June 12 Russia Day - public holiday
Russia 090612
Basic Political Developments
- Russia celebrates Independence Day - More than 90,000 policemen have been drafted in to provide security for events across the nation.
- “Day of Russia” on Friday – start to a long weekend
- No reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine – Chernomyrdin: Russia’s former ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, sees no reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine for the voiced suspicion about its inability to pay for natural gas.
- New post for Russia’s ambassador to Ukraine - Russia’s outspoken Ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, has been removed from his post. Dmitry Medvedev has appointed him Presidential Adviser and special envoy on economic cooperation with CIS countries instead.
- UPDATE 1-Russia dismisses ambassador to Ukraine Chernomyrdin
- Former Russian prime minister Chernomyrdin to advise Medvedev
- Moscow and Beijing to talk about Pyongyang and Obama: This time, the SCO summit will take place in Yekaterinburg, and immediately upon its completion, on June 16-18, Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a visit to Moscow to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Yekaterinburg will also play host to a BRIC meeting.
- Russian envoy gratified with close Taipei-Moscow ties - The top Russian envoy to Taiwan praised relations between Taipei and Moscow Thursday, saying the two countries have close ties not only on the economic and trade fronts but also in many other fields such as science and technology, culture and education.
- Kazakhstan halts WTO talks to join together with Russia, Belarus:Kazakhstan has frozen WTO accession talks to pursue joint membership of the global trade body together with Russia and Belarus as part of their customs union, the Kazakh president said on Friday.
- UPDATE 2-Russia will not enter WTO in 2009-negotiator
- Japan and Russia told to set gas emission goals for 2020
- Kremlin wants closer US-Russian anti-terror ties - Anatoly Safonov, the Kremlin's top envoy on the issue, said President Barack Obama's visit to Russia in early July should help boost joint U.S.-Russian efforts to combat terrorism and prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
- El-Erian Says Summit Shows `Rebalancing' as BRICS Buy IMF Bonds: Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China will probably use their first summit next week to press the case that their 15 percent share of the world economy and 42 percent of global currency reserves should give them more clout.
- UPDATE 3-Russian wheat cargo in Egypt had false document-SGS
- Russia plans large scale military exercises near Georgian border - According to the Ministry of Defense the operational-strategicmilitary exercises,named Caucasus 2009’, will take place from June 29 to July 6.
- Medvedev urges monopolies to curb tariffs growth - At a meeting with the president a representative the Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, complained that such large companies as Gazprom were building up their incomes by raising retail prices and abusing their monopoly position on the market to press ahead with their investment projects at the expense of the ordinary people.
- Senior police officer shot dead in Russia's North Caucasus - A senior police officer in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan was shot dead Friday on a street in the capital, Makhachkala, a local Interior Ministry official said.
- Has Russia Lost Control of the North Caucasus? - despite Medvedev proclaiming it time for Moscow to step up to the challenge of stopping the violence in the North Caucasus, many observers think the Kremlin is keen to maintain the status quo.
- ANALYSIS-Kremlin faces fresh challenges in Muslim south
- ARMS TRADE - Russia's old weapons far cry from shiny exports
National Economic Trends
- Russian GDP Shrank 9.8% in First Quarter on Industrial Output
- Russian economy moving in the right direction - First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said that the economy has stabilised and is now, "developing in a positive direction," in reported comments on Thursday June 11.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
- Going bust in Russia - Bad debt is rising and some big name companies are bound to go bust this autumn. What happens then? The Kremlin has worked hard to fix some of the flaws in the law, but as Russia faces its first ever wave of real bankruptcies, there is a lot of uncertainty over how the process will actually work.
- Russia's Sberbank buys 10 percent of Global Ports
- Glaxo at Loggerheads With Russia Over HIV Drugs
- Reuters Summit-Kingfisher sees "massive" opportunity in Russia
- Rays of recovery - KamAZ and Ford resume auto production
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
- Vietnam-Russia JV Taps 180 Millionth Tonne of Oil - The Vietnam-Russia oil and gas joint venture, Vietsovpetro, announced it pumped out the 180 millionth tonne of oil on June 9.
- Venture Drilling, Russian Co Renegotiate Bareboat Agreement for Drillship
- Deep Venture embroiled in charter dispute
- Rosneft repays $1.85 billion loan
- Alliance Oil Company Ltd. to raise approximately $390m from convertible bond and equity offerings
Gazprom
- Gazprom linked to Pakistan pipeline by Iran - Gazprom is in talks with Iran and Pakistan to build a large section of a long-awaited gas pipeline between the two countries, a senior Iranian energy official says.
