Russia 090805
Basic Political Developments
· President of Finland Tarja Halonen will visit Russia on August 11, 2009, at Dmitry Medvedev's invitation.
· Russia, Turkey to Sign Bosphorus Bypass Oil Pipe Deal - Russia will sign an accord with Turkey on building a pipeline for sending Black Sea oil to the Mediterranean, bypassing congestion at the Bosphorus Straits as Bulgaria may back out of a similar project.
· Deals Planned for Putin’s Turkey Trip - Inter RAO and Gazprom will sign agreements on energy projects with Turkish companies, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said at a news conference Tuesday.
· Turkey to start feasibility of South Stream first seismic researches - "After seismic researches in the Black Sea, we will assess how feasible the South Stream project is," Yildiz told a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanovich Shmatko in Ankara.
· Russia Interested in Providing Resources for Samsun-Ceyhan Pipeline
· Putin to visit Turkey for energy talks - In talks yesterday ahead of the visit, the two countries’ energy ministers pledged to boost energy cooperation and said companies from both sides, among them Russian gas giant Gazprom, were close to signing agreements.
· ‘Putin may warn Turkey not to rely on energy in its EU relations’ - Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs quarterly, shared his remarks with Today's Zaman on a variety of hot topics in Turkish-Russian bilateral relations, including the standoff on oil and gas transportation, nuclear energy tenders and the changing course of relations in the new world order of modern international politics.
· Medvedev sends congratulations to Obama on his 48th birthday
· U.S. tracks unexpected Russian subs off east coast - The Pentagon is concerned by the unexpected presence of two Russian submarines in international waters off the U.S. coast, although a Russian official said the patrol was not unusual. "Even during the fleet's most difficult times in the mid-1990s, Russian submarines put to sea on active alert for patrols. This practice continues to this day," the official said.
· Russian Arctic jump angers Canadians - The proposed parachute operation -- described last week by a Russian general as a "peaceful" anniversary celebration of a landmark achievement by two Soviet scientists 60 years ago -- prompted an icy response from MacKay, who suggested Canada would scramble fighter jets to "meet" any Russian aircraft "approaching" Canada's airspace.
· Russia-Korea Joint Military Exercise to Take Place off Sakhalin Coast - Combined maneuvers with the participation of the Russian Border Guard Cruisers, air fleet and patrol vessel of the Korea National Maritime Police Agency will take place off Sakhalin coast. The Korean vessel has already arrived at the port of Korsakov, Sakhalin.
· Russian carrier deal will be renegotiated - India has agreed to Russia’s demand to re-negotiate a $1.6bn contract for an old aircraft carrier, a government minister said yesterday, in a deal that has become a thorny issue in relations.
· Negotiations on reasonable price for Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier approaching final agreement - Negotiations were on with Russia regarding the price of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and India was expecting to soon reach a "reasonable decision" on the issue, State Minister of Defence M M Pallam Raju said on Wednesday according to DD India.
· India Says Will Renegotiate Russian Carrier Deal - delays have pushed back the delivery to 2012. The 44,570-ton ship's price has since nearly doubled to $2.8 billion, causing anger in New Delhi which was unwilling to pay the extra money
· The South Ossetian parliament confirmed the candidacy of Vadim Brovtsev for the post of prime minister.
· South Ossetia closes border with Georgia - President of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, announced the closure of the administrative border with Georgia from Tuesday midnight, forbidding any vehicles or passengers to cross over.
· Russia does not plan to reinforce troops in SOssetia, Abkhazia - “Presently it is not necessary to reinforce the current contingents, their numerical strength is specified in the bilateral agreements. We are not planning to build up our groupings soon,” Nogovitsyn said.
· Russia Vows ‘Appropriate’ Response to Any Georgian Aggression - Russia’s military will give an “appropriate response” to any Georgian aggression in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy head of Russia’s General Staff, told reporters in Moscow today.
· West still arming Georgia, under other pretexts - “The combat potential of the Georgian armed forces is being restored and the supplies of weapons to Georgia continue, but not the way it was done before – under the disguise of the preparation of the Georgian armed forces according to NATO standards. The supplies of armaments and military equipment to Georgia now continue, but under another scheme,” Nogovitsyn noted.
· Russia praises EU role in Georgia - Russia says EU monitors have helped stabilise the situation in Georgia since last year's war, but has rejected any similar role for the US.
