Russia 090813 Basic Political Developments

Russia 090813

Basic Political Developments

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  Merkel to Hawk Shipbuilder - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss the future of the Wadan Yards, a shipbuilder in northern Germany, when they meet for talks in Sochi on Thursday, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday.
  
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  Iceland Said to Reject Loan - Iceland rejected a 4 billion euro ($5.7 billion) loan from Russia in October and decided to turn to the International Monetary Fund instead, Russia’s ambassador to the island Victor I. Tatarintsev said.
  
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  The fight for the Shtokman base - The developers of the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea have announced a tender for the project logistics base. Analysts believe a Shtokman base in the nearby Norway would not only facilitate smooth field development, but also stimulate general Norwegian-Russian relations and revitalize plans for a joint cross-border industrial zone in the area.
  
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  Washington for constructive relations between Russia, Ukraine - "It is important for Ukraine and Russia to have a constructive relationship," Philip Crowley said on Wednesday, after being asked to comment on the Russian president's recent "scathing attack" on his Ukrainian counterpart.
  
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  Reports: Two Die in Abkhaz Blasts - Two people were killed after an explosive device, placed in a garbage can in breakaway Abkhazia’s resort town of Gagra, went off on August 12, the Russian news agencies reported.
  
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  Bomb goes off near restaurant in Sukhum, no one hurt - An explosion roared through the seaside embankment in the Abkhazian capital on Wednesday evening. Nugzar Samsonia, the acting head of the Abkhazian State Security Service, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
  
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  Law enforcers investigate blasts in Gagra & Sukhum - Police in Abkhazia have launched an investigation into a blast in the resort town of Gagra which claimed two lives. The explosion that occurred at 16:47 Moscow time on Wednesday has been classified as a terror strike. A 52-year old woman, Lyudmila Surina, was killed immediately while Dmitry Metreveli, 25, died of wounds later.
  
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  Russian citizen accused of espionage in favour of Georgia tried in South Ossetia
  
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  CIS member states hold discussions in Russian Foreign Ministry concerning 64th session of UN General Assembly - The representatives of CIS member states held discussions in Russian Foreign Ministry concerning the issues included into the agenda of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, APA reports quoting the website of Russian Foreign Ministry. Representatives of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and CIS Executive Committee attended the discussions. Azerbaijan and Ukraine attended the discussions in capacity of observers.
  
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  Pessimistic voice about CIS lingers on - By People’s Daily Online and contributed by PD resident reporter in Kazakhstan Chen Zhixin
  
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  Customs Union to make the case for WTO accession - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have formed a single negotiating group to gain accession to the World Trade Organisation. But the newly-formed "Customs Union" may face obstacles.
  
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  Customs Union created uniform WTO group - The Customs Union has created uniform negotiation group for joining World Trade Organization (WTO) headed by Maxim Medvedkov. First Vice Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Igor Shuvalov, informed, following the results of the seventh session of the Customs Union Commission taken place in Moscow on Wednesday, Kazakhstan Today agency reports citing RBC.
  
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  Customs Union Commission coordinated scheme of distribution of customs payments for transporting goods
  
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  Egypt Has a Problem With Russian Wheat - A Scandal Strains a Key State Food Plan and a Trade Route
  
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  Russia sides with Hezbollah against Israel?
  
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  Navy Intensifies Search for Lost Ship - President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Navy on Wednesday to step up a search for a cargo ship with a Russian crew that disappeared last month off the coast of France in a possible pirate attack.
  
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  Operator of Missing Ship Says Vessel Likely Hijacked - "My view is that it is most likely that the vessel has been hijacked," said Viktor Matveyev, director of the Finnish company, Solchart, which operates the vessel.
  
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  Russian border guards hold exercises in Pacific Ocean - Russian border guards have staged an exercise involving the use of the Federal Security Service planes in the Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka coast.
  
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  Russian border guards exercise in Pacific with FSB aviation
  
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  Russian army drills to defend oil, gas exports - The Russian army is holding its first major training exercises to protect against what Moscow sees as possible terrorist attacks on its vital oil and gas export routes, the military and media said Wednesday.
  
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  New Russian Military Doctrine to Address Nukes in Classified Section - "The new military doctrine, being developed under the leadership of the Russian Security Council, will differ from the current one. It will have two parts -- the open part mostly dealing with the military-political aspects, and the closed part, which will clearly formulate the legal aspects of the army and navy's employment, including the use of nuclear weapons as an instrument of strategic deterrence," said Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, co-chairman of the panel drafting the document.
  
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  Ruin of Harvest in Russia Will Shake World Markets - Russia may have to face a food crisis next winter. Whole fields of fodder and cereal crops have been withered by scorching sun in the European part of the country. The RusBusinessNews observer found out how big the losses in the Urals are, and what farmers and grain traders should expect in 2010.
  
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  Chechnya leaders and rebels to meet for peace talks - Exiled separatist Akhmed Zakayev invited to join congress convened to rebuild war-ravaged nation
  
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  World Chechen Congress may meet before end of 2009 – envoy
  
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  World Chechen Congress Created - A leading Chechen exile and the speaker of Chechnya’s parliament announced Wednesday the creation of a World Chechen Congress to draw up “a joint political platform on all crucial issues” to reconcile the republic.
  
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  New Hope for Peace in Chechnya - In a groundbreaking move to resolve the ongoing conflict in Chechnya, the Chechnya Peace Forum has mediated the first talks in nine years to seek lasting political stability in the region. Last month, Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled prime minister of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, the speaker of Chechnya’s parliament, met in Oslo and spoke for the first time in public about their negotiations.
  
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  EU speaks out on Chechnya murders - The Swedish EU presidency has urged Russia to protect its NGO community after a string of killings of human rights activists in Chechnya.
  
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  Medvedev reinstates in post Ingushetia president
  
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  Wounded leader returns as Ingush president: Kremlin - The president of Ingushetia, badly wounded in a bomb attack in June, has returned to his post as leader of the increasingly unstable Russian region, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
  
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  Russia's Medvedev approves Ingush president's return to work
  
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  Population census postponed - - We are preparing to postpone the population census from October 2010 to October 2012, Deputy Head of the State Statistic Service Aleksandr Surinov told Prime-TASS. The reason for this is the ongoing world economic crisis.
  
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  Gryzlov: State Duma to remove Anatoly Aksakov from the National Banking Council for ruble devaluation proposal
  
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  Scientists Accuse FSB of ‘Witch Hunt’ in Letter
  
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  'Raiding' Underlines Russian Legal Dysfunction - 3 Lawyers Targeted After Uncovering Seizure of Firms
  
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  Opposition Allowed to Run - The presidential administration has ordered that opposition candidates be allowed to run in October regional elections after their disbarment from previous elections prompted a backlash against United Russia, Vedomosti reported Wednesday.
  
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  Kemerovo deputies suspected of embezzling four mln rbls of funds - Embezzlement of funds from the regional budget, allocated to pay salaries to workers of educational establishments, was confirmed in the city of Myski, Kemerovo Region, Itar-Tass learnt at the regional administration on Thursday.
  
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  Would Russians In Ferghana Valley Guarantee Stability Or Spell Disaster? - Russia's recently announced plan to set up a second military base in Kyrgyzstan has evoked considerable reaction as proponents and detractors debate whether such a facility will boost or strain security efforts the region.
  
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  TV case tests Russian gay rights - A former reality show celebrity has become the first person in Russia to go to court over claims that he is gay.