsomolskaya Pravda daily. Welcome, Mr.
Baranets.
Global security is a key issue today. How has the world changed?
How have weapons needed to guarantee security changed? Which
weapons should we rely on if we abandon a policy of nuclear
deterrence?
Globally, the temperature of confrontation of Russia and its
allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization with NATO has
been falling. However, the only practical step taken by the United
States within the “reset” policy is its refusal to deploy ballistic
missile defense systems in Europe.
It was a positive signal, yet we have likely been too optimistic
about it. Barely two hours after President Obama announced the
decision, it was said that we had misunderstood him, and that the
United States would do it, but a bit differently.Moscow is closely
monitoring the situation, but still, the decision not to deploy ABM
systems in Europe is a very serious positive signal.
As for nuclear confrontation, you know that the global trend was
to gradually cut nuclear weapons within the START-1 and START-2
treaties. We are now working hard on a new treaty, which will cut
the number of nuclear warheads to 1,200-1,500 per side.
This move could be interpreted as both nuclear parties’ decision
to lower the nuclear threshold – theoretically. However, in
practice we cannot reach an agreement with the U.S. on the rules of
the game. Secretary of State Clinton made a statement during her
visit to Russia which could interest only professionals, or which
only professionals could notice. She said they would allow Russian
officers to inspect U.S. nuclear arsenals.
What does that mean? Under the treaty, an American commission
inspected Russian arsenals, and a Russian commission went on a
similar mission to the United States. And it turned out that Russia
liquidated warheads in compliance with the treaty, while the sly
Americans stored the scrapped warheads, which created the serious
problem of “return potential.” The U.S. can take warheads from
storage and mount them on a missile, which puts Russia at a big
disadvantage.
The negotiating teams are now focused on rapidly drafting fair
rules for the game because we are tired of being duped.
A few words about the latest Russian statements on nuclear
weapons. Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security
Council, recently made a series of high-profile statements, one of
which frightens our foreign partners. He said that since Russia has
nuclear weapons it also has the right to use them as it deems
necessary, and also that it reserves the right to deliver
preventive nuclear strikes.
Some Western critics immediately said this means that Russia
will deliver blows at whomever it wants. But the idea is that
Russia has not only intercontinental missiles but also other types
of nuclear weapons – tactical missiles – as well as weapons that
interest other countries the most, small nuclear charges. I believe
it was these nuclear weapons Mr. Patrushev was referring to.
It was a hint to Georgia that if Russia fails to repel another
potential aggression it may consider delivering a nuclear strike.
It would not be a strike that pulverizes half of Georgia; it would
be a strike delivered within the limits of expediency, only to stop
the enemy.
In general, nuclear bargaining has never stopped, and nuclear
weapons have always been the core of the Russian armed forces.
Nuclear weapons are the umbrella giving Russia a historical chance
to reform its armed forces. If not for nuclear weapons, Russia
would have been treated quite differently in the world especially
since foreign intelligence services are not sitting on their hands.
They cleverly analyze the real situation in the Russian armed
forces, which are halfway to a new destination and are undergoing
radical change.
The main thing is that possession of nuclear weapons allows
Russia to restructure its armed forces. Taken together with
petrodollars and mineral resources, this allows Russia to advance
progressively, even though it is making some mistakes in the
process. Military reforms have provoked contradictory views in the
expert community both in Russia and abroad.
You mentioned Georgia. Is there still a potential threat coming
from the Saakashvili regime?
Yes, the unfriendly political regime led by Mikheil Saakashvili
stands at the helm in Georgia and its army has been working with
combined NATO assistance to strengthen its muscle after its failure
in August 2008.
Over 22 NATO and several other countries helped arm Georgia
before it attacked South Ossetia. For example, Israel supplied
unmanned air vehicles. It later asked forgiveness from the Kremlin
and promised never to supply UAVs again. However, the chief of
Israel’s main intelligence agency recently admitted officially that
Israel is again supplying UAVs.
But they are acting within the framework of international law,
aren’t they?
