The Rise of the Russian Empire: Russo-Armenian Relations

[KarotheGreat]

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

"Moscow wants greater security role for Shanghai Organization"

Russia wants the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to assume a greater security role, says Aleksandr Lukin, the Head of the SCO Research Centre at Moscow State University of International Relations.

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Russia's GDP falls 9.5% year-on-year in 1Q09

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russian GDP fell 9.5% in the first quarter of the 2009, year-on-year, and 23.2% on the fourth quarter of 2008, the Federal Statistics Service said on Friday.

The Economic Development Ministry earlier attributed the contraction to a slump in construction (a decline of about 20%), lower tax intake, falling investment and retail trade.

The ministry said it expected the country's GDP to decline 8.7-10% in April-June 2009 as compared with the same period of last year.

The ministry estimates that Russia's economy will grow by 1.3% to 2.8% in the second quarter of 2009 as compared with January-March 2009.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Agreement on South Stream signed in Sochi
15.05.2009 22:53 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The president of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and the Head Administrator for ENI, Paolo Scaroni, in the presence of the Russian and Italian leaders, Vladimir Putin and Silvio Berlusconi, have signed a new agreement relative to the realization of South Stream. ENI and ENEL, furthermore, have signed an agreement for the transfer to Gazprom of 51% of SeverEnergia and the development of important sites in Siberia.

The agreement on South Stream provides for the increase in the capacity of transport from 31 to 47 billion cubic metres of gas per year in the pipeline. ENI and GAZPROM, furthermore, have worked together to follow through with the development of the South Stream project, given its strategic relevance in causing, through a new route, a decisive contribution to the security of the supply of gas across Europe. ENI and ENEL have also signed an agreement for the transfer to GAZPROM of 51% of SeverEnergia, a company that owns the entire capital of Arcticgaz, Urengoil and Neftegaztechnologia, once themselves owners of the license to explore and produce hydrocarbons with gas and oil reserves estimated at 5 bln barrels equivalent to oil. At the end of the negotiations, the indirect participation of ENI will be reduced from 60% to 29.4% and that of ENEL from 40% to 19.6%. On the basis of the agreement, SeverEnergia, who employs 500 people in its offices in Moscow and Noy Urengoy, will become the first Italo-Russian company to operate in the Yamal Nenets' (Western Siberia) deposit sites.

Currently the region produces about 905 of Russian gas. The various parties have agreed to produce the gas from Samburskoye before June 2011 and to reach at least 150000 BOE a day within 2 years from the beginning of production. It was further agreed to define within 90 days the plan to obtain all the authorization, including the extension of the licenses from Rosnedra, the Russian authority for the use of mineral and oil resources. The remuneration paid by GAZPROM for the purchase of 51% of SeverEnergia, the final definition of which is predicted for the end of June 2009, amounts to about 1.5 billion dollars and will be paid in two parts over 2009-10. The ENI' expected earnings are 900 million dollars, of which ENEL will be responsible for 600 million, AGI reported.

[KarotheGreat]

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

First two Sukhoi SuperJet-100 to be delivered to Armenia by early 2010
16.05.2009 19:45 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “Russia and Armenia discuss cooperation issues concerning not only transportation, but also aircraft building”, told RF prime minister Sergey Ivanov a news conference, adding that late this year and early the next year first two Sukhoi SuperJet-100 will be delivered to Armenia. “These jets, which are undergoing flight tests, will be delivered to Armenia to go through final on site tests,” prime minister said.

“We have also discussed development of our cooperation in high technology spheres, like information and communication technology and space”, said Ivanov, mentioning that Russian-Armenian relationship develop not only in energy sphere, but in a range of industries.

The first Sukhoi SuperJet-100 produced for sale, will be obtained by the “Armavia” company. The decision on who to sell the first SuperJet-100 was made based on the configuration of the order. The catalog price for Superjet 100 is equal to USD 28 million, however the cost of the each order is mentioned separately.

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It seems we can test some new toys. I hope when I'm flying to Armenia it will be in one of those.

[Pazooki]

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

Mediators: Russians Walk Out of Peace Talks With Georgia

Monday, May 18, 2009


— Peace talks aimed at healing rifts from the Russia-Georgia war broke down when the delegations from Russia and Georgia's two separatist provinces refused to take part, mediators said.

"The co-chairs strongly regret the walkout by the Russian participants at the beginning of the fifth session of the Geneva discussions today," said a statement by the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The round of talks scheduled for Monday and Tuesday was supposed to be the first meeting since February between Georgia, Russia and Russia's allies from the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The mediators said the Abkhazian delegation refused to attend the talks. The South Ossetians, who came for the beginning, then walked out, followed by the Russians.

