NOVO-OGAREVO – Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed “the RF government and the Ministry of Finance to study together with the partners issues of restructuring the loans previously granted to Cyprus,” the president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
“Taking into account the decisions taken by the Euro Group, Putin considers it possible to support the efforts of the President of Cyprus, as well as of the European Commission, aimed at overcoming the crisis in the economy and the banking system of this island nation,” Peskov said. According to him, this instruction was give for these considerations.
Earlier, Russia extended a loan worth 2.5 billion US dollars to Cyprus.
MOSCOW – Several agreements on co-funding for projects to help African countries are to be signed at the upcoming BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, on March 26-27, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said.
He will be accompanying President Vladimir Putin on the trip to the summit.
MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet on the sidelines of an upcoming BRICS summit on Tuesday to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and Syria, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said on Monday.
The heads of states of Russia and India “will focus on the discussion over the current situation in Syria and the development of the situation in Afghanistan in view of a forthcoming withdrawal of the International Security Assistance Force from Afghanistan in 2014,” he noted.
MOSCOW – The situation in Syria, in the Middle East and in North Africa will dominate the agenda of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on the sidelines of the upcoming BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, on March 26-27.
GORKI – Russia will decide whether to help Cyprus only after studying a package of assistance measures adopted at the level of the European Commission, the IMF, the government and the Bank of Cyprus, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters on Monday after the discussion of the Cyprus issue with RF Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
GORKI – The situation in Cyprus has shown that the Russian banking system is more reliable than many European banks, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters after the discussion of the Cyprus issue with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.
“None of the investors should think that the EU has 100-percent ownership right,” he said. “What is going on – it’s a good message to those who are willing to transfer their capitals to Russian jurisdiction. The Russian banking system is inherently more reliable than many European banks.”
GORKI – The Russian Commercial Bank from VTB Group in Cyprus is stable and will not be affected by the crisis, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Monday, March 25.
“We are watching the situation closely and think that no matter what decisions are made on Cyprus in general or between Cyprus and the EU, the Russian Commercial Bank will not be affected or its losses will be insignificant,” Shuvalov said on Monday, March 25.
GORKI – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev supports the Agriculture Ministry’s initiative to involve federal structures in the agricultural pest control. The prime minister voiced the opinion during Monday’s meeting devoted to the preparations for the spring sowing activities of 2013.
GORKI – Spring grain crops has been sown on the total area of almost 330,000 hectares in the Southern and the North Caucasus federal districts as of March 21, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told a Monday meeting, which was devoted to the preparations for the spring sowing activities of 2013.
GORKI – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has adopted the long-term forecast of the country’s social and economic development in the period up to 2030.
“I have approved the long-term forecast of Russia’s social and economic development in the period up to 2030,” Medvedev said during his Monday’s meeting with deputy prime ministers. “The document embraces rather a long term period. This is a strategic document, which should became a basis for the development of separate sectors of the economy and regions, as well as for the decision making activities aimed at the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects,” the prime minister said.
MOSCOW – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a resolution, submitting in the State Duma a bill for the social support to people, who were exposed to the radiation impact as a result of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian governmental press service reported.
The Labour Ministry has drafted the bill to fulfil the ruling of the Russian Constitutional Court, under which the provisions of clauses 1,2 and 4 of Article 19 Part 2 of the law over the protection of people, who were exposed to the radiation impact as a result of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were found not be in compliance with the Russian Constitution.
The bill will be debated and approved at a meeting of the Russian government on March 14.
MOSCOW – The Russian government has approved a draft intergovernmental agreement on energy cooperation with South Africa.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has given instructions to the Energy Ministry to hold talks with the South African side with the participation of the Russian Foreign Ministry and sign a document after an agreement has been reached.
The agreement is aimed at strengthening and developing bilateral energy cooperation on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, as well as expanding economic and scientific cooperation in that sector, further developing trade, economic and scientific-technical relations.
It involves the oil and gas, electricity and coal industry sectors, the sphere of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
GORKI – The grain import duty may be zeroed out in April, if the relevant decision is made at the Customs Union (CU) level, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters summing up results of Monday’s meeting devoted to the preparations for spring sowing activities of 2013.
MOSCOW – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office will continue its legal actions to bring Boris Berezovsky’s criminally acquired assets back to Russia.
