Russia 090505 Basic Political Developments

Russian, Polish foreign ministers to talk missile defense, energy

http://en.rian.ru/world/20090505/121437195.html

MOSCOW/WARSAW, May 5 (RIA Novosti) - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arrives in Moscow on Tuesday for a two-day working visit to discuss European security, energy supplies and missile defense issues with his Russian counterpart.

"Moscow talks will be focused on the key aspects of international developments and European stability, including the Russian president's initiatives on the formation of a pan-European security pact," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

He added that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would raise the issue of international energy security in the light of Moscow's initiative to draw a new legal base for global energy cooperation.

"Russia will inform Poland in detail of its positions concerning the inadmissibility of attempts to integrate Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, flirting with the regime of [Georgian President Mikheil] Saakashvili, and plans to deploy U.S. missile defense in Poland," Nesterenko said.

Moscow has been at loggerheads with Washington over plans to deploy a missile defense system in Central Europe. The United States has signed agreements with the Czech Republic on hosting a radar station and with Poland on the deployment of 10 interceptor missiles by 2013.

Russia says the missile shield would be a threat to its national security while the United States has argued it is necessary to guard against the threat of missile attacks from states such as Iran.

Officials from almost 20 Russian and Polish departments will also discuss cooperation in the economy, energy security, science, culture, telecoms, the fight against crime, youth exchanges and tourism.

Nesterenko said Poland was Russia's largest trade partner in Eastern Europe, with bilateral trade reaching $27.2 billion in 2008, up 51.8% year-on-year, including $20.2 billion worth of exports, and $7 billion imports.

He added, however, that joint cooperation, investment and innovation projects were still insufficient in bilateral ties, and Russia was set to work with Polish partners to improve the situation.

Russian PM Putin set to visit Poland on September 1

http://www.wbj.pl/article-45377-russian-pm-putin-set-to-visit-poland-on-september-1.html?typ=wbj

5th May 2009

Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski begins a two day visit to Moscow later today

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will most probably visit Warsaw on September 1. If so, this will be the first visible sign of a warming of Polish-Russian relations since the end of the rule of Law and Justice (PiS).

Putin will participate in the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Gdańsk. Polish authorities have invited all 27 leaders of EU states as well as Israel, Russia and USA. If the PM of Russia will arrive, the chances are that so will US President Barack Obama.

After the event in Gdańsk, Putin is to participate in government talks with PM Donald Tusk. The potential visit of the Russian leader will be discussed in detail by Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski who begins his two day visit to Moscow later today.

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza

Norway PM to visit Moscow amid Telenor battle

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL411831620090504
Mon May 4, 2009 10:57am EDT

OSLO, May 4 (Reuters) - Norway's Prime Minister will travel to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on May 19 to discuss, among other issues, business relations, his office said on Monday.

Jens Stoltenberg's visit comes as Norwegian telecoms group Telenor (TEL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is majority owned by the government, faces the prospects of losing its multi-billion dollar Russian investments in a controversial Siberian court case against a previously unknown Vimpelcom (VIP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) investor. [ID:nLU973167]

"The main issues for the meetings are the Northern regions, energy, environment, business cooperation and other international issues," the government said.

A spokeswoman for Stoltenberg declined to specify what companies will be discussed, but a Norwegian minister has called the Telenor case the most important bilateral issue between Oslo and Moscow. (Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa and Joachim Dagenborg; Editing by David Cowell)

Moscow to highlight Mideast at UN

http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-05-05/Moscow_to_highlight_Mideast_at_UN.html

05 May, 2009, 02:07

Russia will put the Middle East peace process firmly back in the international spotlight during its chairmanship of the UN Security Council this month, according to UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.

The Russians take over on May 11, when Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosts a meeting on the Middle East.

Speaking to journalists, Churkin said the main purpose of the meeting was “to give a new impetus to the Middle East peace process". The talks are expected to conclude with a presidential statement.

In December 2008 the Security Council adopted a resolution on the Middle East that was co-sponsored between Russia and the U.S. It laid out a road map to a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. However, just days later the Gaza war broke out. Since then, diplomacy has failed to make much headway.

“We are concerned about the need to maintain the negotiations which have been taking place over the years,” Churkin said.

He went on to say, “The meeting will discuss the ways to implement the Council’s decisions on this issue taken previously”.

”You are all aware of the nature of those decisions, so yes, we’ll be looking for a reaffirmation of the Council’s positions and we expect that this is going to be reflected in the presidential statement,” he added.

‘Sensitive and unsecure’ situation in Georgia

On May 27, the Security Council plans to discuss Georgia. Vitaly Churkin described the current situation on the border between Georgia and the new republics – South Ossetia and Abkhazia – as ‘unstable’ and ‘instilled with conflict’.

The diplomat added that he is pushing for a legally binding agreement on the non-use of force to be signed between Georgia and South Ossetia, and Georgia and Abkhazia. In fact, Russia aimed for this before the August 2008 conflict in the Caucasus when Georgia attacked South Ossetia.

Vitaly Churkin also hit out at NATO military exercises in Georgia, scheduled for May 6. He said the maneuvers won’t help an already very sensitive and unsecure situation.

“The last thing from the Russian prospective we’d like to see is people’s minds taken elsewhere. I’m, of course, referring to Tbilisi. You will recall that the aggression against South Ossetia last August started almost the day after the completion of military exercises which were done on bilateral U.S.-Georgia basis,” he said.

“So apparently they have a track record of drawing wrong conclusions from military exercises,” he added.

On May 15, the U.N. mission to the region will present its report to the Security Council.

Handling North Korea

Other topics that will be addressed under Russia’s chairmanship in May include North Korea. Its launch of a long-range missile on April 5 raised serious concern around the world.

Russia's U.N. envoy said it’s “crucially important to return to six-party talks” – the forum aimed at finding a peaceful solution to North Korea’s nuclear programme. The parties involved are China, South Korea, The U.S., Russia, Japan and North Korea.

Churkin said the five nations negotiating to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program are prepared to ``very patiently and consistently'' pursue the resumption of talks.

``We unfortunately don't envisage that to happen in a short period of time,'' he said.

But, he added, it's ``very important that five out of six believe that this is something which must be pursued very patiently and consistently”.

UN meeting to give impetus to Mideast peace

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnR32ZqYe4fc-vI6WxHDt7O-PQKQD97VL8580

By EDITH M. LEDERER – 11 hours ago

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia has invited Security Council ministers to a meeting next week to give "new impetus" to the Middle East peace process.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said Monday that "the meeting will reaffirm the council's involvement in the search for a Middle East settlement."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will preside at the May 11 meeting, and Churkin said some ministers already have accepted. The only speakers will be representatives of the 15 council nations and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he said.

Last December, the Security Council approved a resolution stressing that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process initiated by the United States in 2008 is irreversible and urging intensified efforts to achieve Middle East peace.

The resolution, co-sponsored by the U.S. and Russia, backed efforts by Israel and the Palestinians to conclude a peace treaty and fulfill the vision that they can live peacefully side by side as independent democratic states.

The negotiating process, launched by former President George W. Bush in November 2007, called for the Israelis and Palestinians to try to sign a peace agreement by the end of 2008. That would have given Bush a diplomatic victory before turning the presidency over to Barack Obama — but it was not to be.

Israel's previous government was committed to two-state goal. But in the month since he became Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed misgivings about an independent Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has pointed to Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip and warned that turning over land to the Palestinians can bring extremists to power. He has instead offered the Palestinians "economic peace."

Churkin said he expects diplomats at the ministerial meeting to discuss the council's role "and measures to be taken to resume the peace process, normalize the situation in the region, and implement the council's decisions on that issue."