Russia 101027 Basic Political Developments

Putin might visit Tajikistan

http://centralasiaonline.com/cocoon/caii/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/caii/newsbriefs/2010/10/26/newsbrief-04
By Stan Rogers
2010-10-26
DUSHANBE – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin should soon come to Tajikistan to discuss Russian-Tajik military-political and economic co-operation, Avesta.tj reported October 26, citing “informed sources.”

Matters for discussion reportedly include a Russian lease on the Ayni airbase and conditions for transferring Tajik-Afghan border posts to Russian border guards as early as the spring of 2011.

The Putin visit, should it occur, would be part of a Shanghai Co-operation Organisation prime ministers’ summit, Avesta.tj reported. The Tajik presidential administration denied knowing anything about a Putin visit.

Polish government approves deal with Russia on increased gas supplies

http://en.rian.ru/world/20101027/161098848.html
04:27 27/10/2010

The Polish government has approved an agreement with Russia on the increase of Russian gas supply to Poland, the government's press service said.

"The Cabinet has agreed to sign the document," the press service said in a statement.

"The conclusion of the agreement results from the necessity of providing Poland with additional natural gas supplies and increasing the country's energy security," the statement said.

The deal, under which Russia will increase its gas supplies to Poland via the Yamal-Europe pipeline by 2 billion cubic meters annually, is expected to be signed later this week.

The agreement, reached on October 17 in Moscow, is valid through 2022.

In January, Polish state gas monopoly PGNiG signed a contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom increasing Russian gas supplies to Poland to up to 10.2 billon cubic meters a year.

WARSAW, October 27 (RIA Novosti)

Russian FM in Poland

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul142327_russian-fm-in-poland.html

27.10.2010 09:59

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, is to meet with his opposite number Radoslaw Sikorski as well as President Bronislaw Komorowski during his two-day visit to Poland.

The visit comes ahead of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s official arrival to Poland on 6 December.

The heads of diplomacy are to meet during the sixth convention of the Strategic Committee on Polish-Russian Co-operation, which is attended by both foreign ministers as well as other government ministers from the two countries.

After the convention, Lavrov is expected to meet with President Bronislaw Komorowski to discuss matters regarding Medvedev’s visit to Poland.

Head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Eastern Department, Jaroslaw Bratkiewicz told Polish Radio that the heads of diplomacy are to tackle three thematic blocs as to Polish-Russian collaboration: economic and energy co-operation, cultural issues and cross-border assistance, especially with regards to the Kaliningrad enclave.

Speaking to Polish Radio on Wednesday morning, Radoslaw Sikorski said that “There is a lot to discuss, especially since [Poland and Russia] are coming out of a bad period in relations.” (jb)

MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko Interview to RIA Novosti regarding Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s Working Visit to the Republic of Poland

http://www.ln.mid.ru/brp_4.nsf/e78a48070f128a7b43256999005bcbb3/ef179b0decd40d0dc32577c800587acf?OpenDocument
1478-26-10-2010

Question: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to Poland this week. What is the program of the visit?

Answer: On October 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be in Warsaw on a working visit, where he together with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski will hold a meeting of the Russian-Polish Cooperation Strategy Committee, chaired by the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the two countries. Lavrov is also scheduled to meet with President of the Republic of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski.

Question: What can be said about the format of the upcoming event? What issues are on the agenda?

Answer: The current VI meeting of the Strategic Committee (the previous one took place in Moscow in May 2009) will be held in an enlarged format involving representatives of the relevant Russian and Polish agencies, as well as the main focal points for bilateral cooperation mechanisms. The main objective is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the state of Russian-Polish relations, including existing problematic issues, and to identify measures to further enhance bilateral cooperation.

Along with the topical issues of cooperation in economy, energy and transport an important place in the upcoming debate will be occupied by the issues of strengthening ties in science, culture and tourism and intensifying youth exchanges and contacts between civil societies in Russia and Poland. Considerable attention will also be paid to topics of interregional cooperation. In this regard, representatives of the Kaliningrad Region and St. Petersburg, as well as the Polish regions which maintain the most extensive links with the regions of Russia are invited to the meeting. Panelists will include representatives of the upper chambers of the parliaments of the two countries.