"This was all the more regrettable as today's discussions were precisely meant to offer an opportunity to listen to the views of all participants on all security-related and humanitarian questions," said the mediators' statement.

The talks have been held periodically since they began in October to try to heal disputes left over from the war in August between Russia and Georgia.

The mediators urged all parties to attend the talks Tuesday.

"The Geneva Discussions provide the only forum where all participants can engage with one another on the key issues of security and stability as well as humanitarian questions," the mediators said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told Russian Channel One television as he was leaving, "We can't discuss the issue of security in Abkhazia and South Ossetia without the Abkhazians and South Ossetians." But Karasin said he hoped talks would resume on Tuesday and that Russia had simply "offered to stop the clock."

Matthew J. Bryza, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state who attended the fourth round of talks in February, said the two sides agreed on a nonbinding proposal for international observers to regularly discuss ways to diffuse tensions, but accomplished little else.

Bryza said a solution needs to be found to allow Russia and Georgia to address security questions without being seen to give ground on the status of the two separatist republics.

Source:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520569,00.html

[Joseph]

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

sh*tty newspaper but a great commentary nonetheless


Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-russia-reset/

LOZANSKY: Is NATO disrupting Russia 'reset'?
Caucasus role risks antiterror support

By Edward Lozansky | Saturday, May 23, 2009

COMMENTARY:

Only a couple of short months after the United States and Russia exchanged encouraging remarks about resetting troubled relations, the two countries find themselves again at odds over Georgia. Last week, NATO began monthlong military exercises in Georgia that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called an "open provocation."

It's unfortunate that these current NATO exercises have the capacity to disrupt much broader strategic interests that the United States and Russia have in common, most notably the mutual fight against al Qaeda. At stake are strong U.S.-Russian cooperative efforts in defeating al Qaeda and stopping its encroachment into the Central Asian and Caucasus regions.

Although NATO describes the exercises, run by its Partnership for Peace program, as routine and small-scale (only 1,000 soldiers or so will take part), Russia credibly argues that, less than a year after its war with Georgia, any NATO training there is confrontational. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made Russia's concern very clear, saying it was "dangerous to appease the current Georgian regime, which has in no way abandoned attempts to solve its problems via militarization and the use of force." Other countries originally planning to participate in the NATO exercises seem to think so as well. Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Moldova have already pulled out of the exercises.

The rise of Islamic fundamentalism is a threat not only to the United States and Russia, but to many other countries as well. Handling this threat requires a joint Herculean effort similar to, or perhaps even more substantial than, the anti-Nazi alliance during World War II. This time, the task is more complicated. We face dedicated and hardened fanatics without a centralized government, using different warfare techniques, and working through numerous cells that enjoy support - even if just moral support - throughout the world.

In Pakistan, considered a U.S. ally, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups feel comfortable enough to plan and execute major terror attacks and disrupt supply lines to U.S. and NATO forces, sometimes with a helping hand from Pakistani security services. So working together has taken on new importance, especially as NATO seeks Russian cooperation in the war in Afghanistan, and the West seeks Moscow's help with Iran's nuclear program.

It is the West's goal to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda, and it is in Russia's strategic interests to join the West in this fight. Working together toward this goal is an area where "pressing a reset button" in bilateral relations could bring quick results. Russia has allowed nonlethal supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan through its territory, a vital complement to the existing supply route through Pakistan.

However, this is not enough. Russia could and should do much more - for example, allow the transit of military hardware through its territory, urge the former Soviet southern republics and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to contribute to this effort, and permit the United States to use Russia's military base in Kant as a replacement for the loss of the Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan.

The current Afghan government would welcome the supply of familiar Russian weapons and training by Russian instructors, as was done for the Northern Alliance during the first, successful war against the Taliban in 2001 and 2002.

After Sept. 11, 2001, when he was president, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin offered America sympathy and solidarity not only with words, but with deeds. Russia contributed more to the defeat of the Taliban than any other U.S. ally, including NATO members.

And how did former President George W. Bush show Russia his gratitude for the relatively easy victory? Abrogation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty without so much as consulting Russia, a decision to place components of a missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, and NATO expansion into Russia's backyard.

Any one of those things would greatly diminish Russia's appetite for helping the United States. However, the Kremlin should look at this from another perspective. For argument's sake, let's suppose America is defeated in Afghanistan. This would mean Russia would be left one on one with the Taliban and al Qaeda on its southern border, holding the potential for some 20 simultaneous Chechnya-like conflicts in or near Russia's territory. Would Russia be able to manage all these conflicts by itself?

