The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[Armanen]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Let us hope that "Armenia will be the first country to receive...."
Some of these too..

http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/projects/bpla/complex/

That would be nice, but I think it would be even better to get the S-400s that are portecting the skies over Moscow and St. Petersburg. Of course if we could get both, an unmanned aircraft and S-400s then even better!

[North Pole]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Let us hope that "Armenia will be the first country to receive...."
Some of these too..
http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/planes/projects/bpla/complex/

Try to contact Mikhail Pogosyan, it seems like he knows how to convince or educate Putin on something new...

http://www.sukhoi.org/eng/company/people/pers

I like these photos.



August 16, 2002
MOSCOW. President Putin visiting the Sukhoi Aviation Military Industrial Complex. Mikhail Pogosyan, CEO of the complex, presenting a fighter model to President Putin.



August 19, 2003
ZHUKOVSKY. President Putin and Mikhail Pogosyan, CEO of the Sukhoi Aviation Military-Industrial Complex, examining equipment at the sixth MAKS-2003 International Aerospace Show.



August 19, 2003
ZHUKOVSKY. President Putin, Air Force Commander-In-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov (right) and Mikhail Pogosyan, CEO of the Sukhoi Aviation Military-Industrial Complex, at the sixth MAKS-2003 International Aerospace Show.




August 16, 2005
ZHUKOVSKY, MOSCOW REGION. In the 7 th International Aviation and Space Salon. With Mikhail Pogosyan, General Director of the company �Sukhoi.�



February 20, 2008
ZHUKOVSKY, MOSCOW REGION. At the Mikhail Gromov Flight Research Institute. With General Director of OAO Sukhoi Company Mikhail Pogosyan.

Source - http://search.kremlin.ru/kremlin_en_...c=&viddoc=full

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I think Yerevan heard your conversation...

**********************************

RA Defense Minister: Armenia closely watches Azeri army rearmament process

Purchase of unmanned planes to scout the territory of NKR and Armenia is quite natural for the incumbent Azeri authorities, Armenia�s Defense Minister said. �We are carrying out certain work and are not going to fall behind Baku in the issue,� Seyran Ohanyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter during a news conference in Yerevan. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry plans to buy 10 Hermes 450 unmanned scout planes from Silver Arrow Israeli company �to control the territories occupied by Armenia,� according to a source in the Azeri Ministry.

Source: http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=26267

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Pentagon sees Russia strengthening nuclear arsenal

Russia appears focused on strengthening its nuclear capabilities rather than building up its regular armed forces, which makes maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal increasingly important, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday. The Pentagon chief, speaking to Air Force officers in Virginia, said America's need for nuclear weapons to deter potential enemies from striking would grow in the future. While that is partly due to the risk that nuclear weapons will end up in the hands of anti-American groups or states, such as Iran, it is also related to Russia's plans to build its nuclear capabilities, Gates said. "It seems clear that the Russians are focused as they look to the future more on strengthening their nuclear capabilities," he told reporters after his visit to Langley. "So to the extent that they rely more and more on their nuclear capabilities as opposed to what historically has been a huge Russian conventional military capability, it seems to me that it underscores the importance of our sustaining a valid nuclear deterrent, a modern nuclear deterrent." Moscow has boosted military spending as part of an effort to make Russia more assertive on the world stage after the chaos of the post-Soviet period. It has also tried to reform its military to create a more professional, well-equipped and mobile army. But that reform has been slow, some critics say. The Russian military still suffers from poor morale among low-paid soldiers and generals dissatisfied with the state of the army.

DIFFICULTY OF REFORM

Difficulty reforming those forces, known as conventional forces, has led Russia to determine it may be more efficient to bolster its nuclear weapons capabilities instead, Gates indicated. "Russia is really not investing very much in their conventional forces. It's really clear and for a whole bunch of reasons, demographics and everything else," Gates said. Russia possesses a "triad" of strategic nuclear weapons -- ground-based missiles, submarines and bombers that can reach the United States. Last month Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged to funnel cash into the state's nuclear arsenal to ward off threats to national security. "It is obvious that our task in the next few years is to ensure strategic missile forces get all the necessary funds to be ready to withstand existing threats," Medvedev told soldiers and officers a week after taking office. Among the threats, he cited a U.S. missile defense system Washington wants to place in the Czech Republic and Poland. The dispute over that missile shield has raised tensions between Moscow and Washington, often driving the relationship to what has appeared to be a post-Cold War low. Gates is visiting U.S. Air Force bases on Monday and Tuesday after a sweeping shake-up of the force's leadership due to mismanagement of America's nuclear weapons and parts. Securing the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the Air Force's most sensitive mission. But a recent investigation into the mistaken shipment of nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan found an erosion in nuclear standards and systemic problems in nuclear management.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldN...33989220080610