Question: What are the approaches of the Russian side to further development of bilateral cooperation with Poland? How could you describe the current state of Russian-Polish relations in the political, economic and cultural fields?

Answer: In the context of the development of bilateral relations with Poland we believe that it is fundamentally important to consolidate the existing positive trends, to “reset” Russian-Polish cooperation in all fields on the basis of mutual respect and due consideration for the interests of each other, and to continue a frank and engaged dialogue between Moscow and Warsaw. We are focused on a coherent and systematic work to implement the agreements reached during the meetings between the Presidents of Russia and Poland, Dmitry Medvedev and Bronislaw Komorowski, and between the Heads of Government of the two countries, Vladimir Putin and Donald Tusk.

We note with satisfaction that, as a result of the “reset” in the basic mechanisms of bilateral cooperation, they currently operate in a stable mode, and new ones are being created. In particular, last year saw the successful launch of the Forum of Regions, established under the auspices of the upper houses of the parliaments of Russia and Poland.

We are satisfied with the activities of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation (the Russian co-chair is Transport Minister Igor Levitin). During January-August this year, bilateral trade totaled 13.3 billion dollars, which is almost one and a half times the level for the same period in 2009. In spite of this, we believe it is time to put Russian-Polish trade and economic ties on a path of innovative development, including in the context of the Partnership for Modernization initiative in relations between Russia and the European Union and the possibilities of its practical filling with projects in the Russian-Polish format.

A significant role in Russian-Polish cooperation is traditionally played by cultural and humanitarian contacts. We note with satisfaction the steady development of ties in this domain. Conducted on a regular basis, joint cultural events and various festivals invariably have wide public resonance in both countries. We intend to continue to facilitate in every way the intensification of humanitarian exchanges. We support initiatives to expand them through the enlistment of more young people and students of the two countries, including the addition of a youth segment to the Russian-Polish Public Dialogue Forum.

We attach great importance in the dialogue with Warsaw to supporting the development of interregional contacts. With regard to the Kaliningrad Region we aim to ensure the speedy conclusion of a Russian-Polish intergovernmental agreement on local border traffic procedures. In this regard Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Sikorski have come up with a joint initiative to extend the scope of a future agreement to the entire territory of the Kaliningrad Region and the neighboring areas of Poland. We hope that through joint efforts and with the active support of the Interior Ministers of both countries we will be able to solve this problem by adjusting the current European Community regulation that restricts the border area to a 30-km zone. The relevant coordinating work is continuing with the European Commission and the member countries of the European Union.

Question: Will any aspects of international politics be raised during the talks between the Russian and Polish foreign ministers?

Answer: In a separate meeting in Warsaw, Lavrov and Sikorski will continue to exchange views on the nodal aspects of the international agenda, including in the context of the upcoming Russia-NATO, OSCE, and Russia-EU summits in the next few weeks, as well as the Polish presidency of the European Union in 2011, on the questions of strengthening global stability and promoting the initiative of the President of Russia for concluding a European Security Treaty.

Question: How are historical issues in relations between the two countries being considered at this stage?

Answer: The Russian side has invariably held that the ambiguous pages of the joint historical past should not be negatively projected onto the present and the future of our relations, much less burden them. In this context, such a mechanism of bilateral cooperation as the Group for Difficult Issues arising from the history of Russian-Polish relations (co-chaired by Rector of MGIMO University Academician Anatoly Torkunov and former Polish foreign minister Adam Rotfeld) has proved its effectiveness. We are focused on constructive cooperation with the Polish partners to implement the agreement between Putin and Tusk on the establishment of parallel memorial centers in Russia and Poland under the aegis of the Ministries of Culture of the two countries. We hope that by joint efforts we will be able to transfer historical problems onto a purely scientific, moral and ethical plane.

October 26, 2010