The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[KarotheGreat]

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

Ukraine accuses Russia of monopolizing nuclear fuel market

18:0905/06/2009

KIEV, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian president on Friday accused Russia of seeking to monopolize the international nuclear fuel market.

"Our partners... are currently working actively to monopolize the uranium enrichment services market. This approach toward nuclear issues is in effect a repetition of the natural gas blackmail scenario that we saw in January," Viktor Yushchenko said.

Ukraine's four nuclear power plants generated over 90,000 GWh in 2008. The country mines uranium, but has no industrial capacity for its enrichment.

All of Ukraine's nuclear fuel is imported from Russia under an agreement that expires in 2010.

Yushchenko criticized the Ukrainian government for failing to draw lessons from the recent gas crisis and for "repeating their mistakes now in the nuclear power sector."

He stressed that the main guideline on nuclear fuel supplies to Ukraine should be "the principle of diversification."

The president accused his own government of engaging in blackmail and "backstage negotiations" in favor of Russia.

Yushchenko said the issue of diversification would be considered at a closed-door session of the National Security and Defense Council.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Russian NATO envoy says Georgia continues militarization

MOSCOW, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia is continuing to militarize even though it clearly has not ruled out using force in regard to its former republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russia's NATO envoy said on Friday.

"We have all the necessary information, including classified, about those who continue to deliver weapons to Georgia and at what volumes," Dmitry Rogozin said in an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio station. "This information is dispiriting."

Although he did not identify the countries involved he said that Russia is making bilateral contact to tell them that Moscow knew of the weapons deliveries.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states after last August's five-day war with Georgia, which attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control. Most residents of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have held Russian citizenship for several years.

The chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said on Friday that Georgia is now armed far better than it was when it attacked South Ossetia.

"The events in Georgia have seriously changed the situation in the south of our country and many aspects of world politics. Today, the Georgian Armed Forces have far more military hardware and weapons than they had at the moment of the beginning of their aggression last August," Makarov said.

Under mutual assistance treaties signed last November, Russia pledged to help Abkhazia and South Ossetia protect their borders, and the signatories granted each other the right to set up military bases in their respective territories.

At the time, Makarov said the Russian military bases in each republic would be fully staffed with 3,700 personnel by the end of 2009.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Top businessmen not immune to Putin’s wrath

Prime Minister’s personal handling of the business conflict in the town of Pikalevo has set a precedent in the public dressing-down of the country’s top businessmen for neglecting their social responsibility.
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Vladimir Putin is well known for his heavy temper and the ability to lash out with his angry words. However, previously his involvement in conflicts between business-owners hasn’t become public news, with all the hard talking done behind closed doors.

Lately this has changed. Among the latest examples of the economic stand-offs solved by the prime minister – in the style of Alexander the Great dissecting the Gordian knot, and with painful consequences to the people involved – are the price-fixing scandal with aircraft fuel and the case of Mechel last year.

But even among such episodes as these, Thursday’s trip to Pikalevo stands out. Pikalevo is a small town with one big employer, a typical situation hanging over from the Soviet economy. Some time ago, the production line was split into three separate businesses with different owners. This eventually led to a pricing conflict, raw material supply interruptions, production halts, the sacking of workers and a mounting wages debt. The situation spilled over this week, with people denied both jobs and payment for their previous work blocking a major road in protest.

On Thursday, Putin arrived on the scene and gave a really hard time to all involved. He alleged that the blocking of the road may have been paid for in order to disrupt his visit. He said the new owners have turned the factory into “a junk heap”. He accused the governor of the region of failing to do everything he could to solve the situation. And he put the blame on the businessmen for holding thousands of workers as hostages to their “ambitions, lack of professionalism and probable greed”.
After Putin stepped in, the indebted company managed to get a bank loan to pay the salaries in almost no time, and the parties resolved their points of disagreement and put the production line back in action. This all in one day, after months of stalemate.

More interesting is the fact that one of the people receiving the dressing-down was one of Russia’s most famous businessmen, Oleg Deripaska, who used to be the richest man in the country until the global financial crisis left him heavily in debt. The high-point of the show was Putin virtually arm-twisting him into signing a contract, which was needed for the factory to start working again. During the meeting, chaired by Putin, Deripaska was obviously unnerved, with cameras catching his every move and facial expression. Never before has a person of his caliber been publicly humiliated this way in modern Russia.

The experts are now confused over what this may mean. Was it the government’s signal to big business that they are not allowed to put their economic interests before social considerations? Will workers of the many troubled companies throughout Russia now be encouraged to take to the streets, expecting Putin to personally micromanage every labor conflict in the country? The situation resembles that of Dmitry Medvedev’s personal blog, which people now use, with a moderate degree of success, to report on injustices and the faults of local authorities.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Karo, I sincerely wish our friend, Armenian, will come back as we all really miss him.

I wish he would come back too, the place isn't the same without him?

Yea, Karo

I would Love to keep it updated just tell me the website where you get the news from so I can.

Different Russian news sites

[Lucin]

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

No problem Lucin jan, to bad I don't have time to keep it updated every day but summer is coming up and I'll have more time than to keep this thread alive.