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Medvedev warns Georgia and Ukraine against joining NATO

Medvedev warns Georgia and Ukraine against joining NATO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF34zpY8xws





CIS leaders gather in St. Petersburg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwlFBIo3If0

Russia�s President Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Georgia and Ukraine's accession to NATO could lead to more tensions. He said that if Ukraine did sign up to the alliance it would break existing agreements it has with Russia. The comments were made at an informal summit of CIS countries in St. Petersburg. Medvedev told Yushchenko that Ukraine�s drive to join NATO and its stance on Russia�s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol raised security threats for Russia. Ukraine will also pay double for Russian gas from next year. The reason for the move is the position of Central Asian gas producers. Russia buys Asian gas and resells it to European countries, including Ukraine. Earlier Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan announced they will raise the price for their gas to market levels.

Yushchenko commented that he understood the reasons for the move but wanted Ukraine to take part in Russia�s negotiations with the Central Asian countries. Despite all the difficulties the two leaders seemed determined to overcome them and try to work out joint policy. The Ukrainian President is one of the many leaders attending to the Economic Forum. There are no unmanageable issues, believes Georgia�s Mikhail Saakashvili. During his chat with Dmitry Medvedev, Saakashvili stressed that he appreciated the opportunity to discuss numerous problems between the countries. Medvedev voiced Moscow�s concerns that Georgia may be pursuing NATO membership as a way to settle its frozen conflicts with breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Saakashvili assured it wasn�t the case. The Russian President also called on Tbilisi�s sticking to bilateral agreements with its unruly republics and rebuilding mutual trust between conflicting parties, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after the meeting. The issue of Georgian drones and the incident when one of them was downed over Abkhazia's territory was not discussed by the two leaders, Lavrov added, answering a journalist�s question. Moldova�s President Vladimir Voronin brought some good news for Medvedev and his home city of St Petersburg. Moldova�s police had found two pieces of art stolen from the Hermitage back in 2006. Now the Moldova side is ready to return the pictures back to St Petersburg. Medvedev also had a conversation with Turkmen�s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. The two leaders mulled over the recent developments in Russia and also discussed preparations for Medvedev�s visit to the Turkmen capital, Ashkhabad, early in July.

Azerbaidjan will also host a trip by Medvedev in July. The gas exporting country has �strong partnership relations� with Russia as President Aliev stressed today and both men's main task will be to preserve them. Uzbek President Islam Karimov suggested merging two regional organisations that Russia and Uzbekistan are members of. The Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Community have common goals and challenges and together can become a strong alliance of Caucasian and Central Asian nations. While meeting the Armenian President Serg Sarkisyan, Dmitry Medvedev invited him to pay an official visit to Russia in coming months, which the visiting leader accepted. Sarkisyan stressed Armenia�s good relations with Russia and pledged to develop them further. Medvedev will meet his Kirgiz and Tajik counterparts on Saturday. Over the next three days delegates at the Economic Forum are expected to discuss a wide range of issues including climate change, the integration of economies, and will try to develop a model for co-ordinating the national interests of consumers and producers. Like in previous years, the first day of the forum focuses on international issues, while the second - on prospects for Russia's economic development. According to Russia�s Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, 13,000 policemen and servicemen of the Interior Troops enforce security at the forum.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsbhi1mrQ7s

Medvedev Informed Yushchenko about 2-Fold Surge in Gas Prices

Gas problem was one of the issues raised during St. Petersburg negotiations between Russia�s President Dmitry Medvedev and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Russia�s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters June 6. �Gas prices for Ukraine will nearly double starting from January 1, 2009,� Lavrov said, explaining that the states of Central Asia are shifting to the European prices for their gas. �The gas from those states passes Russia�s territory and the states of Central Asia account for a significant portion of Ukraine�s gas balance. Therefore, the gas price for Ukraine will surge materially under objective reasons from January 1,� Lavrov said. The sooner we shift to the market prices, the better will it be for recovery of the country�s economy, Yushchenko said when commenting on the imminent price growth.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p-12638/r_500/Gas_prices/

