Russia 111130 Basic Political Developments

MOSCOW, November 30 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia expects a clear political signal from NATO states to continue missile defence negotiations , there are some chances to come to terms, Deputy Director of the pan-European cooperation department of the Foreign Ministry Yuri Gorlach said at the Moscow international conference devoted to the Euro-Atlantic security architecture on Wednesday.

“In the current situation we want to have a clear political signal from our partners and the leadership of NATO states so that the work of experts will already meet political instructions of these countries,” he noted.

“Our common task is to create a common indivisible system to cover all countries along the external perimeter,” Gorlach pointed out.

“Russia does not shut the doors to continue the dialogue. There are some chances to do it,” the Russian diplomatic official said.

NATO general to discuss missile defense in Moscow

MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti)

“General Bornemann will meet with Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, to discuss the status of NATO-Russia military cooperation and the situation around the planned deployment of the European missile shield,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Russia and NATO tentatively agreed to cooperate on the European missile defense network at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010 but differences in approaches toward the project led to a deadlock in negotiations.

The Kremlin says the deployment of U.S. interceptor missiles and radars in Europe is a potential threat to the Russian nuclear arsenal, while Washington is trying to convince Moscow that the European missile shield poses no threat to Russia, as it is needed solely to protect against attack from "rogue states" such as Iran.

Russia is seeking written, legally binding guarantees that the missile shield will not be directed against it. However, Washington has refused to provide those guarantees to Moscow and said it will not alter its missile defense plans despite increasingly tough rhetoric from Moscow.

A new early warning radar capable of monitoring missile launches from Europe and the North Atlantic, was put in service in the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad on Tuesday as part of Russia’s response to the European missile shield plans.

Russia may also deploy Iskander tactical missiles close to its borders with NATO countries in the near future.

12:33 30/11/2011ALL NEWS

MOSCOW, November 30 (Itar-Tass) — NATO needs new approaches and ideas towards its relationship with Russia, head of the NATO Information Office in Moscow Robert Pszcel said at an international conference on Wednesday.

“Of course, today we need new approaches and new ideas to develop further dialogue,” Pszcel said.

The international conference is devoted to European security architecture.

23:18 29/11/2011ALL NEWS

Russia calls for broader donor support to Palestine, diversification of bilateral cooperation

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/284798.html

MOSCOW, November 29 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia calls for broader donations to Palestine and diversification of bilateral cooperation, Director of the Foreign Ministry Middle East and North Africa Department Sergei Vershinin said at a ceremony, which marked the Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine on Tuesday.

“We unwaveringly support broader donor assistance to Palestine and support this policy with practical deeds,” the diplomat said. “Russia sends humanitarian aid to people on the West Bank and in Gaza. Last year we made another transfer of $10 million. This August the Russian government decided to provide targeted financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of 15.5 million rubles.”

“We do not forget about other appeals of the PNA either,” Vershinin said. “For instance, we are considering the possibility of funding the construction of a secondary school in Bethlehem.”

“We will continue to assist the PNA in the training of national personnel at Russian higher educational establishments on scholarship basis. More than 500 Palestinian citizens are being trained in technical, humanitarian and medical professions, most of them at the expense of the Russian budget. We are confident that these graduates will be in demand as public officers and other professionals in Palestine,” he said.

“Russia is working on diversification of bilateral cooperation,” he said. “Together with Palestinian friends, we are broadening trade, develop tourism and promote investment projects.”

Vershinin expressed his gratitude to the Palestinian authorities for assistance to the restoration and broadening of the Russian historical presence on the Holy Land. “The opening of the park museum in Jericho is an illustrative example to that. I am confident that the forming Russian Center of Science and Culture in Bethlehem will make a worthy contribution to these efforts,” he said.

01:28 30/11/2011ALL NEWS

MOSCOW, November 30 (Itar-Tass) — Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Federation Council (FC) upper house of the Russian parliament, travels to Ukraine on Wednesday for a two-day official visit to discuss prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation, including regional contacts.

Immediately upon atriving at the airport, Matviyenko will go to meet with President Viktor Yanukovich. The program also provides for talks with Verkhovna Rada Speaker Vladimir Litvin and Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov.

The main subject of discussion during talks with Litvin is expected to be a search for ways to give greater scope to interparliamentary cooperation both with a view to invigorating the dialogue between Moscow and Kiev and within the context of efforts to step up integrational processes in the post-Soviet space.

When speaking of the importance of this area of Russia-Ukraine interaction during a meeting with Vladimir Yelchenko, Ukraine's Ambassador to the Russian Federation (RF), Matviyenko pointed out such a task which is of current importance as "bringing closer together and synchronizing legislations".

Her opinion is that the lawmakers of Russia and Ukraine must "create comfortable conditions for trade-and-economic, social and cultural cooperation between the two states". Later in the day the FC Speaker will visit the Russian science and culture center to socialize with members of artistic and scientific communities of Ukraine.

On Thursday the FC Speaker will visit Zhitomir Region to meet with local authorities and businessmen. The FC as chamber representing regions traditionally devotes enhanced attention to the broadening of the RF regions' international contacts. Therefore, it is not ruled out that her conversations will also deal with possibilities to achieve new interregional accords and to determine interaction areas which generate mutual interest of Ukrainian and Russian businesses. The strengthening of interregional cooperation and particularly cross-border one accords with the "deep contacts, aspirations and interests of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples," the FC Speaker maintains.

The Russian guest will be also offered a diverse cultural program, including familiarization with the House Museum of Academician Sergei Korolyov, the founder of practical cosmonautics, in Zhitomir and a tour of the literary memorial museum of famous poetess Lesya Ukrainka in the city of Novograd-Volynsky.