Certainly. When I analyzed the issue of Ukraine’s military
supplies to Georgia, and when we found documents of the Ukrainian
parliament’s special commission which undeniably showed that
Ukraine supplied weapons and specialists to Georgia, Ukrainian
politicians said: “Sorry, but Ukraine has a military technical
cooperation agreement with Georgia.”
And this is true. The supply of weapons to a country adjacent to
Russia immediately sets into motion other mechanisms – mechanisms
of political morals. The Ukrainian air defense missiles supplied to
Georgia were used to kill Russian servicemen, down Russian
aircraft, and murder peaceful South Ossetians.
Russia has nothing against military technical cooperation
between Ukraine and Georgia, but it also understands the meaning of
this cooperation. These two countries have been working hard to get
into NATO, and are doing their best to prove their worth. Everyone
can see this. Intelligence data, unofficial information and
statements all point in this direction.
What has Moscow done in this situation? The Russian president
said we should draw proper conclusions, thereby hinting that Russia
could apply economic sanctions. I can understand this – when the
United States dislikes a country where Russia supplies weapons, it
immediately uses sanctions against that country.
Which types of weapons is Russia relying on now?
Russia is using every achievement in the world that could be
interesting and expedient in the military sphere. The Russian S-400
air defense missile system is certainly one of the best in the
world, and we are now completing the S-500 system. Although the
process is very difficult, the much-lauded U.S. Patriot can’t hold
a candle to the Russian system.
This also means that Russia’s military technical potential is
very strong even though 8,000 Russian scientists have emigrated in
the last 18 years. Not all of them are working for the military,
but some 20% are surely strengthening other countries’
defenses.
As for new types of weapons, we are now actively using tank
protection systems. When an enemy missile is fired at a tank, the
tank protection system intercepts and destroys it. Foreign
intelligence services have been watching our efforts closely over
the last 18 years, buying one bit of the project after another.
This is evidence that Western military highly value Russian
achievements.
Gazeta.kz: Russian government approved Customs Code of Customs
Union
http://eng.gazeta.kz/art.asp?aid=140383
12:27 25.11.2009 text: Kazakhstan Today
The government of the Russian Federation approved the Customs
Code of the Customs Union of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus. The
Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Elvira
Nabiullina, informed on Monday, following the results of the
government session of the Russian Federation, the Kazakhstan Today
agency reports citing ITAR-TASS.
According to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation,
Vladimir Putin, "the document has base character and its approval
is the major step towards formation of the Customs Union in the
interests of our three country-partners."
The decision on creation of the Customs Union was accepted by
the Presidents of the EurAsEC countries on October 6, 2007.
Formation of the uniform customs territory assumes cancellation of
customs borders between the countries of the Customs Union and
shift all kinds of state control, except boundary, to the customs
border of the union. "Control at the Belarus-Russian border will be
cancelled from July 1, 2010 and on Kazakhstan - from July 1, 2011.
The uniform custom duties in the territory of two countries will
come into force on January 1, 2010. The customs code will start to
operate from July 1, 2010.
25.11.09 10:53 Interfax: The Federation Council approved a law
providing for no increase of transport tax
http://www.interfax-russia.ru/main.asp?id=57245
/Google translation/November 25. Interfax-Russia.ru - Federation
Council of Russia at a meeting on Wednesday approved a new version
of the law on vehicle tax, which retains its current rate.
Earlier, the Federation Council rejected a law passed by the
State Duma, which has increased the transport tax twice.
After this was set up a conciliation commission, which has
resolved all issues.
However, for a more flexible form of regional revenue budgets
federal law gave the regional authorities the right to increase or
decrease the rate of vehicle tax, but not more than 10 times.
Previously the law provided an opportunity to increase or decrease
five times.
iStockAnalyst: Atomstroyexport Ready to Hire Czech, Slovak
Contractors in Npp Projects
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3662813
Monday, November 23, 2009 2:51 PM
(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)MOSCOW. Nov 23
(Interfax) - Atomstroyexport, Russia's general contractor of
nuclear power plant projects, has signed a memorandum of mutual
understanding with Czech and Slovak companies in Prague.