Money Talks at Russian Forum as Business Leaders See Past Hurdles to Investing

The lineup told it all about Russia�s importance today. There, on one stage, sat the leaders of BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Total, Schlumberger and Dow Chemical, as well as the chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom and the president of the Russian oil company Lukoil. The busy executives of the global energy industry, by their very willingness to sit together at an economic conference here over the weekend, were sending a powerful message that big Western businesses were in Russia to stay. They may be worried about the weak rule of law, corruption and lack of an independent judiciary, as seen in recent troubles confronting BP and Shell with their Russian partners. But that is not likely to stop them from swarming around the honey pot for large contracts and access to the resources of Russia, one of the world�s largest energy exporters and fastest growing economies in an era of $130-a-barrel oil.

And while politicians in Western Europe fret over their own inability to develop a cohesive energy policy � and some fan fears of a newly resurgent, aggressive Russia � many of the sharpest minds who gathered here at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum seemed focused on something quite different: ensuring that Russians benefit from economic plenty this time, as opposed to the heady era of privatization in the 1990s, which benefited only a few. In a speech on Sunday that was keenly awaited by liberals in Russia�s business elite, a first deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov, listed the �many hurdles� on this path: an over-reliance on energy exports, a falling population, a lack of modern skills, an unhealthy way of life and a state apparatus with a tendency to meddle. �Russia should be a country that people want to live in,� Mr. Shuvalov said in remarks that seemed uncharacteristically self-deprecating for a top Russian official these days. Mr. Shuvalov�s audience filled less than half of the hall. It had been packed on Saturday when the new president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, took subtle aim at the United States, suggesting that the world might be in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that a revived Russia could offer solutions to problems that have underscored America�s shortcomings. But the crowd on Sunday was rapt as Russian and Western business executives peered out to make projections on Russia�s state and standing in 2020. So much has changed, so fast, in the past decade here that there is little clarity on how to proceed. As one Russian participant, Alexander V. Izosimov of the cellphone operator VimpelCom, said, �The road to hell is paved with good intentions.�

Jim O�Neill, who is the chief economist of Goldman Sachs � and credited with coining the phrase �BRIC countries� to describe Brazil, Russia, India and China becoming leaders among world economies � surprised the crowd by predicting a conservative overall average of 3.3 percent annual economic growth in Russia by 2020, down from growth around 8 percent now. Russia, Mr. O�Neill said, will have a 4 percent share of world�s gross domestic product then, compared with 2 percent now. But he said it would be weaker relative to Brazil, India and China because of far fewer people at work. India alone is expected to grow by 300 million people � twice Russia�s current population. Michael Klein, chairman and chief executive of the institutional clients group of Citigroup, was more ebullient: �The future will exceed by a big stretch the plans for 2020� � the Russian government�s target date for certain improvements. �Russia is clearly one of the most successful economic stories of the decade,� he said, and possibly �the first scale economy to sustainably avoid the resource curse,� the evils often brought by easy money from commodities like oil and natural gas. Anatoly B. Chubais, a former deputy prime minister despised by many Russians over the inequities of the 1990s privatization program he led, even broached a subject normally taboo: the moribund, regimented state of politics, which has crystallized around the Kremlin and Vladimir V. Putin, the prime minister and previous president (who this weekend left his prot�g�, Mr. Medvedev, to shine alone in their hometown).

