Russia urges UN to send international mission to Israel, PA

Russia urges UN to send international mission to Israel, PA

Russia has reiterated its call for the United Nations to send an international mission to the Middle East to try to bring the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

"In current circumstances, the Russian initiative to send a UN Security Council mission to the Middle East is especially relevant because it aims to bring the sides back to talks," Alexander Pankin, the first deputy of Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said during a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday.

The Quartet of international mediators of the Arab-Israeli conflict was to meet on April 15 to discuss steps to be made to resume direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, but the meeting was postponed at the request of the United States. Russia, which comprises the Quartet together with the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, has expressed its regret over the decision to delay the talks, which had already been postponed from mid-March.

The Israeli-Palestinian talks have been stalled since September over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to halt settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and the Palestinians' unwillingness to continue dialogue unless the construction is stopped.

Pankin called on Israel on Thursday to stop settlements building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and lift the blockade of Gaza. Pointing to a recent escalation of violence in Gaza, he also called on Palestinian movement Hamas controlling the enclave to make all efforts to assure security there.

Pankin also stressed the importance of inter-Palestinian reconciliation for the creation of an "independent, viable, territorially integral and sovereign Palestinian state."

UNITED NATIONS, April 22 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16177947&PageNum=0

22.04.2011, 00.22

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to receive UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Moscow Friday, April 22, the presidential press service said.

In the course of their conversation, Medvedev and Ban “will pay special attention to the problems of ensuring international security.”

“This issue is especially pressing now in the context of dramatic events in the Middle East, Northern and Western Africa, including Libya, and in Cote d’Ivoire,” the press service said.

Russia proceeds from the assumption that “the choice of a pathway for Libya’s development is a doubtless prerogative of the Libyan people and the international community should, on its part, assist a peaceful untangling of this conflict without interference in Libya’s internal affairs.”

“In this context, the implementation of UN resolutions in full compliance and strictly within the limits of the Security Council’s mandate appears to be a key issue,” the press service said.

“This position is shared by all the countries making up Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – and this was confirmed by a declaration the leaders of this authoritative group endorsed upon the results of their summit in China April 14,” it said.

Apart from this, the agenda of the talks between Medvedev and Ban features the problems as pressing as the Middle East peace settlement, nuclear weaponry on the Korean Peninsula, international cooperation in fighting with new challenges and threats, including piracy.

“This will be the fourth meeting between Dmitry Medvedev and Ban Ki-moon,” the presidential press service said.

The previous meeting took place March 27, 2009, on the sidelines of the Moscow conference on Afghanistan, March 18, 2010 during Ban’s visit to Moscow, and December 1, 2010, in the course of the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.

“Russia pursues the line at strengthening the UN’s central role in the emerging multipolar system of international relations and it renders all-round support to the UN in the efforts to settle the problems of climate change, sustainable development and food security,” the press service said.

Medvedev, Ban Ki-moon to discuss security issues on Friday

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will discuss international security issues, including the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, nuclear security and sea piracy, during their talks in Moscow on Friday, the Kremlin said.

Ban arrived on a three-day visit to Russia on Thursday as part of his 15-day tour across Eastern Europe. The Friday talks will be Ban's fourth meeting with Medvedev.

"Russia has been consistently pursuing a strategic course towards the strengthening of the United Nations' leading role in the multipolar system of international relations, giving a full support to the organization in addressing the problems of climate change, sustainable development and food security," the presidential press-service said in a statement.

During the talks, Medvedev and Ban are expected to address the situation in Libya, where forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi continue their attacks on rebel-held towns after five weeks of allied airstrikes.

Russia has repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, warning against foreign interfering in Libya's internal affairs. Ban has also called for the conflicting sides to declare a ceasefire and begin political dialogue.

Amid rumors that France was pushing EU countries to the ground campaign in Libya by sending an EU humanitarian-military mission to the troubled North African state, Russia has warned western allies against going beyond the provisions of a UN resolution authorizing military action against Gaddafi.

"The implementation of UN resolutions in full compliance with their letter and spirit, without abusing mandates given by the [UN] Security Council, is one of the key issues," the Kremlin's statement said. This position is shared by the leaders of the BRICS bloc of developing countries, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which was declared during their summit in China, it said.