Atomstroyexport intends to buy equipment and services from partners
in building nuclear power plants in Russia and third countries.
The sides will cooperate in the construction of nuclear power
plants of the Russian make, with water-cooled water-moderated
reactors VVER (the export name MIR 1200), Atomstroyexport said.
The pool of partners is a rather large one, the company
said.
Atomstroyexport hopes that Czech and Slovak partners will engage
national export agencies with appropriate financial resources in
the construction of nuclear power plants in third countries.
Atomstroyexport, Hydropress and Skoda JS are taking part in a
tender for building the third and fourth units of the Czech Temelin
nuclear power plant. If the bid is victorious, the consortium will
employ the maximal number of local contractors.
It will also hire companies from EU member countries, such as
Italy and France. Atomstroyexport is already cooperating with
French Areva in the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant
in Bulgaria, and discussing joint projects with Italian Enel (that
owns nuclear assets in Slovakia).
The Rosatom State Corporation has offered the Czech Republic to
build a nuclear fuel plant on the Czech territory. The plant will
guarantee nuclear fuel deliveries to the Czech Republic, Slovakia
and other European countries, Rosatom said.
(c) 2009 Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English. Provided by
ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
RIA: Over 1% of Russian population HIV-positive - UN report
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091125/156976714.html
06:4525/11/2009
NEW YORK, November 24 (RIA Novosti) - Over 1% of Russian
residents are HIV-positive, according to a joint report by the UN
Program on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization.
Injecting drug use remains the primary transmission route in
Russia and the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia region on
the whole. According to the report, about 37% of Russia's estimated
1.8 million drug users are HIV-infected. Young people account for a
considerable number of infections among injecting drug users in the
region.
"In a study involving street youth (aged 15-19) in St.
Petersburg, 37.4% of the people surveyed were HIV-infected, with a
positive HIV status strongly and independently associated with
injecting drugs and sharing needles," the report, released on
Tuesday, said.
According to the report, three countries in the region -
Estonia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have HIV prevalence
that exceeds 1%, with Ukraine showing the most alarming infection
rate of 1.6%.
The estimated number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia rose to some 1.5 million, up 66% from 2001.
The report says about 33.4 million people are living with HIV
worldwide. New HIV infections dropped 17% over the past eight years
worldwide.
RIA: Court to rule on refusal to investigate Arctic Sea case
abroad
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091125/156976234.html
05:2625/11/2009
MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti) - The Moscow City Court will
consider on Wednesday an appeal submitted by a suspect in the
Arctic Sea ship seizure case, against a lower court ruling not to
hand the case to investigators in Malta or Sweden.
Dmitry Bartenev is reportedly one of the eight armed men who
boarded the Finnish-owned, Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea ship manned
by a Russian crew and listed as carrying lumber from Russia to
Algeria. The vessel was freed off Cape Verde on August 16 by a
Russian warship.
"We will appeal the ruling of the first instance court, which
said the investigators' refusal... to hand the case to relevant
bodies in Sweden or Malta was legitimate," Bartnev's lawyer,
Konstantin Baranovsky, said.
He added that the case should be handed either to Sweden, as the
incident took place in its territorial waters, or to Malta, as the
vessel was flying the country's flag.
A state prosecutor said it was impossible under the Russian
constitution, as Russian nationals were among the suspects.
The freighter was handed over to Maltese authorities in late
October. The ship was given permission to enter the port following
a thorough inspection by Maltese officials.
In early November, four sailors, who had remained on board the
Arctic Sea, returned to their home base in northern Russia.
The Arctic Sea, sailing under a new 14-member crew, left the
Maltese port for Algeria on November 11, to resume its route
interrupted by hijackers.
RIA: Anatoly Chubais had an accident
http://www.rian.ru/incidents/20091125/195389134.html
09:01 25/11/2009
MOSCOW, November 25 - RIA Novosti. The head of Rosnano Anatoly
Chubais on Tuesday came in a car accident, told RIA Novosti
spokesperson of the state corporation.