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/wo...tml?ref=europe

Russia May Spend Twice As Much Now, Putin Said

The 2007 spending of federal budget doubled vs. 2004, having grown from 2.4 trillion ruble to nearly 6 trillion ruble in three years, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced Monday during the meeting of government�s presidium, RIA Novosti reported. �The spending of federal budget reached nearly 6 trillion ruble, but we could spend no more than 2.4 trillion ruble in 2004. It�s almost the double growth in actual terms,� Putin said. The costs for public health grew by over three fold during the period, the prime minister pointed out. The surge in federal budget spending was secured by favorable economic indicators of the country. Russia�s GDP soared over 8 percent in 2007, real income of the nation stepped up by over 10 percent, and the growth in tax and customs receipts was notable. �All that has created favorable environment for our budget policy, the policy targeted at long-term development of Russia�s economy, social upgrade and radical increase in quality and standards of living,� Putin said. The 2007 federal budget was the last budget of the country compiled for a year. Russia has shifted to fiscal three years starting from 2008, the prime minister reminded.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p-12642/Putin_federal_budget/

Russia�s Millionaires Number Grew 1.5 Fold in a Year

The official number of Russia�s millionaires grew over 1.5 fold during a year; the millionaires paid taxes for the total worth of 55 billion rubles, Interfax reported with reference to Federal Tax Service that released preliminary results of the tax return campaign. Russia has 131,000 dollar millionaires, the experts of Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank calculated earlier. Of interest is that the most skyrocketing growth of the wealth was reported in the section of Russia�s billionaires. The aggregate wealth of Forbes 100 billionaires of the country is nearly two fold above the budget receipts. The number of income tax returns that the individuals filed in 2007 to declare income of no less than 1 million rubles grew 67.8 percent on year, Federal Tax Service said. Some 3.2 million taxpayers (10.4 percent up on year) declared the 2007 income as of April 30. The amount of individual income tax due to the budget under the tax returns grew nearly two fold to 55 billion rubles. At the same time, the amount claimed by taxpayers from the budget increased 32 percent to 21.6 billion rubles. No secret that Russia�s oligarchs are the richest in Eastern Europe. According to the latest rating of Forbes, Oleg Deripaska ($28.6 billion) is the wealthiest in Russia, while Severstal owner Alexei Mordashov and Chukotka Governor and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich follow him in the list of billionaires.

Source: http://www.kommersant.com/photo/512/...4_00132_1m.jpg

[Armenian]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

McCain: To Russia, without love

John McCain and his national security advisor both want to get tough with Russia -- but one of them got paid to say so. Does McCain have another lobbyist problem?

By Mark Benjamin

Jun. 09, 2008 | John McCain is a saber-rattler when it comes to Russia. On the campaign trail, the Republican presidential candidate warns of the "dangers posed by a revanchist Russia." A quick Google search produces video of McCain plodding through his oft-repeated joke that when he looks in Vladimir Putin's eyes, he sees three letters: KGB (and not, like George Bush, Putin's "soul"). As president, McCain says he would back up his tough talk with equally aggressive policies. He wants to kick Russia out of the Group of 8, the organization of the world's leading industrial powers. McCain has also long been a proponent of quickly expanding NATO to include former Soviet allies like Georgia. Russia bristles at the notion of the Western military alliance encroaching on her border. "Rather than tolerate Russia's nuclear blackmail or cyber attacks," McCain said in a March speech, "Western nations should make clear that the solidarity of NATO, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, is indivisible."

This kind of talk -- in particular the call to oust Russia from the G-8 -- has given pause to seasoned experts on that part of the world, who tend to emphasize engagement with Russia. McCain's harsh rhetoric and tough proposals led Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria to write an April column titled "McCain's Radical Foreign Policy." If McCain were to pursue his Russia agenda as president, Zakaria wrote, it would be interpreted by much of the world as an "attempt by Washington to begin a new Cold War." But the sound of sabers rattling is music to the ears of Randy Scheunemann, the McCain campaign's senior foreign policy and national security advisor. A long-term confidant of the candidate, Scheunemann also supports a very tough stance toward Russia. Unlike McCain, until very recently he was paid to support that stance. McCain, already under fire for the role of lobbyists in his campaign, is taking his foreign policy advice from someone who was a paid lobbyist for former Soviet Bloc countries that are wary of Russia, and seems to advocate those policies the countries and their former lobbyist want. Notably, McCain supports a quick expansion of NATO, and Scheunemann has already helped two former Soviet satellites gain admission to NATO and has worked on behalf of two others.

