Russia 110601 Basic Political Developments

Details for WTO Entry Due in June

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/details-for-wto-entry-due-in-june/437911.html
01 June 2011

Reuters

GENEVA — Russia must announce in June how it will end a raft of protectionist measures if it wants to join the World Trade Organization this year, the diplomat vetting Russia's entry to the trade body said Tuesday.

Leaders of the G8 group of the world's most advanced economies called last week for Russia to enter the 153-member body by the end of the year, a move expected to boost Russia's GDP as well as its international standing.

But Russia must first dismantle wide-ranging programs such as industrial subsidies, import limits on meat, red tape, foreign investment restrictions and health standards that slow trade, said the WTO's Russian Accession Working Group chairman.

"There is a lot of work still to be done and challenges indeed to deal with. Whether we conclude this year will depend on the speed at which the Russian Federation delivers the few required sections," chairman Stefan Haukur Johannesson told journalists after negotiations between WTO members and Russia.

For the complex talks to have time to hit this year's deadline, the WTO would need to see Russia's proposals by the end of June, the Icelandic diplomat said.

Russia's neighbor Georgia has opposed Russian accession since a brief war in 2008, but Johannesson said he was hopeful that a closed-door mediation process under way would resolve this.

Russia will also have to guarantee that a customs union launched in 2010 with Belarus and Kazakhstan will not override obligations to the WTO, he said.

The World Bank estimates that WTO entry could increase the size of the Russian economy by 3.3 percent in the midterm and 11 percent in the long term. It expects that Russian import tariffs would fall from 14 percent on average to 8 percent.

Greece says South Stream pipeline project with Russia priority

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110601/164356325.html

05:58 01/06/2011

The South Stream project, which Greece carries out jointly with Russia, remains a priority for the country, the Greek energy minister said.

Greek Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Konstantina Birbili said at a meeting with South Stream project CEO Marcel Kramer that "the Greek government considers South Stream one of its priority energy projects, which enhance energy security by diversifying delivery routes."

Birbili added that her country, which is to receive natural gas for domestic needs via the pipeline and transit it further to Italy, would continue efforts to promote the project within the European Union.

The Greek minister also said all research needed for construction is going smoothly.

The $21.5 billion pipeline, which will transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, is being developed by Italy's Eni and Russian gas giant Gazprom. French EdF and Germany's Wintershall will also participate in the project, with 10 and 15 percent of shares, respectively. Russia plans to launch the pipeline in 2015.

ATHENS, June 1 (RIA Novosti)

08:51 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russia, Serbia top military officials to discuss stronger relations.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/155051.html

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MOSCOW, June 1 (Itar-Tass) — The chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Nikolai Makarov, will meet with his Serbian counterpart Miloje Miletic on Wednesday to discuss military and technical cooperation.

“The chiefs of the two countries’ army general staffs will discuss the state of and prospects for military and technical cooperation, will exchange experience of reforming the national armed forces and consider issues of mutual interest,” the press service of Russia’s Defence Ministry told Itar-Tass.

The Serbian military delegation will visit a separate motorized rifle brigade in the village of Alabino near Moscow to study combat training and daily activities of Russian servicemen.

The delegation’s visit will end on June 3.

Miletic returns the visit of Russia’s top military official, who visited Serbia last October.

Despite common problems and friendly relations between Russia and Serbia, their military and technical cooperation had not been properly developing over the past several years, General Makarov said during his visit.

“It is necessary to restore closer cooperation between the two countries’ armed forces, especially as concerns modernization of the Soviet military hardware,” he said.

Miletic named among promising areas of the two countries’ military cooperation the improvement of training of Serbia’s command staff in Russia and organization of training courses for officers, first of all on counterterrorism tactics and surveillance information collection.

Serbia also demonstrated its interest in participation of Russia’s designers in servicing and revamping arms and hardware bought in the Soviet Union and in Russia. In particular, this concerns Mi-24, Mi-17 and Mi-8 helicopters and MiG-29 fighter jets.

11:23 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Russia’s defence minister to visit Serbia before yearend.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/155177.html

1/6 Tass 163

MOSCOW, June 1 (Itar-Tass) — Serbia expects that Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will visit the country before the end of the year, the chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Miloje Miletic, said at the talks with his Russian counterpart, General Nikolai Makarov, on Wednesday.

“We are preparing for the visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov that is scheduled for the second half of the year,” he said.

02:08 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Secretaries of CSTO Security Councils to meet in Minsk Wed.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/154953.html

1/6 Tass 8

MINSK, June 1 (Itar-Tass) — A regular session of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils (CSSC) of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is to be held here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Leonid Maltsev, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.

Nikolai Bordyuzha, Secretary-General of the CSTO, will make a report at the session on the state of cooperation and foreign policy coordination of CSTO member-countries with international and regional organizations.

Participants in the sessio are to consider matters concerning the most important problems in the international situation and its influence on the ensurance of security of the CSTO member-countries; proposals about the establishment of an institution of partnership, prospects for organizing peacekeeping activities in a CSTO-UN format.