"Yesterday, at 18.30 Moscow time, Anatoly Chubais, drove to the
meeting of the Supervisory Board of the office building of the
corporation. His service included a car with warning lights and
siren started a movement to strip back the streets Nametkina toward
the intersection with the street Profsoyuznaya. To move forward in
passing direction in the far left lane car Class SUV suddenly
turned sharply to the left through two solid lines of road
markings. Despite the sharp deceleration, the collision could not
be avoided, "- said the representative Rosnano.
In place of the accident was quickly called up the traffic
police.
The head of Rosnano, making sure that the driver of an SUV is
not injured and can move independently, continued to move in
another car.
FT.com: Control of data slips from Kremlin's grasp
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8fe2b26e-d962-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0.html
By Charles Clover in Moscow
Published: November 25 2009 02:00 | Last updated: November 25
2009 02:00
Gorbushka market, just outside central Moscow, does a thriving
trade in any electronics good you could want: mobile phones, plasma
television sets, the latest DVDs, and, if you ask to see them,
software peddlers will show potential clients a list of
"databases".
These consist of CDs with names such as "Ministry of Interior -
Federal Road Safety Service", "Tax Service" and "Federal Anti
Narcotics Service" and cost about $100 apiece.
Each contains confidential information gathered by Russian law
enforcement or government agencies: anything from arrest records,
personal addresses, passport numbers, phone records or address
books to bank account details, known associates, tax data and
flight records are on offer.
In some malls these are sold openly, but in Gorbushka, after a
recent police sweep, sellers are more discreet; one merchant gives
shoppers a list of available titles and offers to burn the disks
for 3,000 roubles ($104, €70, £63). He said there was no moral
dilemma about selling personal information. "There is a market and
we fill it. It's not a question mark for me," he said.
The confidential information is a goldmine for criminals, spies
and journalists - but most of all for the police and bureaucrats
that sell the information to computer hackers, who mass produce the
CDs and sell them openly through vendors in electronics markets or
online.
The size of the black market for information is estimated in the
tens of millions of dollars and shows a unique side of the Russian
state apparatus - one that has painstakingly tried to maintain a
monopoly on information but nonetheless is so corrupt that it
cannot. Journalists, while nominally the lowest in the pecking
order of the semi-authoritarian state, actually have access to more
information about the authorities than in perhaps any other
country.
"American journalists must be envious of how open we are in
Russia," joked Sergei Kanev, an investigative reporter at Novaya
Gazeta, an opposition newspaper, who has written articles about the
information trade and occasionally uses the databases in his
reporting. He says the main users of the information black market
are criminals. He has covered cases of blackmail where
extortionists used records of reported rapes or prostitution
convictions to blackmail women.
Booting up a database of narcotics offenders, Mr Kanev says:
"Look here, you have photos, addresses, phone numbers, what kind of
drugs they use. It's very common for con artists to take this
database, call up a family member and tell them their son or
daughter has been arrested for drugs. They pretend to be policemen
and for 10,000 roubles they offer to let the kid go. The parents
know their kid is a user, they think its true, and so they pay up.
It's all a trick."
But the corruption of the state occasionally works to the
advantage of those who are working to change it - giving citizens
the resources to spy on corrupt authorities, in an odd reversal of
roles for a semi-authoritarian state such as Russia. For example,
reporters investigating the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna
Politkovskaya in 2006 used a database of flight records known as
"Sirena" as the basis to link an officer in the Federal Security
Service, who is suspected of being an accomplice, to a hired killer
who is serving a 12-year sentence for attempted murder in a
separate case and is a relative of two other suspects.
The database allegedly shows the FSB officer, Pavel Ryaguzov,
flying to Ingushetia with the convicted hit man, Lom Ali
Gaitukayev, and his own boss, an FSB colonel.
The men sat together, and registered for the flight at the same
time, suggesting they were travelling together. While the
information does not prove anything, it does show an uncomfortably
close relationship between the FSB and organised crime. The details
of the trip were also backed up by an eyewitness account. Mr Kanev
broke this story in February. Mr Ryaguzov was acquitted in a
related case by a jury that month, but the acquittal was overturned
by the supreme court. A new trial is expected soon.