Until early this year, Scheunemann was simultaneously working for the McCain campaign and as a lobbyist for a shifting menu of Eastern European and former Soviet Bloc countries with NATO aspirations. Some, including Georgia, have chilly relations with Russia. At various times from 2001 through early this year, Georgia, Latvia, Romania and Macedonia paid Scheunemann and his partner, Mike Mitchell, more than $2 million. Much of Scheunemann's work focused on paving the way into the NATO fold. Two of Scheunemann's clients, Latvia and Romania, were admitted to full NATO member status in 2004, after which they ceased paying him. McCain, who has portrayed himself as a crusader against the corrupting influence of money in politics, has already been compelled to cut ties with lobbyists who have worked for his campaign. On March 12, a New York Times story noted that a co-chairman of McCain's campaign and other campaign advisors had lobbied for European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., which beat Boeing for a contract worth $35 billion to build aerial tankers for the Air Force. The headline in the Times was "McCain Advisers Lobbied Europeans to Win Air Force Tanker Deal."

The bad press sparked efforts inside the McCain campaign to purge any real or perceived conflicts of interest. On May 15, the campaign instituted a new policy that bars staff from also working as "registered" lobbyists, requires unpaid advisors to disclose such activity, and prohibits those volunteers from trying to influence McCain. The new policy was drafted by McCain�s campaign manager, Rick Davis, himself a lobbyist until 2006. The new rules quickly resulted in the departure of at least two advisors, including a key fundraiser, Thomas Loeffler. The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., which beat Boeing for the Air Force tanker contract, was one of his clients. But the policy does not state that a campaign staffer can't be a former lobbyist. According to Justice Department records, Scheunemann halted his lobbying activities on March 12, the day the Times story on the Air Force tankers appeared. Scheunemann's partner continues to lobby on behalf of Georgia and Macedonia.

The neoconservative Scheunemann was a national security advisor to Mississippi Republican Sen. Trent Lott. He worked on Bob Dole's campaign in 1996 and McCain's failed 2000 White House bid. Like McCain, Scheunemann was an early and ardent advocate of regime change in Iraq. He helped draft a 1998 bill giving $98 million to the Iraqi National Congress, the exile group led by the controversial Ahmed Chalabi. In the early days of the Bush administration, he served as an advisor on Iraq to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In 2002, prior to the invasion of Iraq, Scheunemann helped lead the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, a nongovernmental, pro-invasion group that counted McCain as a member. Lobbying disclosure records for Scheunemann's two-person company, Orion Strategies, show dozens of phone calls and meetings with McCain and his staff between 2001 and 2008, as well as regular contributions to McCain's campaign and political action committee. In 2006 McCain cosponsored legislation that passed the Senate endorsing an expansion of NATO to include Georgia and Macedonia as well as Albania and Croatia. Late last year, while Scheunemann was still on Georgia's payroll, Georgia got a shout out, by name, from McCain in a national security treatise published in Foreign Affairs. McCain warned of Russian efforts to "bully democratic neighbors, such as Georgia, and attempts to manipulate European dependence on Russian oil and gas." He also hammered on the "diminishing political freedoms" in the former Soviet Union, and wrote that the country was "dominated by a clique of former intelligence officers."

Incidentally, China also took it on the chin in that Foreign Affairs article. At the time, Scheunemann was working for Taiwan, which has paid him and partner Mitchell a half-million dollars since early 2005. (Scheunemann ceased lobbying for Taiwan in March; Mitchell continues to work for the Taiwanese.) "When China threatens democratic Taiwan with a massive arsenal of missiles and warlike rhetoric, the United States must take note," McCain wrote. Lobbying records show that as late as June 2007, Scheunemann's partner was lobbying McCain staffers on "Chinese ballistic missiles pointed at Taiwan." During the presidential campaign, the presumptive Republican nominee has shown remarkable interest in Scheunemann's client, Georgia, a country of 4 million. In his statement last month on the inauguration of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, McCain said he hoped the new president would "take steps to ease tensions with Georgia by reversing recently announced measures that undermine Georgia's internationally recognized sovereignty which have rightly caused great concern among our European allies."