With such compelling, mutual interests at stake for the United States and Russia, it is time the two countries make serious efforts to reset relations. Strained relations between the two will only embolden their mutual enemies, endangering not only themselves, but the rest of the world as well. All these strategic interests are being undermined by the lack of sensitivity toward Russia's security concerns that NATO has shown by holding military exercises in Georgia.

An early wrap-up to NATO's activities in Georgia - a nation engrossed in internal political turmoil - would go a long way toward restoring confidence within Russia that NATO and the United States are willing to consider Russia's legitimate national-security interests.

Edward Lozansky is president of American University in Moscow.

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Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

[KarotheGreat]

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

Dmitry Medvedev: Russia is committed to further development of partnership with Armenia


/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Frequent meetings among country leaders help overcome difficulties in different spheres of life, RF President Dmitry Medvedev said before a meeting with his Armenian colleague Serzh Sargsyan. “To overcome current difficulties, we need to organize meetings more frequently. And this is actually what we do,” Medvedev said, adding that frequent meeting also “help adopt specific decisions on specific issues.”

Russian President expressed hope for discussing “the most important topics” during the meeting with Mr. Sargsyan. In the meantime, Russia is committed to further development of partnership with Armenia, RIA Novosti quotes Medvedev as saying.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Russia and Belarus exchange hostile statements

The dialogue between Russia and Belarus, which looks like a dialogue between two hostile states, continues. President Dmitry Medvedev supported Russia’s Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin, who offended Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko with his estimations of the economic policy in Belarus.

Mr. Kudrin was not very polite indeed, when he arrived in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, a week ago and expressed his thoughts about the anti-crisis policies of Lukashenko’s administration. He particularly said that Belarus’s gold and currency reserves may end by the end of the third quarter of the year, that Minsk should not be optimistic about its economic future. He also criticized the administration of Belarus for its decision not to raise a loan from Russia in rubles ( Belarus originally asked for a dollar loan).

Alexander Lukashenko had a nice conversation with Russian Prime Minister Putin telling him of the bright future of the Belarussian GDP growth. The next day, Mr. Lukashenko “exposed the criminal plot of Mr. Putin and Mr. Kudrin.” The latter “has come into unity with our rascals here who yap on the Western money and teach us how to work,” Lukashenko said.

The Belarussian President added that Russia’s Kudrin came into unity with the rascals following his agreement with Vladimir Putin.

“It is not the first time when they want to take us naked with naked hands, for free. Putin said that he had discussed the situation with Kurdin in an airplane on the way to Minsk. And Kudrin broke into a tirade here . Everything has been coordinated!” Lukashenko said.

Russia’s Medvedev fully supported Kudrin’s statements in Belarus.

“We maintain partnership with our neighbors, we help them overcome the crisis phenomena offering them considerable financial help. There may be a need at times to comment the economic situation in those countries,” he said.

“But we never allowed and will never allow any personal characteristics of the leaders of other countries. We could say something about the efficiency of economic measures that they take, why they ask our help and support. I believe that it is unacceptable from the diplomatic point of view,” Medvedev said.

[KarotheGreat]

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

Something different from Russia...

Million-year-old mammoth skeleton found in Serbia

MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - A mammoth skeleton, believed to be as much as a million years old, has been discovered near the eastern Serbian city of Kostolac, the B92 TV channel said on its website on Thursday.

The unique find was excavated from a surface coal mine close to the Viminacium Archeological Park, an ancient Roman historical site. The bones were buried in a layer of gravel, 27 meters beneath the surface.

"What I can say is that it was over four meters tall, and some five, six meters long, weighing over 10 tons," the website quoted the park chief, Miomir Korac, as saying.

The skeleton was surprisingly well-preserved, with only its skill and tusks damaged.

"What is very interesting is that the poor creature met his death and remained in a layer of some sort of gravel, which means that it is practically preserved," he went on. "We found it as it was when it died."

The skeleton possibly belongs to a species of mammoth that migrated to southern Europe from Africa about 1.5 million years ago.

"Discoveries of this species of mammoth are very rare. That fact alone speaks about its value," Korac said.

The skeleton will be restored and put on display at the archeological park.

In 1996, fossilized remains of a mammoth were found in northern Serbia's Kikinda. The fossils, estimated to be about half a million years old, have quickly become a popular tourist attraction.

[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.

[Lucin]

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

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