- Gazprom, StatoilHydro renew Arctic cooperation deal - This memorandum of understanding will last for 3 years and replaces a similar 2005 Arctic cooperation deal between Gazprom, Statoil, and Norsk Hydro AS before Statoil acquired the latter’s assets to establish StatoilHydro in 2007.
- New Era For Gazprom, As Gas Giant's Fortunes Plummet - And the company appears set to fall another notch or two, thanks to a ruling by Russian antimonopoly authorities on June 2 that Gazprom must share its export pipelines with independent gas producers.
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Basic Political Developments
Russia celebrates Independence Day
12 June, 2009, 06:17
Over two million people are expected to take part in celebrations to mark Russia Day around the country.
More than 90,000 policemen have been drafted in to provide security for events across the nation.
Moscow citizens will have a chance to listen to top peformers, to touch a two-meter-high “matreshka” and to see a kite performance.
Ten cloud-dispersing aircraft will take to the skies above the capital to ensure the weather stays sunny.
Russia Day is a national holiday, celebrated each year of the 12th of June since 1992.
“Day of Russia” on Friday – start to a long weekend
[11.06.09]
This week will finish with an official holyday – the Day of Russia”. Public offices, banks, post offices, schools and most of the private companies will be closed.
On Friday the Russians celebrate the ”Day of Russia”, earlier known as Constitution Day. This will be a day off and the start of a long weekend. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get an answer on your telephone calls and emails to Russia – it’s because of the holyday.
Also the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) will take a break on Friday, according to Russian press agencies.
No reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine – Chernomyrdin
KIEV, June 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia’s former ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, sees no reason why Russia should apologize to Ukraine for the voiced suspicion about its inability to pay for natural gas.
“I do not know who is to apologize and to whom. If Ukraine is ready to pay, we shall be only happy,” Chenomyrdin said. “Russia wants Ukraine to be able to pay for the gas it consumes. So Russia cannot but be concerned about Ukraine’s solvency.”
Earlier, Russia expressed alarm over the risk the Naftogaz Ukrainy company might default on payments for the gas supplied in May. Ukrainian presidential commissioner for international energy security affairs, Bogdan Sokolovsky, told a news briefing Kiev was waiting for Moscow’s apologies for the insolvency charges.
“After the payments for gas have been posted we hope to hear Russia’s apologies for the statements addressed to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people that were made public to Europe and the whole world.”
New post for Russia’s ambassador to Ukraine
12 June, 2009, 00:06
Russia’s outspoken Ambassador to Ukraine, Viktor Chernomyrdin, has been removed from his post. Dmitry Medvedev has appointed him Presidential Adviser and special envoy on economic cooperation with CIS countries instead.
Speaking at an embassy reception in Kiev, in honor of Russia Day, Chernomyrdin said: "My presence in Ukraine has come to an end. Thank you for everything."
Viktor Chernomyrdin was appointed Ambassador in 2001. In February 2009, Ukraine said it was considering expelling him over "unfriendly and extremely undiplomatic assessments, comments and statements regarding Ukraine and its leadership".
Chernomyrdin had spoken out over the gas stand-off between Russia and Ukraine in January, describing the situation as "nonsense" and "buffoonery," adding that "everything proceeds from Ukraine's leadership."
Viktor Chernomyrdin is well known in Russia for his colorful language and his expressions are often quoted.
UPDATE 1-Russia dismisses ambassador to Ukraine Chernomyrdin
Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:40am IST
(adds details)
MOSCOW, June 11 (Reuters) - Russia has dismissed its ambassador to Ukraine, former prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Kremlin said in a statement on Thursday.
Chernomyrdin, who had served as Russia's ambassador to Ukraine since 2001, watched over a sharp deterioration in relations between the countries after the 2004 Orange Revolution brought pro-West President Viktor Yushchenko to power in Kiev.
Chernomyrdin was seen as an outspoken statesman and in February Ukraine's pro-Western government threatened to expel him for what it said were "undiplomatic" comments -- which Russian media said were about the Kiev leadership's lack of sobriety and decency.
Once one of the most powerful men in Russian gas export monopoly, Gazprom, Chernomyrdin's final years as ambassador were marked by bitter disputes between Russia and Ukraine over gas deliveries.
Russian television on Thursday showed a gaunt Chernomyrdin, 71, announce what he said was his retirement to an audience of clapping supporters in Kiev.
Russian prime minister from 1992 to 1998, Chernomyrdin was on Thursday appointed an adviser to the Russian president, the Kremlin statement said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alison Williams)
Former Russian prime minister Chernomyrdin to advise Medvedev
Jun 11, 2009, 17:24 GMT
Moscow - Former Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is set to start work for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as a special envoy for economic cooperation with the former Soviet republics, the president's office reported Thursday.