McCain might take his hard line on Russia because it plays well with some of the GOP base. Experts on Russia say some of those Republicans harbor nostalgia for being tough on the Soviet Union. Or perhaps he simply believes Russia will respond best to threats. But there is little doubt that McCain's rhetoric and policies would please the countries Scheunemann has worked for. "Those are countries whose advantage it is to point the finger at a Russian threat, particularly Georgia," explained Thomas Simons, ambassador to Poland under George H.W. Bush and to Pakistan under Bill Clinton. There is no way to tell if Scheunemann has influenced his boss on behalf of his clients, or if McCain and Scheunemann simply share a common get-tough-on-Russia philosophy. But when there are lobbyists on a candidate's campaign staff, it's hard to distinguish chicken from egg when it comes to policy. "The whole point of lobbyists is to influence how politicians think," said Dmitry Gorenburg, executive director of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and a lecturer at Harvard. "If these people have had an association for a long time, how do you tell if it is because they think alike, or one has told the other how to think because he is getting paid?" he asked. "Any time you've got a guy who has been lobbying for somebody as opposed to a regular observer, it sort of makes you wonder," said Gorenburg, who also thinks the hard-line approach with Russia is the wrong way to go. "My guess is that you cannot completely disentangle the influence."

The campaign did not respond to Salon's questions about this topic. But McCain spokespeople have said in the past that any similarity between lobbyist interests and McCain's actions is coincidental. Jill Hazelbaker, McCain's spokeswoman, has said that her boss has "never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists." While McCain's plan to kick Russia out of the G-8 is widely unpopular, Democrats also support expanding NATO -- but more gradually and with Russia's concerns carefully taken into account. At a meeting at the Council of Foreign Relations on March 7 that included Scheunemann, the Democratic candidates' national security advisors said McCain was too confrontational with Russia. "Where I get a little bit concerned, Randy, is when you sound like you're issuing ultimatums in a variety of fronts without finding ways to be able to talk and discuss and work through our issues as well," said Mara Rudman, a Clinton advisor. Scheunemann took a hard line. "No outside country has a veto on [NATO] membership," he said. "With Russia, I don't think Senator McCain's position is secret to a lot of folks," he added. "He often likes to say when he looks into Putin's eyes, all he sees is a K, a G, and a B."

Simons, now a visiting scholar at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, was one of a number of experts interviewed by Salon who believe McCain's hawkish Russia policy is counterproductive. "It is not the right way to deal with this part of the world," Simons said. He described McCain's strategy as "punish and challenge, hit them in the nose, stick them in the eye." Given the concern about McCain and his advisor's aggressive attitude toward Russia, a recent speech the candidate delivered about nuclear nonproliferation left many Russian experts scratching their heads. In a May 27 address in Denver, McCain struck a strangely conciliatory note, laying out "a vision not of the United States acting alone, but building and participating in a community of nations all drawn together in this vital common purpose," he said. "While we have serious differences, with the end of the Cold War, Russia and the United States are no longer mortal enemies." McCain then announced that he would seek a new arms control agreement with Russia.

Russian experts, who have eyed McCain's confrontational tone with some skepticism, were obviously confused. Charles Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, said the speech left him thinking that McCain's policy toward Russia is "schizophrenic." "It is just contradictory," explained Kupchan. "If you really want a breakthrough arms control deal with the Russians, it is probably not a good idea to kick him out of the G-8." Other experts speculated that McCain has set aside the tough talk now that the reality of the presidency is staring him in the face. It would be wonderful if the change didn't have anything to do with less money changing hands.

Source: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/09/mccain/

[North Pole]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

Russian ruble is getting stronger.....

June 7, 2008

Gas will be sold in roubles: Gazprom CEO

http://www.gazprom.com

Gazprom aspires to sell gas for roubles outside of Russia after trade on the St. Petersburg bourse starts, the head of the oil, giant Alexey Miller, has said. Its launch is planned for 2009.
According to Miller, the company has started the creation of the bourse to trade gas futures.

Miller has said St. Petersburg will soon become a major gas trade centre.

However, the finance minister Alexey Kudrin told Russian broadcasting station �Business FM� that raw materials will be sold for roubles but in a long-time perspective.
He said roubles has become a convertible currency only 18 months ago and dozens of years must pass until roubles will be stable enough for all of the market participants.

The source in Gazprom which spoke to Interfax news agency said several changes must occur before large-scale gas trades happen on the exchange. These are: the internal and external gas prices approach, Nord and South Stream pipelines launch, facilities and resources allocation for spot deals, creation of plant to liquefy natural gas in Kola Peninsula, customs rules formulization and the supplies of gas acquired on the bourse through the sole agent.

http://russiatoday.ru/business/news/25916

American dollar is getting weaker....