CSTO Security Councils' Secretaries are also to discuss matters aimed at coordinating cooperation in efforts to counteract present-day challenges and threats, Vladimir Zainetdinov, press secretary of the CSTO Secretariat, has told Itar-Tass.

"The delegations of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will take part in the XXI session of the CSSC," Zainetdinov said. The Commitee will examine draft decisions of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO on a basic military range for the training of rescue units; a special document on the composition and location of CSTO countries' peacekeeping contingents, as well as a draft Plan for the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012 for consultations among representatives of CSTO countries on foreign policy, security and defence matters.

In the estimate of the press secretary, "The session will traditionally focus on a consultative and frank dialogue on the most acute secutity problems within the CSTO's zone of responsibility, the present-day situation in the world and in individual regions".

The CSTO is a military and political union established by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member-countries on the strength of the Collective Security Treaty, signed in May 1992. The goal of the CSTO is to repulse threats from the outside, and protect the terriotrial integrity and sovereignty of the member-countries of the Organization.

06:56 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Integration of Eurasia railways to be discussed at Sochi forum.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/155011.html

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SOCHI, June 1 (Itar-Tass) — The integration of the railways of Eurasia will be discussed by participants in an international forum opening Wednesday in this city which is the venue of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The theme of the forum is "Strategic Partnership 1,520". The forum has drawn several hundreds of representatives of the railway industry, business, and authorities.

An official in the organizing committee has told Itar-Tass, "It is the first time that the problems of cooperation among the railways of Eurasia is examined on such a wide scale". The purpose of the discussions here will be "to expedite the development of international transport corridors, increase transit flows and broaden the introduction of transport innovation approaches".

Participants in the forum will also consider the application of advanced international experience in the development of Euro-Asia railway system. "Topical matters connected with the development of high-speed railway traffic and large-scale infrastructure projects, such as, for example, the construction of of a broad-gauge railway leading to Vienna will not remain unheeded either," the committee official said.

A Russian deputation at the forum is headed by Vladimir Yakunin, president of the Russian Railways Company (RZD). Speaking of the forum, which is held for a sixth time now, he emphasized many times that the sectoral discussion ground in Sochi "has gained in scope not only by the (increasing) number of participants but also by the list of matters examined". "The economies of our countries undergo development, and competition is also developing both inside the sector and with with other types of transport. All this adds to the significance of the forum and to respect for it," Yakunin said.

In this connection, Yakunin specially pointed out the participation of representatives of foreign railway equipment manufacturing firms in the forum. He said, "This emphasizes the attention which is being attached in Europe and America to the development of the railway sector, especially the one in Russia".

In order to corroborate his words, the RZD chief recalled that over the five years of the work of the Sochi forum, several tens of agreements, which are of major importance to the sectorm with domestic and foreign partner companies had been adopted. A special place in this respect has been taken up by the Agreement on the establishment of a quadripartite joint-venture (JV) enterprise under the project tobuild a broad-gauge railway to Bratislava and Vienna. The JV has become an important stride in the development of 1,520-mm-gauge railways.

06:05 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Innovations, hi-tech to be discussed at RF-Poland forum of regions.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/155003.html

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MOSCOW, June 1 (Itar-Tass) — A Russia-Poland forum of regions meets for a third time. It has drawn parliamentarians from the two countries who will discuss the theme of innovations and high technologies, which is of current importance to Russia.

The conference is traditionally held in two formats. The first day will be devoted to Polish guests' familiarization with the science cities of Moscow and Kaluga Regions. The know-how will be demonstrated to them by the research and production centers of Zelenograd, Shatura, Chernogolovka, Zhukovsky, Dubna, Protvino, Fryazino, Pushchino, and Obninsk.

Meanwhile, Bogdan Borusewicz, Marshal of the Senate and leader of the Polish delegation, will have a series of conversations in Moscow, including talks with Alexander Torshin, acting Speaker of the Federation Council upper house of the Russian parliament, Boris Gryzlov, Speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, and a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.

However, the head of the upper house of the Polish parliament will not stay aloof from the study of Russia's achievements in the field of modernization. Early on Wednesday morning he is expected at the supercomputer center and technopark of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. The Polish delegation will wind up the workday with a guided tour of the Kolomenskoye museum estate.

On Thursday, June 2, the parliamentarians, the heads of voivodships and members of the Polish business community will go to the Moscow school of management Skolkovo where the forum's plenary session will open up to be co-chaired by Torshin and Borusewicz.

Main rapporteurs will be Vyacheslav Pozgalyov, Governor of Vologda Region, Valery Aksakov, chairman of the Moscow regional duma legislature, Vladimir Beketov, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, Tatyana Yelfimova, deputy head of the Rosatom, and Georgy Petrov, vice-presiedent of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The forum of regions, which is held every year under the auspices of the Federation Council and the Polish Senate, is an important machanism for the maintenance of bilateral cooperation. Within the framework of the previous conferences, participants discussed prospects for giving greater scope to interregional economic partnerhip between Russia and Poland, and interaction in the fields of education, culture, youth policy, and sports.