Russia 091210 Basic Political Developments
RIA: Russia, Belarus to discuss strategic partnership in Moscow
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- BarentsObserver: Still no official confirmation on failed missile launch
- Dec 10, 2009
RIA: Russia, Belarus to discuss strategic partnership in Moscowhttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20091210/157180594.html 07:4010/12/2009 Russia and Belarus will discuss on Thursday further cooperation in energy, trade and military spheres at a session of the ruling body of the union state the two ex-Soviet neighbors are trying to build, a Kremlin source said. The meeting of the union state's Supreme State Council is expected to result in the signing of a number of documents, including a program on coordinated actions in the sphere of foreign policy and a treaty on the development of military-technical cooperation. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko will hold a private meeting prior to the council's session "to focus on further strengthening of the economic foundation of the Russia-Belarus integration especially in the light of a recent agreement between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to launch the work of a customs union on January 1, 2010." The source said the session will also adopt the union state's budget for 2010 in the amount of 4.87 billion rubles (about $161 million). The Russian share in the budget is 65%. "Overall, the upcoming meeting is aimed at emphasizing the strategic nature of the mutually-beneficial partnership between Russia and Belarus and giving an additional boost to its development," the Kremlin official said. Russia and Belarus have sought to form a union to ensure greater political, economic and social integration since 1996, but the process has stalled over a series of disputes. However, both countries have recently reaffirmed their efforts to adhere to the founding principles of the Union State and move forward "in the interests of the well-being of Russia and Belarus." The Russian president pledged in November a 30-40% discount on natural gas for Belarus in 2010, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last week that a cut in energy prices for Belarus should coincide with Minsk's integration into the Union State with Russia.
MOSCOW, December 10 (RIA Novosti) BarentsObserver: Still no official confirmation on failed missile launchhttp://www.barentsobserver.com/still-no-official-confirmation-on-failed-missile-launch.4663955-116320.html 2009-12-10 Russia has yet not officially confirmed or denied that it was a failed Bulava missile launch that caused the strange spiral shaped lights over Northern Norway yesterday. Leading Russian media claim that the strange light phenomenon that could be seen from large parts of Northern Norway yesterday morning in fact was a result of a failed missile launch from the White Sea, but have so far not been able to get any official confirmation on the theory. A source in the military-industrial complex told newspaper Vedomosti that Russia yesterday conducted the 13. test launch of a Bulava missile, and that the launch was partially successful. The first two stages of the missile functioned well, but problems occurred with the third stage. In the earlier failed launches, problems occurred already at the first stage of the missile, the newspaper reports. According to newspaper Kommersant, both the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Navy Headquarters and the Federal Space agency reject confirming even that a test launch did take place yesterday. A source in the administration in the town of Severodvinsk, where the submarine used as platform for testing of the Bulava missiles is based, told Kommersant that the strategic nuclear submarine “Dmitri Donskoy”, the only sub capable of conducting such tests, left base on Monday for test launches from the sea. As BarentsObserver reported yesterday, several Norwegian space and defense experts believe that the giant spiral shaped light that could be seen in the eastern sky for several minutes on Wednesday morning was caused by a failed missile launch from the White Sea. The Bulava missile test Wednesday morning has been rescheduled several times. Last Bulava test from the submarine "Dmitri Donskoy" was on July 15. That test failed and the missile self-destructed soon after launch due to a defective steering system in its first stage. Next test-launch was slated for November 24, as reported by BarentsObserver, but was then postponded. Watch 3D simulation of a possible explanation of the spiral shaped light on YouTube
Published: Thursday December 10, 2009 http://rawstory.com/news/afp/New_Russian_missile_fails_again_in__12102009.html The new nuclear-capable missile central to Russia's plan to revamp its ageing weapons arsenal has suffered a new failure in testing, in a major blow for the armed forces, reports said Thursday. The submarine-launched Bulava missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early Wednesday but failed at the third stage, the Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers reported, quoting defence sources. No further details on the circumstances of the launch were available. The test was the 13th test-firing of the Bulava and the ninth time that the launch has failed, Vedomosti said. However the Russian defence ministry declined to comment on the failure or even confirm that the test launch of the intercontinental missile had taken place, the reports added. The problems with the Bulava have become an agonizing issue for the defence ministry which has ploughed a large proportion of its procurement budget into ensuring the missile becomes the key element of its revamped rocket forces. The previous failure in July had forced the resignation of Yury Solomonov, the director of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology which is responsible for developing the missile. The problems are also a major political embarrassment coming at the same time as Russia is still negotiating with the United States the parameters of a new arms reduction treaty to replace the 1991 START accord. The treaty expired on December 5 and despite intense negotiations the two sides have yet to announce agreement on the text of a new agreement. The Bulava, which can be equipped with up to 10 individually targeted nuclear warheads, has a maximum range of 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles). It is the sea-based version of the Topol-M, Russia's new surface-to-surface intercontinental missile, and designed to be launched from Moscow's newest Borei class of submarines. Dec 10, 2009Directory: gifiles -> attach attach -> British Forces – Akrioti, Greece Griffin Fighter Squadron (84 Squadron raf) MoD announced possible Typhoon and Tornado arrivals to the base France attach -> Russia 110204 Basic Political Developments attach -> Unclassified//for official use only attach -> Adaptability Sustainment attach -> Pop-up 1 ("C" Chechnya) Header Text: Emir of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov Image attach -> Russia and Islam are not Separate attach -> Chapter 13: The Northern Caucasus attach -> Russia 100209 Basic Political Developments attach -> The evolution attach -> The devolution Download 183.17 Kb. Share with your friends:
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