· Russia backs EU, not U.S., role in Georgia
· Lavrov irked by US Vice President Biden
· Russia's recognition of Abkhazia, S.Ossetia not planned – Lavrov
· Russia did not plan to recognize Abkhazia, S. Ossetia before Aug 2008 - Russia did not plan to recognize
· Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states before August 2008, but
· it had to do so following the conflict with Georgia to save the lives of
· the people living in those republics, said Russian Foreign Minister
· Sergei Lavrov.
· Georgia issue no longer impedes RF-West relations-Lavrov: The “Georgian issue” no longer impedes “our relations with the West,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview to the Vesti news television channel on Wednesday on the eve of the first anniversary of the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia. According to him, the visit to Moscow by US President Barack Obama confirmed this.
· Chronology of Events: the South Ossetia Conflict of August 2008
· S. Ossetia still healing scars of war
· Russia and Georgia Battle Over Position in History - Each Pushes Its Version of Last Year's War for International Report; Moscow Puts Troops on Alert in Abkhazia and South Ossetia
· Putin’s Afghan War - By Yulia Latynina
· Egyptian Traders Co head detained in Russia wheat row
· TIMELINE-Egypt-Russia dispute over wheat
· German vessels ready for the Northern Sea Route - Three vessels from Beluga Group will this summer sail the Northern Sea Route from East to West, delivering equipment for a new heating and power plant in Surgut, Khanti-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on the way.
· GDP in CIS countries in I half of 2009 decreased by 9 %
· Faith or Politics? The Russian Patriarch Ends Ukraine Visit
· State Will Aid Victims Of Drought - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that the regions that have suffered from the droughts this year could get up to 100 billion rubles ($3.2 billion) to cope with the consequences of the disaster, Interfax reported.
· Shakeup At Justice Ministry - President Dmitry Medvedev promoted Yury Kalinin, head of the Federal Prison Service, to deputy justice minister and appointed the Samara region’s top cop, Alexander Reimer, to the prison post, the Kremlin said Tuesday.
· Rights Group: Russian Criminals Used to Torture Other Inmates
· Russia begins new trial into murder of journalist Politkovskaya - The Moscow Military District Court opened on Wednesday a new trial of defendants in the 2006 murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
· Suspects in Politkovskaya case on trial again
· Medvedev tells Murmansk and Arkhangelsk governors to “straighten up” - Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev is not pleased with the level of anti-crisis measures that have been taken in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk and has given the governors of these regions a clear signal to get a grip on the situation.
· Mother of all Buddhas in Moscow - The “Russia, India and Tibet” fest has kicked off in six Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. The highlight of the event will be the long-awaited arrival of a delegation of Buddhist monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery, where more than 5,000 people from Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, Nepal and Russia study philosophy, Buddhism, astrology and medicine.
· Putin’s Popularity Not Oil Dependent - Vladimir Putin has been accused of undemocratic behavior, of staging unfair elections and of holding on to power like a dictator. But he can point to a strong basis for his legitimacy: He is unbeatably popular among his electorate.
· Russians Fully Back Medvedev and Putin - The Russian Federation’s governing duo continues to enjoy a high level of public support, according to a poll by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center. 72 per cent of respondents approve of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s performance, while 78 per cent are satisfied with the job of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
· CSTO in Crisis as Moscow Secures Second Military Base in Kyrgyzstan
· Russia Seeks to Boost Ties with Tajikistan
· Russia's Obama: No, he can't, at least not now - Joaquim Crima, a 37-year-old native of Guinea Bissau who settled in southern Russia after earning a degree at a local university, is promising to battle corruption and bring development to his district on the Volga River.
· The Last Thief - An Attack on the “Godfather” of the Russian Underworld Signals More Trouble to Come
National Economic Trends
· Russia c.bank injects 28.5 bln roubles via repos
· Russia daily c.bank swap limit at 5 bln rbls
· Russia: Bond, Currency Preview
· Russian Services PMI Shrinks at Second-Slowest Pace in July
· PMI: Rate of decline in services activity remains modest in Jul
· Fitch Affirms Russia Long Term Currency Ratings; Outlook Negative
· Russia’s Rating May Be Cut on Downturn, Oil Prices, Fitch Says
· Russia to export 23 mln tonnes of grains
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
· RusHydro Seeks Tariff Hike - RusHydro asked the government to increase the tariff at which the state-run company can sell electricity next year by 6 percent, Yevgeny Desyatov, head of sales, said Tuesday.
