Kommersant: Russian air agency may suspend SSJ 100s after Sunday’s tragedy
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency may decide to temporarily restrict the operation of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft after a preliminary analysis of the circumstances surrounding the accident at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, which claimed dozens of lives. If there are relevant grounds, such a decision can be made as early as May 6, Kommersant writes citing its sources.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger plane operated by Aeroflot carrying 73 passengers and five crewmembers bound for Murmansk caught fire after emergency landing at Sheremetyevo shortly after the takeoff on Sunday. For Aeroflot, that was the first accident resulting in loss of life since 2008.
According to Kommersant’s source in the Federal Air Transport Agency, the plane returned to the airport after its loss of communication.
The SSJ 100 is customarily considered to be a problematic aircraft because of frequent engine-related malfunctions and a long spare part delivery time.
Aeroflot is the largest SSJ 100 operator, which has 50 planes in its fleet (including the one that caught fire at Sheremetyevo). A source close to the aviation industry informed the paper that the plane manufactured in Komsomolsk-on-Amur had been handed over to Aeroflot in September 2017. He noted that it performed mainly short-distance flights, which lasted no longer than two hours.
The accident can have an adverse effect on the reputation of the plane’s operator and manufacturer, but the market will draw conclusions after the investigation, the paper quotes Alexander Lanetsky, CEO of Friendly Avia Support, as saying. The Federal Air Transport Agency’s decision to restrict the operation of the SSJ aircraft, if it is made, will also be a signal for the industry, he added.
Izvestia: Putin-Trump call can give fresh impetus to resolving Ukraine crisis
The latest telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump is important as far as normalizing the situation in the Donbass region goes, since Washington can call on Ukraine’s President-elect Vladimir Zelensky to implement the Minsk deal, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council's (upper house) Foreign Affairs Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov told Izvestia.
"The Americans hold sway in many regions across the globe, including Ukraine. If the US calls on the new authorities to return to compliance with the Minsk accord, that would be a big step forward. After all, these agreements are the only way to resolve the situation," he said.
The circumstances cannot be considered normal, when the leaders of the two major powers practically do not communicate with each other, Dzhabarov went on to say. "Now it is essential to make sure that a full-scale summit will be held, during which the Russian and the US presidents will be able to talk in person," the senator stressed.
Among the issues raised during the two leaders’ conversation was Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, which confirmed that there had been no collusion between Russia and Trump’s campaign team during the 2016 US presidential election.
However, the strained domestic political climate in the US is unlikely to permit a turnaround in Washington’s foreign policy, says Alexander Domrin, Professor of the Faculty of Law at the Higher School of Economics.
"Both Putin and Trump knew perfectly well that there had been no collusion. However, Mueller’s report came as a surprise to the Democrats, who felt completely disappointed. I don’t think the US president has a free hand now, and there will be more opportunities for attempts to normalize relations with Russia," he told Izvestia.
According to the expert, Trump will not take any drastic steps against the backdrop of the upcoming US presidential election scheduled for November 3, 2020. However, even if there are no substantial changes in bilateral relations, the negotiations that have been held and open dialogue can help tackle a number of issues, he added.
Kommersant: Moscow ready to terminate cooperation with Council of Europe
Russia is looking at all options concerning its potential withdrawal from the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, Russian Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Ivan Soltanovsky has said.
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is expected to discuss Russia’s expulsion for not paying its membership dues. According to the Council of Europe’s regulations, if a member-state fails to honor its commitments for two years, the ministers can suspend its membership until these obligations are fulfilled. The two year period for Russia expires in June 2019. Russia’s debt to the Council of Europe amounts to 60 mln euro.
It is unclear though whether or not Russia will have to pay its Council of Europe membership fees for those two years, as the issue is complicated, the paper quotes Nikolai Topornin, Associate Professor of the European Law Department at the MGIMO University, as saying.
"Even Britain, which is trying to quit the EU, admitted that would have to pay 39 bln euro, because work on various projects continues, it’s not that simple. Greece (which suspended its Council of Europe membership in 1970, during the military dictatorship) likewise had to pay its debt. On the other hand, how can they make Russia pay, if it does not want to do so? The charter envisages no strict penalties for that. The Council of Europe is likely to apply to the court of general jurisdiction in Strasbourg," he explained.
He also noted that, although the issue is going to be reviewed in June, "legally there is an opportunity to put it off indefinitely." "I believe there will be no dramatic finale in June, but I do think some new conditions will be put forward for Russia," he added.
Meanwhile, according to Leonid Kalahsnikov, Head of the Russian State Duma (lower house) Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, "Russia needs to quit the Council of Europe, since we do not take part in drawing up the rules of the game in that organization."
Izvestia: For Assange extradition to Sweden better than US trial
Sweden’s potential extradition request for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could prevent his handover to the United States, legal experts told Izvestia.
The US was the first and, so far, the only country to send a request for Assange’s extradition. The WikiLeaks founder was removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London in the wake of Quito’s decision to revoke his Ecuadorian citizenship. According to Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno, he turned the embassy in London into a "spying center." However, later on, news emerged that Julian Assange had been arrested primarily because of the US extradition request.
The risk of Julian Assange’s extradition to the US is extremely high, his Adviser Greg Barns told Izvestia. However, if Sweden decides to seek the extradition of the WikiLeaks director, Stockholm will have greater chances to get hold of him, Rebecca Niblock, Partner at Kingsley Napley LLP, informed the paper.
It is noteworthy that shortly after Assange’s arrest, about 70 British parliamentarians wrote an appeal to the country’s Home Secretary, requesting that Assange be extradited to Sweden. According to Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, Washington seeks Assange’s extradition just because he revealed the truth about what went on in Afghanistan and Iraq. In his view, the investigation in Sweden will not be as politicized.
After the Australian journalist’s arrest, his parents launched an active campaign in support of their son. A total of 125,000 Australians signed an online petition demanding that their fellow countryman’s extradition to the US be prevented.
Vedomosti: Druzhba oil pipeline capacity drops due to tainted oil
The Mozyr Refinery (Belarus) will get purified Russian oil on Monday, May 6, the Belneftekhim company reported. That has been confirmed by the Russian Energy Ministry, Vedomosti writes. Besides, it promised to sanitize the contaminated oil transported to the Russian port of Ust Luga by May 7.
About 5 mln tonnes of oil along the Druzhba pipeline had been tainted, Andrei Verigo, Chief Engineer of the Gomeltransneft Druzhba (part of Belneftekhim) informed the paper.
On the other hand, a source close to the Russian Energy Minister said that a total of 3 mln tonnes of oil worth $1.6 bln had been contaminated. That being said, the pipeline’s cleaning began on May 1, Verigo went on to say.
Efforts to sanitize the pipeline will reduce the capacity of the Druzhba conduit by 60% of its designed capacity within the next few months. By the end of the year, Gomeltransneft Druzhba will be able to transport only 40 mln tonnes of Russian oil to Poland and Slovakia via Ukraine, he added.
Oil can be transported to Europe by rail and through Russian ports. To transport 8.9 mln tonnes, it will be enough to use only Primorsk, a port in the Leningrad Region, says Director General of Infoline Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov. Its capacity is 60 mln tonnes, but last year it transshipped only 38.5 mln tonnes. Ust Luga can handle 38 mln tonnes oil per year, while Novorossiysk could take on 50 mln tonnes, the expert said. Of course, the redistribution of flows to Primorsk would increase transportation costs for oil companies though slightly, Burmistrov added.
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