Nuclear security

Ban is also expected to discuss with Medvedev the issue of security at nuclear power plants, which has been in the focus of international attention since a devastating earthquake and tsunami damaged Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, causing a nuclear disaster. Ban has already discussed the issue with foreign leaders during a nuclear security summit in Ukraine on April 19.

Medvedev's aide Arkady Dvorkovich has said the Russian president is going to announce several initiatives aimed at preventing nuclear disasters in the near future. Moscow expects the initiatives to be discussed by leaders of the G8 and G20 countries, he said.

Sea piracy

The Russian president and UN secretary general will also address the issue of sea piracy during their talks.

The UN Security Council approved last week a resolution aimed at preventing sea piracy off the coast of Somalia. The resolution, which was initiated by Russia, promises to urgently consider the establishment of specialized courts to consider piracy cases and asks Ban to report back within two months on how to prosecute suspects.

According to the UN, the number of pirate attacks on merchant ships reached 400 in 2010. A total of 790 sailors and crew members were captured by pirates last year. Russia is involved in international anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.

MOSCOW, April 22 (RIA Novosti)

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16178153&PageNum=0

22.04.2011, 05.03

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev will chair an economic conference on Friday to discuss the implementation of measures he proposed to improve investment climate to Russia.

It is expected that Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika will report about the implementation of the presidential instruction on enhanced anti-corruption fight and improved state services. The deadline expired on April 15.

The Kremlin and the government differ on the necessity to decrease obligatory pension, health and social payments by companies in 2012. While Medvedev urged to provide proposals to decrease the tax burden on companies, the government said it will have to shift the burden on the population by raising tobacco and alcohol excises and other taxes to compensate for the losses. The Kremlin instead called to use additional revenues from rising oil prices.

Medvedev’s economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich admitted no compromise had been reached so far.

Duma to ratify nuclear deal with Turkey

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=16178209&PageNum=0

22.04.2011, 06.04

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian State Duma will consider on Friday the ratification of the 2009 nuclear cooperation agreement with Turkey.

The document outlines a wide range of cooperation guidelines in peaceful nuclear energy, including research and development, controlled thermonuclear fusion, design, construction, operation and decommissioning of reactors, nuclear materials supply.

It also opens possibilities for services provision in nuclear fuel cycle, prospecting and development of uranium deposits, nuclear safety and radioactive protection.

The agreement was signed in Ankara on August 6, 2009.

Updated April, 22 2011 10:09:07

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Economy/210609/Companies-urged-to-open-branch-offices-in-Russia.html

HA NOI — Establishing representative offices in Russia would be a good way for Vietnamese companies to effectively penetrate the market and reduce business costs, said Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) vice chairman Pham Gia Tuc during a conference on Wednesday.

Several Vietnamese corporations have already opened representative offices in Russia, but the number was still modest, said Tuc, adding that more and more domestic firms wanted to do business in Russia.

Bilateral co-operation between Vietnamese and Russian businesses were enjoying new advantages due to increasing attention from both countries' leaders, Tuc said.

Attending the conference on helping Vietnamese companies open offices in Russia, Deputy head of the Russian Justice Ministry's National Registration Bureau Vladimir Vorobiev said Russia was willing to create the most favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to speed up bilateral co-ordination.

Vietnamese enterprises still encountered challenges in doing business in Russia, and so we were here in Viet Nam to help these firms solve the difficulties, he said.

During the event, the delegation introduced legal procedures on representative offices in Russia and services to assist foreign businesses to obtain visas and labour licences.

In September, 2010, VCCI inked a co-operation agreement with the bureau in a move aimed at better supporting domestic businesses in launching operations in Russia.

To date, 60 firms have received assistance from the chamber in fulfilling necessary procedures and were awaiting approval from Russian authorities.

Vietnamese businesses last year carried out 20 projects in Russia with capital totalling US$1.6 billion.

Noodle and fast food production by Vietnamese firms made up 60 to 70 per cent of market share in Russia while textiles, garments and footwear also enjoyed a strong market presence in terms of reputation for quality, said vice chairman of the Viet Nam-Russia Business Council Nguyen Van Pham.