“As the Russian Criminal Code envisages a confiscation of property for forming and participation in a criminal community, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office will continue its legal actions, which are aimed at bringing back to Russia the assets, which Berezovsky and his accomplices illegally acquired and legalized abroad,” Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Alexander Zvyagintsev said on Monday.
MOSCOW – No agreements to supply modern Russian weapons and military equipment to China were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow on March 22-24, an informed Russian source said, commenting on the Chinese television reports about alleged agreements.
MOSCOW – Russia’s government has approved rules to grant subsidies to the Organizing Committee of the XXII Olympic Winter Games-2014 and the IX Paralympic Winter Games-2014 in Sochi from the federal budget.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a resolution to this effect on Monday.
The rules envisage granting subsidies to the Organizing Committee within the budget allocations for the corresponding financial year and the planning period and within the budget commitment limits.
MOSCOW – Vladimir Zhirinovsky has been once again nominated for leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) at the 26th party congress that takes place in Moscow on Monday.
Upon the decision of the LDPR Supreme Council, Zhirinovsky is the only candidacy. In other words, his name will be the only one on the ballot paper for secret vote on Monday.
It has been decided to expand the Supreme Council of the party from seven to eleven people. The results of the secret ballot will be made known in the afternoon.
KAZAN – The Malaysian company Radiance Hospitality Group makes investments in the construction project of a business centre Smart-City outside Kazan. The appropriate agreement was signed between the Malaysian company and the Corporation of Development of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, the press service of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency reported from Kuala-Lumpur.
MOSCOW – Military prosecutors have detected a scheme of massive budget fund embezzlement in supplies of special equipment to the Air and Space Defence Troops under a state contract.
Damage done to the state as a result of the embezzlement is estimated at more than 30 million roubles, a source at the Main Russian Prosecutor's Office told Itar-Tass on Monday.
MOSCOW – The Russian Governmental Committee considered broader opportunities for the education of the Russian language for Russian compatriots living abroad, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Monday upon the results of a regular meeting of the Russian Governmental Committee for the Affairs of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad under the chairmanship of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Meanwhile, the participants in the meeting approved the supplements to the list of the tombs of Russian compatriots in other countries. These tombs have historical and memorial importance for the Russian Federation and should be kept up and preserved, the ministry informed.
MOSCOW – A Business Council of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) will be created at the group’s upcoming summit in Durban on March 26-27. The leaders will also discuss the creation of a BRICS Development Bank, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Monday, March 25.
TBILISI – Georgia’s private airline Airzena–Georgian Airways have started regular passenger flights to Iraq.
Georgia and Iraq established diplomatic relations in 2005. The two countries are actively developing cooperation in the spheres of economy and trade.
TASHKENT – The banking system of Uzbekistan has a colossal potential for growth, Senior Analyst of the Moody’s Investors Service international rating agency Olga Ulyanova told reporters on Monday.
The agency’s delegation visited the republic and held several meetings with representatives of the republican banks, ministries and agencies.
According to Ulyanova, the profit of the Uzbekistani banking system maintains at rather a high level within the recent 12 to 18 months owing to the favourable operational environment.
CHISINAU – Trade turnover between Russia and Moldova (including the Dniester republic) reached two billion U.S. dollars in 2012, Russian Ambassador in Chisinau Farit Mukhametshin told reporters on Monday.
In his words, Russia remains Moldova’s leading trade partner many years in row. “The economies of the two countries augment each other. Russia is the major supplier of energy resources to Moldova and key consumer of the republican agricultural products,” the diplomat said.
KIEV – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) may sign an agreement by the end of the year to provide funding for the modernisation of the Ukrainian gas transportation system, the Bank’s country office Director Andre Kuusvek said on Monday, March 25.
The Bank is engaged in consultations on this issue and it will take slightly more time than was expected, but there is progress in both relations between the EBRD and Ukraine and with international financial organisations as potential project investors, he said.
KIEV – Ukraine has set up a working group for cooperation with the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.
“The working group was created with a view to preparing and implementing measures aimed at deepening cooperation with the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, creating favourable conditions for increasing trade turnover, improving the balance of trade, expanding cooperative ties, attracting investments and innovations in the real sector of the economy,” the government said on Monday, March 25.
Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Boiko will head the 10-member group.
YEREVAN – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is ready to cooperate with former presidential candidate and opposition politician Raffi Ovanesyan for the benefit of the country.
In a letter to Ovanesyan, who received 36.74 percent of votes in the presidential election on February 18, Sargsyan thanked him for “finally accepting” his proposal to commit his thoughts to paper.