Karo, I sincerely wish our friend, Armenian, will come back as we all really miss him.

[Pazooki]

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

Yea, Karo

I would Love to keep it updated just tell me the website where you get the news from so I can.

[jgk3]

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

No problem Lucin jan, to bad I don't have time to keep it updated every day but summer is coming up and I'll have more time than to keep this thread alive.

Thank you Karo, it is well appreciated.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Karo, thank you for keeping us updated in this thread.

No problem Lucin jan, to bad I don't have time to keep it updated every day but summer is coming up and I'll have more time than to keep this thread alive.

[Lucin]

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

Karo, thank you for keeping us updated in this thread.

[KarotheGreat]

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

South Stream 1 – Nabucco 0

Gazprom has outmaneuvered the Europeans and the US once again. The document that was signed by Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Italy, and Russia states all the sides’ roles in the construction of the South Stream project. The only country left to tackle is Austria, which may prove to be a challenge. However, Austria will have to give in eventually once the project is underway because then they will be faced with a game theory type situation – if it agrees it gets money, if it doesn’t agree it gets nothing. Austria is not extremely important for the project for it lands at the end of the north branch of the proposed pipeline. So far the progress of the South Stream, compared with that of the Nabucco pipeline, is way ahead.

The EU leadership suffered a huge blow to their aspirations regarding the “South Gas Corridor.” Recently, upon signing a document similar to the one that Gazprom succeeded in signing, the countries interested in Nabucco pipeline were not able to get Turkmenistan to sign. The countries involved are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. However, the EU is the biggest beneficiary of this project as this will allow them gas import diversification, decreasing their dependence on Russia for natural gas. The failure of Nabucco to interest Turkmenistan enough basically makes the signature of the EU’s pet project nothing but a political show. Next-day support of the White House of the signing of this document only solidifies the doubt of this being a working document rather than a simple agreement for further discussions on the matter.

Read more

West’s Concerns

The South Stream will take away all alternatives for the EU to diversify their energy import beyond that which they already have (25% of natural gas imported into the EU is from Russia). The United States has stated that Russian domination of the EU energy import market will create a monopoly with Russia at the helm and that that will create an unfair market. Well, an unfair market is not something Washington criticizes when it comes to OPEC or its own steel industry. Nevertheless, when the conditions are right and the potential benefits are great, it is the first political tool that it uses. If anything, the US should not even be concerned with who is building what pipeline halfway across the globe.

For the United States, construction of the South Stream pipelines will mean that their pet projects in Central Asia and Ukraine will come crashing down. Simply building the Nabucco pipeline in spite of another pipeline being built will be money down the drain. It will not be a match for a less expensive and more efficient South Stream. The US, without heavy Western cash inflows stemming from the energy trade, will not be able to exert enough influence on Russia’s near abroad. It is of utmost importance in order to be able to exert pressure on Russia and to be able to twist Moscow’s arm a little when the situation calls for it. Otherwise, the United States’ power and influence in the Central Asian regions and especially Georgia will be diminished to a fraction of what it is now. After all, America will not be fueling these countries’ economy from the State Treasury forever.

For the European Union it will mean that they will have to bend to Moscow’s rules, especially in the winter. There is nothing scarier for the Europeans than to see another shortage of gas. If anything, EU leaders’ constituency will be asking them to back off the Nabucco pipeline plans and asking them to allow Gazprom to build a pipeline around Ukraine. Ukraine’s unstable government and constant challenge of Russia makes EU citizenry feel uncomfortable with regard to a consistent flow of energy to it doorstep.

I’m not trying to downplay the EU’s aspirations or their potential, or make Russia look like an unbeatable player in this game of politics and energy. However, since the turn of the new millennium, Putin and his government have been one step ahead of the West in its near abroad. One thing that the West seems not to take into consideration is that most of the politicians in Russia and the CIS countries are led by people who have known each other for a long time. Sometimes even as far back as universities or military service. Although now these leaders live in and lead different countries, they are keener to deal with their old friends than those who were on the other side of the “iron curtain” during their mentoring.

Conclusion

The Nabucco pipeline, although a very good project for Europe is simply not well enough connected politically as is the South Stream. For some it may be a terrible prediction, for others it may be promise of a brighter future, but most likely South Stream will be built instead of EU’s South Gas Corridor. The countries that are considered for this project are not such good friends in between each other as most of those participating in Gazprom’s project. To reiterate, South Stream’s participants are Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Serbia, and Russia. Nabucco’s participants are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey. Simply looking at these side by side, Nabucco is more costly and involves countries that have not worked with each other before or are simply indifferent to others’ interest for they do not reflect their own.
Finally Georgia and Iraq are simply too unstable to provide the needed stable flow of energy sources into EU. Georgia proved its instability in the summer of 2008 and the country’s population and government are not on the same side. There is no need to list all the cons of working with Iraq on this. The United States is looking to withdraw its forces and there is no way to tell what will happen there once that goes through. All in all, South Stream 1 - Nabucco 0.