Russia 090423 Basic Political Developments

Russia 090423

Basic Political Developments

• 
  Lavrov starts visit to Pyongyang visiting Kim Il Sung Mausoleum
  
• 
  Itar-Tass: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives in Pyongyang
  
• 
  AFP: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives in Pyongyang
  
• 
  Russian minister arrives in NKorea: state media
  
• 
  RT: Russian FM seeks to mediate Korean nuclear issue - Russian FM seeks to mediate Korean nuclear issue
  
• 
  Bloomberg: Lavrov Visits North Korea in Effort to Revive Nuclear Talks
  
• 
  Reuters: Russian envoy to press North Korea on arms project
  
• 
  Russia opens efforts to get NKorea back into talks - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea for a two-day visit that could include a meeting with leader Kim Jong Il. The North's Korean Central News Agency reported Lavrov's arrival in Pyongyang in a brief dispatch.
  
• 
  Armenian president pays a working visit to Russia - A Kremlin source told Itar-Tass the agenda of the forthcoming talks would include a wide range of issues related to Russian-Armenian relations, l measures to overcome the negative consequences of the global financial crisis, the situation in the Caucasus and other international problems.
  
• 
  Russian, Armenian leaders to talk energy, N. Karabakh conflict - The agenda for the talks at the presidential residence at Zavidovo, will include "a broad range of issues in Russian-Armenian relations, measures to overcome the negative consequences of the global financial crisis, the Caucasus situation and topical international problems," the source said.
  
• 
  Japan PM says he does not back agt with Russia on Kurils division - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday disproved allegations that he is for reaching an agreement with Russia on the division of the Southern Kurils and signing of a peace treaty on its basis
  
• 
  Security talks to be held in Georgia-Ossetia conflict zone - The first meeting since the Russia-Georgia conflict will be held in the zone of Georgia-Ossetia conflict in Ergneti on April 23.
  
• 
  Russia, South Ossetia, Georgia & the EU to hold four-sided meeting - Russia, South Ossetia, Georgia and the European Union will hold a four-sided meeting on Thursday. It will take place in Ergneti, a populated area in the Georgian territory on the border with South Ossetia.
  
• 
  Lavrov says Russia does not see NATO as a threat
  
• 
  NATO, Russia to Resume Formal Political Contacts at End of April
  
• 
  Russia's protest against NATO military training in Georgia is element of "exchange" in Moscow-Washington dialogue: experts
  
• 
  Russian deputy FM: Obama administration shows signs of easing position on strategic arms -    “There are many signs that allow me to state with a sufficient level of certainty that the current administration will take into consideration our priorities and preferences to a larger extent than the George Bush administration,” Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Interfax in an interview on Tuesday.
  
• 
  Russia, Hong Kong to scrap visas - Russia and Hong Kong will sign an agreement on Thursday in Beijing cancelling visa requirements for visitors on short trips, a spokesman for the Russian consulate in South China's territory said.
  
• 
  Ukraine leader to review gas accords with Moscow - Agreements reached in January to end the gas dispute between Kiev and Moscow should be reviewed as they disadvantage Ukraine, the country's president, Viktor Yushchenko, said Wednesday.
  
• 
  Russian gas dependence worries Lithuanian leader - In an interview with The Associated Press, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said the former Soviet republic is likely to become fully reliant on Russian natural gas supplies once it shuts down a Chernobyl-style nuclear plant later this year.
  
• 
  Russia: Presidential Aide Arkady Dvorkovich’s Responses to Questions from Reporters - Russia signed the Energy Charter, but did not ratify it. This means that we do not consider ourselves bound by obligations under the Energy Charter. As for the Energy Charter Treaty, we also do not feel that we are bound by obligations under it.
  
• 
  Russia-Canada: Why the bear and the beaver should make nice together – by Piotr Dutkiewicz
  
• 
  Arms Dealer May Not Fill All Orders - State-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport may not be able to fill all of its international orders this year, Alexander Brindikov, chairman of the company's board of advisers, said Wednesday.
  
• 
  Russian arms exports holding steady
  
• 
  Two dead in south Russia car blast - Two people have died after a car blew up near the southern Russian city of Nalchik, emergency services said on Thursday.
  
• 
  Over a dozen Wahabi groups "neutralized" in North Caucasus - Russian ministry
  
• 
  Prosecution to present evidence in new case against Khodorkovsky
  
• 
  Russian Army is short of men, President Medvedev says
  
• 
  Russian president laments unfit conscripts - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that over 40 percent of those eligible for military service were not fit enough, amid a government drive to modernise the armed forces.
  
• 
  Medvedev reaches out to Russia's unruly bloggers
  
• 
  Russians Bet on a Market for Dampening Dissent
  
• 
  BBC: Russian police readied for unrest - Russia's paramilitary police units are being reorganised to guard against "extremism" amid fears of growing social unrest, an official says. A senior interior ministry official told the BBC the definition includes protests provoked by the credit crunch.
  
• 
  Putin Wants Access to State Secrets - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will preside over a meeting Thursday that will consider a rule giving the prime minister and other top government officials access to state secrets.
  
• 
  Survey: People Doubt Medvedev Is the Boss
  
• 
  Russian Unemployment Figures Rapidly Rising - according to the Russian State Statistics Committee, among the country's entire population of 142 million, only 75.6 million (53 percent) are economically active. By late February 2009, 6.4 million (8.5 percent) of the economically active population qualified as unemployed under the International Labor Organization (ILO) standards. Meanwhile, only 2.2 million are officially registered in Russia as unemployed, with 1.7 million of them receiving state support (www.gks.ru).