Bilateral trade ties have developed significantly, rising from $350 million to $400 million in the mid-1990s to $2.4 billion last year.

Viet Nam exported garments, footwear, tropical agricultural products, seafood and handicrafts to Russia, while importing petroleum, fertiliser, chemicals and machinery.

Two-way trade is expected to reach $3 billion by 2012, according to the Viet Nam-Russia medium-term action plan on trade and investment. — VNS

Weak Russian component downed Indian rocket: Ex-ISRO chief

"We did several simulation tests to find out why the connectors - the wires that carry command signals from the onboard computers at the top to the rocket's engines down below - snapped," former ISRO chief Madhavan Nair told IANS.

Nair, who headed the Failure Analysis Committee, said the 12-member panel submitted its report to ISRO two weeks back.

According to ISRO, the failed component, called shroud, was made of composites and is part of the Russian cryogenic engine. It got deformed due to the flight load.

ISRO's 418-tonne GSLV rocket (cost Rs.175 crore) carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-5P (weight 2,310 kg, cost Rs.150 crore) veered off its flight path and began disintegrating within a minute after lift-off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh last Christmas day.

As the weakness was inherent in the shroud, Nair said ISRO should have a dialogue with the Russians to see how the component could be strengthened.

Informed sources told IANS that even in the GSLV-F04 rocket launched in 2007, one of the connectors got snapped due to weak shroud.

"The fault was there from the first GSLV that flew with the Russian cryogenic engine in 2001. The weakness in the shroud caught ISRO on December 25 last year," a source told IANS.

Experts told IANS that the first 15 km of a rocket's flight was very crucial as it is subjected to heavy atmospheric loads. It is more so when the rocket is escaping the earth's gravitational pull at 330 metres per second.

The flow of air along the rocket will be turbulent at the transonic speed - when the rocket crosses the speed of sound. At that point the air will attach to the rocket at some places and detach at some spots in a haphazard manner.

Out of the seven cryogenic engines supplied by Russia, India has used six. One remains to be used.

According to Nair, it is Russia's responsibility to set right the shroud in the remaining cryogenic engine as it is their engine and technology.

"The matter has been discussed with them. But the question of compensation from Russia for the loss does not arise," he said.

The Russians had earlier pointed their fingers at the rocket's bigger heat shield (4 metre) as the proximate cause for high atmospheric load on the rocket that broke it.

The 2010 GSLV's heat shield measured 4 metres in diameter as against 3.4 metre in most earlier GSLV rockets.

A retired ISRO scientist with over two decades of experience with rocket motors told IANS that the GSLV most likely broke due to instability caused by the heavy payload - heavier than what the rocket had lifted in earlier missions.

At 2,310 kg, the GSAT-5P communication satellite was the heaviest payload ever lifted by a GSLV.

It was 180 kg heavier than the INSAT-4CR launched in 2007, 360-kg heavier than Edusat launched in 2003 and about 780 kg heavier than GSAT-1 launched in 2001.

All GSLV's that flew with Russian cryogenic engine have encountered problems carrying a payload of over 2,000 kg.

In 2006, a GSLV rocket carrying INSAT-4C satellite weighing around 2,168 kg was blown mid air after the rocket became unstable.

In 2007, one of the connecters of the GSLV rocket got snapped and the rocket's performance was considered as below par. The rocket had carried 2,130 kg INSAT-4CR satellite.

Refuting that GSLV is facing a 2,000 kg jinx, R.V. Perumal, a retired ISRO rocket scientist, told IANS: "The increase in the weight of the satellite is only a fraction of the rocket's total weight (418 tonne). It is well within the scatter mass of the rocket. Hence the satellite weight is not the reason for the rocket's instability."

ISRO officials also discounted the possibility of the rocket becoming unstable because of the two-tonne increase in its overall weight as compared to the April 2010 GSLV rocket that weighed 416 tonnes.

"By the time the problem started, the rocket would have burned around 100 tonnes of first stage fuel. So a mere addition of two tonnes to the rocket's weight would not make it unstable," an official said.