The black market trade in information is illegal but tolerated
in Russia - as long as it stays under the surface. Selling in
discreet stalls in shopping malls is tacitly accepted. But one
recent effort to set up an online black market database failed - in
2008 the website radarix.com was operational for less than a week -
registered to a Panamanian national and hosted on a US server -
before being shut down.
Many large corporations maintain their own security departments,
all of which use information databases. However, most of the big
players have direct relationships to state officials and do not
rely on commercial or black market providers of such information,
said Sergei Minaev, general director of Special Information
Systems, one of Russia's largest legitimate providers of
information for commercial purposes.
Mr Minaev and others question the value of much of the
information available on the black market. Mr Minaev said that
despite appearances, many of the databases were out of date. "Most
of it is junk. All these databases you buy on the street are old,
and three out of 10 items are wrong." Others have raised the
possibility that some of the information is deliberately
falsified
He said that the passage of tough laws in 2002 didn't wipe out
the trade, but simply sent it underground. "The authorities
destroyed the black market without creating a white one," he said.
"They created no alternative for people who legitimately need
information. They made everything illegal. That is why it's
possible to buy anything."
Elena Lukyanova, a law professor at Moscow State University,
said that some legislation in Russia, such as a 2004 law requiring
political parties to disclose membership lists, violated
constitutional protections on information disclosure and
privacy.
"This was done to control the opposition," she said. "If there
are violations of the constitution like this, at the level of
legislation, we should not be surprised that laws get violated and
these black market databases are out there."
She said the problem was endemic corruption.
And while it is possible to find many secrets using Russia's
information black market, there is still evidently a tight grip on
the most sensitive information of all - foreign bank accounts of
top officials, their ownership of assets and those of their
relatives. Those are not to be found at the Gorbushka market.
Itar-Tass: Over 20,000 Russians make hajj to Saudi Arabia
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14567488&PageNum=0
25.11.2009, 10.03
MOSCOW, November 25 (Itar-Tass) - Over 20,000 Russians are
taking part in the culminating phase of the hajj that begins in
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
On November 26, pilgrims will travel to Mount Arafat and stand
in the open praising Allah. After sunset they will leave Arafat and
head to nearby Muzdalifah, where they will collect pebbles for the
next phase of pilgrimage – the symbolic stoning of the devil
represented by three pillars in Mina. On November 27, they will
celebrate the festival of sacrifice, thanksgiving, rejoicing and
prayer.
“Saudi Arabia’s quota issued to Russia this year has been fully
used,” the aide for hajj affairs under government’s commission for
religious organizations, Islam Nazaraliyev, told Itar-Tass.
He noted that Saudi Arabia cut this year’s quotas over the
outbreak of swine flu. Last year 26,000 Russian pilgrims made the
hajj pilgrimage.
Over 2.5 million Muslim believers take part in the hajj, of them
2 million are travelers from another part of the globe.
“This year eight companies were responsible for the organization
of the hajj, two – in Moscow, two – in Dagestan, as well as in
Tatarstan, Ingushetia, Chechnya and the Coordination Centre of
North Caucasus Muslims,” Nazaraliyev said.
Around 80 percent of pilgrims are from the North Caucasus, he
said. The number of those who travel to Saudi Arabia by plane
increase – 50 percent this year.
Russian pilgrims will begin to return to Russia on December
1.
25.11.09 12:14 Interfax: The court arrested the detainee in
Moscow suspected militants of the bandit Umarov
http://www.interfax-russia.ru/South/main.asp?id=57294
/Google translation/November 25. Interfax-Russia.ru - Lefortovo
Court in Moscow issued an arrest warrant for a suspect of
involvement in an illegal armed formation, led by Doka Umarov.
"The judge Lefortovo district court ruled, according to which of
Ruslan Ozniev suspected of committing a crime under Art. 208
(participation in illegal armed formation) and Art. 222 (illegal
possession of firearms and ammunition) of the Criminal Code, to
preventive measures in the form detention ", - told Interfax on
Wednesday, the spokesperson of the Moscow City Court, Anna
Usacheva.
