Russia 110215 Basic Political Developments

Russia 110215

Basic Political Developments

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  Medvedev to meet with Pope on Thursday - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s scheduled visit to the Vatican on Thursday and his meeting with Pope Benedict XVI has raised major interest among religious and political leaders around the world.
  
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  Cyprus court lifts freeze on $6 bln Russian assets - A court in Cyprus on Tuesday revoked a freeze it had imposed on Russian assets worth $6 billion, including a stake in potash maker Uralkali (URKA.MM) and mining group Polyus Gold (PLZL.MM).
  
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  Russian President to meet with UN Human Rights High Commissioner - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is meeting with UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navanethem Pillay in Moscow on Tuesday.
  
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  Russian and Armenia discuss cooperation
  
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    Armenian, Russian officials discuss Karabakh process - At their meeting in Yerevan Feb. 14, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Russian Deputy FM Grigoriy Karasin discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
    
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    Armenian Constitutional Court to consider military base agreement with Russia
    
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  Ukraine said to back down on key Azov Sea border demand with Russia
  
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  Ukrainian leaders accused of 'lobbying' Moscow Patriarchate's interests
  
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  Lavrov to hold talks with William Hague, David Cameron - A Foreign Office official told Itar-Tass in an exclusive interview in connection with the beginning of the Russian foreign minister’s visit to London, that “Minister Lavrov’s visit - just four months after the visit of the British foreign secretary to Moscow – testifies to the fact that both Russia and the United Kingdom continue to seek to patiently and consistently improve the relations. It will take some time. There will be no giant breakthroughs. We are talking about small, practical steps.” … “Countering terrorism is one of the spheres where we seek to explore possibilities for closer cooperation with Russia - within a well-defined framework. A complete ban on our bilateral contacts with the FSB (Federal Security Service) remains. This, however, should not be regarded as a straitjacket that does not allow any cooperation in countering terrorism,” stressed the Foreign Office. .. Over 1,000 British companies are operating in Russia. According to experts’ estimates, the two countries’ trade exceeds 17 billion U.S. dollars. Moreover, Britain is one of Russia’s largest foreign investment partners. In the afternoon, after ending his programme, Sergei Lavrov will leave London for Rome.
  
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    Lavrov, Hague to discuss economy, visa issues in London (Update 1)
    
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    UK seeks to rebuild Kremlin link - Britain in turn would like to secure a return for officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to the embassy in Moscow to enable them to cooperate directly with the Russian authorities. There are also common security concerns around the London Olympics in 2012 and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
    
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    Mary Dejevsky: We can't stop getting Russia wrong - Russians enjoy more freedom than is often condescendingly understood. Try the blogosphere if you don't believe it
    
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    Hermitage Capital offer businessman Lebedev to cooperate in exposing those behind Magnitsky's death (Part 2)
    
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  Mikhail Khodorkovsky judge 'given orders' - Mr Khodorkovsky's lawyers have appealed against the verdict and his parents have called on William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, to raise the issue with Mr Lavrov during his visit to the UK.
  
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  Fear dominated the making of Khodorkovsky film, director says - 'Nobody wanted to talk about Khodorkovsky. They all thought they would lose business connections. There was a big mistrust,' said German director Cyril Tuschi. He said the attitude was symptomatic of Moscow as a whole.
  
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  70% of Japanese disapprove of Kan’s stand on talks with Russia
  
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    Japan to closely watch Russia's military activity on south Kurils
    
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    No plans to deploy more Army units on Kuril Islands - General Staff (Part 2)
    
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    Russia to deploy modern missile defense systems on disputed Kuril Islands
    
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    ANALYSIS: Fracas-free Russia talks relieve Japan - "Russia's stance toward Japan will become increasingly severe," a Foreign Ministry official said. "Conditions now can even be considered good."
    
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    Russia-held isles past point of return - "Be it a third country, the Japanese government considers any activity on the Northern Territories based on the assumption that Russia has control over them to be inconsistent with Japan's position," the official said, adding that this position has been conveyed to other nations being approached.
    
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  The Netherlands: Export blockade to Russia scrapped - Junior economic affairs minister Henk Bleker has reached a deal with Russia for the immediate ending of the export blockade of agricultural products. Exports to Russia are worth around €1bn a year.
  
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  Initial construction work at Belarus NPP to begin in Aug-Sep 2011 - Initial construction work at the Belarus nuclear power plant will begin in August or September 2011, First Vice Prime Minister Vladimir Smeashko said on Monday, February 14.
  
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  Limit set for Native polar bear hunters under international treaty - Details are still being worked out, but the Russia-U.S. commission governed by the treaty agreed last spring to let Native subsistence hunters in each country take 29 bears, for a total of 58, from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population.
  
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  In Budyonnovsk in Stavropol region a military helicopter crashed
  
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  Mi-28 made a hard landing in the Stavropol region
  
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  Putin to discuss Moscow healthcare development - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting on the Moscow healthcare modernization program at City Clinical Hospital No.1 on Tuesday.
  
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    Putin to hold meeting on Moscow health system modernisation
    
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  FIVE MILITANTS, ONE POLICEMAN KILLED IN GUN BATTLE ON ADMINISTRATIVE BORDER BETWEEN STAVROPOL TERRITORY AND KARACHAYEVO-CHERKESSIA – SOURCE
  
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    On the border of Stavropol and KCR fighting on, five militants killed
    
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  Dagestani bomb equivalent to 5 kg TNT – report
  
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    Power of the first explosion in the Dagestan village amounted to 5 kg of TNT
    
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    Two killed, 20 wounded in two Dagestan explosions (Update 1)
    
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    Two policemen killed in terror attack in Russia’s South
    
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    Suicide bomber strikes in Russia's Dagestan
    
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    Two police officers killed in Russia blasts
    
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    Female suicide bomber kills 1 policemen in Russia
    
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  Suicide bomber Yevloyev served in the internal troops in the Far East - the commander in chief
  
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  Kyrgyz citizen detained for drug sale in Yekaterinburg, Russia
  
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  Sobyanin appoints three regional security department deputy heads
  
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  A chill blows through Moscow's snow-busting teams - Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is set to freeze out 25 officials who have failed to cope with the snowy winter Moscow is experiencing.
  
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  Transport ministry to earmark $54bn for Moscow subway development
  
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  Moscow to allocate over 10B roubles to repair social facilities
  
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  RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Tuesday, February 15, 2011
  
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  Analysts Point to the Regional Opposition’s Provocative Electioneering as a Sign of Its Weakness - Dozens of opposition politicians claim that Russia’s ruling party is blocking them from running in regional elections at the start of a cycle that will culminate in the March 2012 presidential elections.
  
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  Picasso Work, Berezovsky Papers Found in Moscow Gambling Raid - The Federal Security Service said it found artworks by Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt and documents for offshore companies belonging to self-exiled investor Boris Berezovsky in a raid on an illegal gambling operation in Moscow.
  
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  Putin built $1bn palace with bribes, claims tycoon