All news

Liquid asset of Dmitry Medvedev

The future Russian prime minister and United Russia start closing in.

On Friday, RF President Dmitry Medvedev will hold a meeting with the leadership of the United Russia party that he will officially head after the inauguration of Vladimir Putin. The United Russia leadership sees no contradiction in a situation in which a liberal premier becomes the head of a conservative structure.

FINANCE MINISTRY DEVALUES INITIATIVES OF AUTHORITY

Kudrin’s successors cast doubt on most election wishes of the president-elect.

The RF Finance Ministry on Wednesday decisively dismissed the tax initiatives of Vladimir Putin that have been stirring up the society in recent months. The payment of the income tax at place of residence, of which the prime minister has repeatedly spoke, was called by the ministry officials practically unrealisable. The timeframe of the introduction of the uniform real estate tax, of which Putin has repeatedly talked since 2006, has again been postponed by the Finance Ministry - this time “until after 2014.” The special luxury task that was to ease the social tension in the country was turned by the Finance Ministry into a common for all citizens real estate tax. And even Putin’s initiative on the creation of a new Far East state corporation was declared by the Finance Ministry as contradicting the RF Tax Code.

MOSCOW STANDS UP FOR TIMOSHENKO

Yanukovich has got Russia’s last warning on the eve of a meeting with Putin.

Having sustained a six-month information pause, Russia has again entered the international political process linked with Yulia Timoshenko. The RF Foreign Ministry said in a special commentary that was made public on Tuesday evening that Moscow has taken with concern the media reports saying that Timoshenko’s health has deteriorated and that she is in need of urgent medical aid.

Before that, the Russian side expressed its position on Timoshenko in October when the Pechersk Court sentenced her to seven years’ imprisonment. RF Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said then that he did not understand the reason for the Ukrainian former prime minister’s conviction.

RUSSIA'S PARTNERS AGAINST ITS OUTPOSTS IN REGIONS

Head of the social political department of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan Ali Gasanov has recently said in an interview to the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet that Baku will prevent the turning of Nagorno-Karabakh into anybody’s outpost and “will free our lands by any means.” He explained that it would be naive to expect an independent policy from Armenia that has become “an outpost of Russia in the region.” Russian officials have earlier repeatedly talked of Armenia as Russia’s outpost in the South Caucasus. Gasanov has also expressed criticism of the OSCE Minsk Group (in which Russia is represented), which for the past 20 years has failed to change the status quo in the situation around the Karabakh problem settlement. Dmitry Medvedev’s initiative to conciliate the sides was also unsuccessful.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA