Russia 110505 Basic Political Developments

Russian and British veterans will celebrate 9 May 2011 Victory Day on HMS Belfast in London

http://www.bsr-russia.com/en/international-relations/item/1677-russian-and-british-veterans-will-celebrate-9-may-2011-victory-day-on-hms-belfast-in-london.html
Written by Editor on Wednesday, 04 May 2011 09:12 | Published in International Relations & Trade

By Eugene Kasevin

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the opening of the Second World War Second Front (start of the Great Patriotic War in the USSR) and the first Arctic Convoy “Dervish” that sailed with provisions to the Soviet Union in August 1941.

Once again Russian and British veterans of Arctic Convoys (1941-1945) will gather on board HMS Belfast, a branch of the Imperial War Museum in London, to commemorate their shipmates who have given their lives to the course of Victory over fascism in 1945. HMS Belfast is the legendary “last witness” Royal Navy cruiser that took part in the Arctic Convoys in 1943. Many guests will gather to celebrate the bravery and the heroism of British and Russian navy during their dangerous conquest of the Arctic in the dark days of the Second World War.

This commemorative event, continually supported by the Russia’s largest investment bank VTB Capital, will take place on Monday 9 May 2011 in the presence of HRH The Duke of Kent, the Ambassador of Russian Federation Alexander Yakovenko, the Lord Mayor of London, Lord Alan West and other dignitaries. The veterans and the guests will commemorate the heroes with the minute silence, the end of which will be marked by gunfire from HMS Belfast. This will be followed by playing both the Russian and British national anthems.

The formal ceremony will be followed by the British old naval tradition of the “Up Spirits!” toast with Pusser’s Rum, not missing out on the Russian tradition of “To Victory!” toast with the Russian Standard Vodka. The veterans and the guests will have the time to reflect and exchange their memories to the military music from the Royal Artillery Band.

Olga Podoinitsyna, Member of the Board at VTB Capital, stated: “We take special pride in continuing our support for the Arctic Convoys commemoration of Victory Day from its very beginning in 2007. This excellent initiative highlights one of the most heroic chapters of the Second World War and is a great example of the solidarity between Russia and Britain during and after the war. VTB Capital is committed to strengthening ties between the Russian and UK business communities and this moving tribute to our shared history is a part of that goal.”

The founding organiser, Eugene Kasevin, congratulates every remaining veteran of the Second World War in all countries and invites international communities to take interest in the historic role that the Arctic Convoys have played and the ongoing tradition of commemorative remembrance that this event is achieving every year.

The organiser expresses gratitude to VTB Capital and other organisations contributing to the success of the event, which include the Imperial War Museum, Pusser's Rum, Russian Standard Vodka, British Midland International (bmi), The Russia House, Interfax, EUROMAG and others. British airline BMI is the partner to the delegation of Russian veterans.

Vietnam, Russia strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation

http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/Vietnam-Russia-strengthen-interparliamentary-cooperation/20115/126340.vov

Updated : 8:00 AM, 05/05/2011

(VOV) - A Vietnamese delegation led by Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Duc Kien is on a working visit to Russia from May 3-7.

On May 4, Mr. Kien met with Ivan Melnikov, Vice President of the Russian Federation Duma and First Vice President of its Communist Party. Concerning traditional relations, the two sides highly appreciated the results of inter-parliamentary cooperation over the years.

Mr. Melnikov confirmed that the strategic partnership between the two countries is developing positively, especially in politics. The exchange of visits by high-ranking officials, particularly President Medvedev’s visit to Vietnam in October, 2010 led to the signing of many agreements and documents.

He praised the current visit of the Vietnamese NA delegation as another step towards closer cooperation between the two sides.

NA Vice Chairman Kien sincerely thanked the Russian people for supporting Vietnam’s national construction.

At the talks, the two sides focused on sharing experiences in law-building and other legal activities, discussing effective measures to promote bilateral cooperation in economic, financing and other fields.

Russian president submits agreement with Azerbaijan to Duma for ratification

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1871566.html
05.05.2011 11:46

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted for ratification to the State Duma the Russia- Azerbaijan agreement to fix the anchor line of land borders from the converging point of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Georgian borders to the Caspian Sea, RIA Novosti reported, citing the parliamentary lower chamber apparatus.

The treaty was signed in Baku on Sept.3, 2010.

The accompanying documents stress that this line corresponds to the former administrative border between Dagestan SSR and Azerbaijan SSR.

Russia is the first country with which Azerbaijan has signed an agreement on the state border.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry has reaffirmed that Russia and Azerbaijan no longer have territorial claims.

The border land between Russia and Azerbaijan is 284 km. The total length of the Russian state border is about 60,000 kilometers.

Russian parliament to ratify Russian-Azerbaijani border agreement

http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/politics/13559.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has introduced the border agreement of Russia and Azerbaijan to the parliament for ratification. The document sets the land border from the crossing of the Russian, Azerbaijani and Georgian border to the Caspian Sea, RIA Novosti reports.

The agreement was signed in Baku on September 3, 2010. The border lines coincides with the administrative border of the Dagestani and Azerbaijani Socialist Republics.

Russia is the first country with which Azerbaijan signed a border agreement. The two states have no territorial claims. Their border is 284-kilometer long. The Russian border has a total length of 60,000 km.

May 05, 2011 12:03