According to investigators, during the search on November 19 in
R. Ozniev Makarov pistol was seized from two shops to him, as well
as "Moscow map with marks of the possible places a bookmark
explosives."
The material indicates that at the end of July 2007 Ozniev R.,
born in 1983, came from the Republic of Poland in the factory
district of Grozny, where, on its own initiative, entered into in
violation of the law created by Dmitry Umarov militia.
The detainee is suspected that supported the establishment and
activities of form, but also knew about the presence of the
participants of firearms.
Investigators believe that being in an illegal armed formation,
R. Ozniev to conspiracy took the nickname Abdulmalik and served in
various directions managers.
Subsequently, as noted in the materials, hiding from the law
enforcement officers, the suspect went to France, where he remained
until November 2009. Received this month instructions from one of
the leaders of illegal armed groups, said a consequence, R. Ozniev
arrived in Moscow to assist participants in forming.
Nov. 18, according to the materials, R. Ozniev met with an
unidentified person from whom he received "explosives, tools,
initiating explosives, firearms and ammunition, as well as personal
disguise - a wig and glasses.
These substances and firearms were seized at the place of
residence R. Oznieva November 19 this year, said the
investigation.
The court order may be appealed within three days after the
announcement in Moscow City Court.
Axisglobe: Isa Yamadayev addressed to Russian President as his
hunting reportedly continues in Moscow
http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=1954
24.11.2009The conflict between the clan of the Chechen President
Ramzan Kadyrov and the authoritative Chechen family of Yamadayevs
has been lasting for some years, daily Moskovsky Komsomolets (MK)
writes. The paper’s source from the security services commented on
the current situation, “Several groups at once have been working
regarding Isa Yamadayev, arrival of those people to Moscow from the
Chechen Republic has been fixed last week. The New Year is put as
deadline of the task to solve the question concerning him. But they
will not leave from Moscow until they execute the order”. The
definition „several groups” may mean that there is a certain number
of persons who jointly have been tracking down the potential victim
(Isa Yamadayev) with the aim of his elimination, MK marks. “ To
solve the question concerning him” means to eliminate, to kill
Yamadayev. Thus, it turns out that Isa Yamadayev should be killed
till January 1, 2010. Judging by the chain of liquidations of his
brothers, these intentions are more than serious, the daily points
out. Isa Yamadayev visited the editorial office of the MK and
confirmed the reports about the chase. He told that the Interior
Ministry of Russia had allocated protection to him and he had
decided to address to the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev
through mass media on the matter.The conflict between the two most
influential clans in the Chechen Republic ripened for a long time,
MK expands. The Yamadayevs were getting increased authority and
popularity. The conflict entered its "hot" stage on April 13, 2008.
A road accident took place in central Gudermes because of a
Kadyrov’s relative who considerably had exceeded speed. Two
servicemen of the Russian GRU Chechen battalion Vostok*,commanded
by Sulim Yamadayev, died as a result of the accident. On April 14,
2008, the conflict between Yamadayev and Kadyrov inflamed when the
two motorcades refused to let pass each other on the Caucasus
highway in the area of Gudermes. Two hours later under Ramzan
Kadyrov's instruction the battalions Sever, Yug, republican
special-task police division, rapid-reaction unit, regiment named
after Akhmat-Hadzhi Kadyrov, the so-called oil regiment, special
troops of the Ministry of Interior of Chechen Republic, in total of
25,000 servicemen blocked the 500-men strong base of Vostok
battalion in Gudermes and ordered the battalion’s servicemen to
change their affiliation. They were demanded to go over under
Ramzan Kadyrov’s command, that is to voluntary leave the Vostok
battalion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Russian
Defence Ministry’s General Staff. On April 15, Kadyrov publicly
accused Yamadayev of murders and abductions of peaceful
inhabitants. Simultaneously a criminal case was brought for alleged
use of violence against the representative of authorities,
concerning Badrudi Yamadayev. On April 19, Yamadayev accused
Kadyrov of similar crimes. In May, 2008, Sulim Yamadayev was
dismissed from command of the battalion. (* A special dossier
on Chechen security forces is available on AIA website.)
Russian FSB de