Chernomyrdin, 71, has worked as Russia's ambassador to Ukraine since 2001, where he has at times been a controversial figure in Ukraine due to comments critical of the Ukrainian government.
Prime minister from 1992 to 1998 under former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, Chernomyrdin has also worked as a minister for the Russian gas industry.
Moscow and Beijing to talk about Pyongyang and Obama
12.06.09 13:47
RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitry Kosyrev
It is hard to find two other top leaders who would meet more often than those of Russia and China.
They attend at least two summits per year, plus the inevitable G8 summer meeting (Russia is a member of the club and China is always invited), and plus the summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where the two countries discuss their common policy in Central Asia. There are also regular telephone conversations.
This time, the SCO summit will take place in Yekaterinburg, and immediately upon its completion, on June 16-18, Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a visit to Moscow to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Yekaterinburg will also play host to a BRIC meeting.
The Russian-Chinese agenda has two clear-cut parts. The first concerns bilateral relations with a focus on trade and economic contacts, and the second involves cooperation on the global scene, or foreign policy.
The biggest problems between Russia and China concern trade and economic ties. These problems are virtually insoluble because of the two countries' economic models.
China is primarily interested in Russia as a source of raw materials. This is why Russia is getting benefits from China even during the economic downturn. As The Washington Post wrote, Russia and China had signed a $25 billion energy deal. This is a bigger sum than any other Chinese partner will get. The bulk of this money will be spent on funding the project of the Chinese extension of the Pacific Oil Pipeline.
Trade between Russia and China will go down, primarily because of a sharp drop in prices of oil, non-ferrous metals, fertilizer, timber and timber materials. These raw materials dominate in Chinese imports from Russia as distinct from high tech commodities. The latter's share continues to dwindle, and the political will of the leaders cannot change anything in this respect. China does not want what the Russian economy has to offer in this sphere.
On the whole, world trade has decreased by 20%-30% this year. Therefore, there are no grounds to expect last year's records. In 2008, Russian-Chinese trade reached $56.8 billion, an increase by 18%. In 2007, it grew by impressive 44.3%.
It will be hard to break the deadlock in bilateral military-technical cooperation unless Beijing agrees to stop the practice of copying Russian technologies and selling them abroad under a different name. This is a serious problem, which is permanently discussed at top level.
As for foreign policy, there are practically no problems. The two countries merely need to coordinate their positions on key issues. They do not have to make concessions to each other because they have common interests as it is.
Two problems will move to the fore at the Russian-Chinese summit - relations of both capitals with the new U.S. president, and policy towards their common neighbor North Korea, which has pushed itself into an even bigger isolation than a year ago.
In effect, these two issues boil down to a single problem because the only way of breaking the North Korean deadlock lies through immediate and unconventional U.S.-North Korean contacts. Obviously, Russia and China will be happy to help this happen.
As for President Barack Obama, Moscow will see him first. A Russian-U.S. summit is due to take place in early July. Moscow and Beijing agree that friendship with the new U.S. president is a good thing. All that remains is to discuss the details - how to be friends and how to avoid getting in each other's way. This will be done during the Chinese president's upcoming visit to Russia.
Russian envoy gratified with close Taipei-Moscow ties
Central News Agency
2009-06-11 10:39 PM
Sergey N. Gubarev made the remarks at a reception hosted by the Representative Office of the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation Thursday on the eve of Russia's national day. "I've already worked here for 3.5 years and in this period I've never met a cold attitude on the part of Taiwanese, " Gubarev said at the function, which was attended by Vice Foreign Minister Javier Hou, members of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries.
According to Gubarev, while bilateral trade between Taiwan and Russia reached a record US$4 billion in 2008, people-to-people exchanges are also vibrant, with some 300 Taiwanese students in Russia and 200 Russian students in Taiwan, as well as around 10,000 Taiwanese travelers going to Russia each year.
Hou said for his part that despite the close economic ties, there is still ample room for growth in bilateral relations and he expressed pleasure that the government's "New Zheng He" export promotion plan has set Russia as one of the countries with which Taiwan aims to boost economic and trade exchanges.
"I'm confident that the already solid foundations and pragmatic approaches in bilateral relations will allow even greater mutual development and beneficial growth in the future," Hou added.
Established in 1992, the representative office is the de facto Russian embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Russia and Taiwan.
On June 12, 1990, the Russian parliament formally declared its sovereignty from the Soviet Union, which set the wheels in motion for the creation of what is now known as the Russian Federation. Russian Day was officially recognized as a national holiday by former President Boris Yeltsin in 1991.
(By Rachel Chan)
Kazakhstan halts WTO talks to join together with Russia, Belarus