· Russia Rushydro ups '09 profit f'cast, stock soars
· RusAl Talking to Japan - United Company RusAl entered talks on fourth-quarter sales of aluminum to clients in Japan after the spot-market premium in the Asian country over London prices almost doubled this year, RusAl spokeswoman Vera Kurochkina said Tuesday.
· From Tower to Parking Lot - Billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s Basic Element agreed to build a temporary parking lot in Moskva-City on a site previously earmarked for the Russia Tower, Kommersant said.
· Uralkali Scraps Planned Potash Increase at Government Request
· Tyumen Airport Started Landing Airbus Aircraft
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
· Caspian pipeline consortium in January - July, 2009 increased oil export by 12.2 %
· Russia announces eastern gas program - The Russian Government has announced a project to develop the gas sector in Eastern Russia, as part of its long term plan to develop and unify gas production in the Far East.
· Global perspectives: Russia oil firm picks up stake in Europe - Russia’s LUKoil gained a foothold in the Netherlands, snatching a stake in Total’s 153,000 bpd Vlissingen refinery from under the nose of Valero, the largest U.S. refiner.
· KBR Awarded FEED Contract by VCNG for Eastern Siberia Oil Project - KBR will provide FEED services for a single new build, 140,000 barrels of oil per day facility, which will be tied back via a new 85-kilometer pipeline, to the existing East Siberian Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline.
· Russians sign accords in Nicaragua, Venezuela
· TNK-BP To Build New Gas Processing Plant By 2012 - Russian joint venture TNK-BP Ltd. plans to construct a new gas processing facility, which will enable the company to utilize almost 100% of its associated gas by 2012, the company said Wednesday.
· Hungary MOL to resolve ZMB gas issue with Russneft this week – Hungarian fuels group MOL is currently in talks with a delegation of Russia's Russneft in Budapest. The parties may reach an agreement about the utilisation of associated gas at their jointly-owned oil field ZMB already this week, local business daily Világgazdaság reported on Wednesday.
· Vyksa pipe deliveries to Nord Stream reach 200,000 tonnes
· Murmanshelf Logistics established - Several companies have joint forces about the establishment of the Murmanshelf Logistics, a consortium intended to facilitate shipping and goods transport in connection with the Shtokman field development.
Gazprom
· South Stream Head Sacked - Sergei Korovin, deputy head of Gazprom’s foreign relations department, has been replaced by Pavel Oderov, who previously worked at Gazprom’s export unit, Interfax said, citing unidentified people.
· Construction of the linear gas pipeline portion Schuchie – Safakulevo (over 31 kilometers) has been completed last week. This is one of the objects included in the investment program of Gazprom aimed at gasification of all regions of the Russian Federation.
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Basic Political Developments
http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/news/2009/08/220505.shtml
August 4, 200915:00
ANNOUNCEMENT.President of Finland Tarja Halonen will visit Russia on August 11, 2009, at Dmitry Medvedev's invitation.
The informal meeting between the two state leaders will take place in Sochi.
Russia, Turkey to Sign Bosphorus Bypass Oil Pipe Deal (Update1)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a3aTiKK5hNw8
By Ali Berat Meric and Stephen Bierman
Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Russia will sign an accord with Turkey on building a pipeline for sending Black Sea oil to the Mediterranean, bypassing congestion at the Bosphorus Straits as Bulgaria may back out of a similar project.
OAO Gazprom, Russia’s largest company, and Turkey’s Calik Holding AS will sign an accord to build a pipeline between the northeastern port of Samsun and a terminal at Ceyhan on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told reporters in Ankara today before a visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin later this week.
Increased oil output from the Caspian region as Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field plans to begin output will add additional tanker shipments via the Black Sea. Tankers have been delayed as much as a month in passing through the Bosphorus Straits because of weather and seasonal conditions.
Bulgaria is examining canceling or delaying energy projects as its budget deficit widens, Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov said in an interview with Bloomberg July 31. Russian pipeline operator OAO Transneft is leading a project to build a 1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) oil link from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Bourgas to the Greek port of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean Sea.