Russia to dump waning dollar

Russian oil firm Rosneft will follow the lead of Gazprom and LUKOIL to sell crude in rubles amid the ongoing depreciation of the dollar.

"Our specialists are looking at all possibilities that could be beneficial for the company," Rosneft Spokesman Nikolai Manvelov said. "Everything depends on economic viability."

Russia's largest independent oil producer, LUKOIL earlier announced that the company will switch to the ruble in its gas and crude deals within two years.

"Selling for rubles is much more attractive," Deputy Chief Executive Officer Leonid Fedun said on December 12. "Gazprom is considering introducing ruble-denominated contracts and I think that technically Russian companies can do it by 2009 if the banks are ready."

“We consider the idea of selling our resources for rubles to be quite possible,” Gazprom's Vice President Alexander Medvedev said at a recent conference in New York.
Last month, Iran and Venezuela proposed to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to switch to a basket of currencies in its oil deals.
Iran, the world's fourth most prolific oil exporter, has already abandoned the dollar, Iran's Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said on December 9, describing the currency as unreliable.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=34978&sectionid=3510213

Russian ruble could be used in oil trade deals in Iran

15/ 02/ 2008
MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian ruble could be used as a payment instrument for deals on an Iranian oil exchange, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow said on Friday.

"Possibly in the future, we'll be able to use the ruble, Russia's national currency, in our operations," Gholamreza Ansari said, adding that the Islamic Republic was currently busy launching a new oil trade exchange.

The Islamic Republic's oil minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, earlier said that Iran would launch on February 27 a commodities exchange for oil, petrochemicals and natural gas on the Persian Gulf island of Kish and that all financial settlements would be made in Iran's national currency, the rial.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080215/99314908.html

Russia's Gazprom reaches agreement on crude production in Iran
19/ 02/ 2008

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom has reached a deal with Iranian authorities for its crude producing arm to be involved in oil production in the Islamic Republic, the Russian energy giant said Tuesday.
READ MORE - http://en.rian.ru/business/20080219/99634680.html

Iran Opens Oil Bourse to Sidestep U.S. Sanctions

By Jason Simpkins

Iran opened an exchange for crude and petrochemicals Sunday, an effort that encourages private investment in the nation’s prominent energy sector.
"The bourse provides an economic opportunity for Iranians, other countries, and foreign customers," Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said in a statement.

The primary trade currency used by the bourse will be the euro, thereby establishing a euro-based oil marker if successful. Iran first floated the idea of trading oil in euros several years ago, but a weak dollar has breathed new life into the concept.
Iran has also registered for another oil bourse, in which it intends to trade crude contracts in euros instead of dollars with the hope of reducing U.S. influence in the country’s economy.
READ MORE - http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/02/...p-us-sanctions




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Russia's international reserves up $71 bln as of June - CBR

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080606/109418352.html

Russia�s Trade Balance Surplus Up by 53.6%

http://www.kommersant.com/p-12633/Balance_surplus

Russia�s biggest banks team up to rival Visa & MasterCard

Russia�s two largest banks have teamed up to create the United Russian Payment System (ORPS), in a bid to rival Visa and MasterCard, Sberbank CEO German Gref says. VTB agreed to join Sberbank after the name of the scheme was changed from �Sbercart�.

The system is currently teamed up with 17 banks, 40 more have applied, and over 300 depositary institutions are on talks.
READ MORE - http://russiatoday.ru/business/news/25986


Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum

http://forumspb.com/eng/index.html

BANK OF RUSSIA - http://www.cbr.ru/eng

[Azad]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I want Putin back instead of the robot.

[Lucin]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I want Putin back instead of the robot.

LOL, yeah, I agree. Just look how he shakes hands with his counterparts. (in the pics) Though he is much younger and more good-looking than Putin, he does not have a bit of Putin's charisma, in my opinion...

[North Pole]

Re: The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

I want Putin back instead of the robot.

Well.... OK.

Medvedev might need to work on his handshaking, but I think he already mastered to walk like Putin and he knows how to look tough just like his boss.
LOL!!!!!

http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/images/106679.shtml

Hey! Is it Mikhail Pogosyan again? How come Medvedev is not paying attention to what Pogosyan has to say?

http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/text/images/160664.shtml