Russia’s Central Bank Hopes for Successful Negotiations with Ukraine

MOSCOW, April 1 (PRIME/RIA Novosti) - The Russian Central Bank is open for dialogue with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the bank's First Deputy Chairman Alexey Simanovsky said Tuesday.

"Concerning the position of the NBU, there are certain attempts to enter into negotiations. We would like to hope that they are successful," Simanovsky said while speaking to Russia's upper house of parliament.

"We are open to negotiations," he added.

Nevertheless, Simanovsky said the Bank of Russia has seen cases of suspension of consumer banking in Crimea by Ukrainian institutions.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Crimea on Monday, where he announced an ambitious plan aimed at meeting the needs of the citizens of the peninsula, which has recently reunited with Russia.

Speaking at the meeting in Crimea's capital Simferopol, Medvedev announced that Russia will designate Crimea as a special economic zone with tax breaks to attract investors. The prime minister also called for an opening of Russian bank branches across the peninsula, adding that provisions to provide loans in rubles have already been taken.

Medvedev also confirmed that an adequate supply of money has been made available to allow Crimeans to exchange into rubles all of their Ukrainian currency, which is to be phased out by the end of next year. He also vowed to protect private deposits at local banks, which total 90 billion rubles ($2.5 billion).

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Russian Delegation Warns of Walkout Over Council of Europe Expulsion

MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), an international consultative body, has threatened to walk out of the next meeting should the body move to strip the delegation of its voting rights.

Alexei Pushkov, who leads the Russian delegation, said in a speech Tuesday before the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, that delegates intended on leaving the assembly at the first sign of a vote on their sanctioning.

"It is quite likely that anti-Russia sentiment in PACE can get out of hand. In this case, we will seek to prevent the vote on stripping the Russian delegation of its power," said Pushkov, who also chairs the foreign relations committee of the Duma.

"If we see that things are moving towards that eventuality, the Russian delegation will leave the Parliamentary Assembly ahead of the vote, meaning there'll be no one to oust," he said, clarifying the delegation would explain its stance and motives behind the decision to depart before doing so.

"This doesn't mean we will leave the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly for good," the Russian MP stressed, adding Russia would still raise the issue of its representation in PACE before the end of the year.

Despite having no legislative power, the Parliamentary Assembly has significant weight in the world, especially with regards to European policy. The expulsion of Russian representatives will deal a blow to its role as an international advisory body and mediator, which has stressed the importance of global cooperation.

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Russian Lawmakers Approve Satellite Navigation Hub in Nicaragua

MOSCOW, April 1(RIA Novosti) - Russian lawmakers have endorsed draft legislation to allow the country to set up a satellite navigation monitoring system in Nicaragua, a Cabinet committee said Tuesday.

"The agreement is aimed at creating an organizational and legal framework for mutually beneficial partnership between Russia and Nicaragua in terms of exploring and using space for peaceful purposes," the official statement explained.

Under the agreement, Russia would set up a network of land-based control stations in the Latin American country to monitor and augment the accuracy of navigation satellites in Earth orbit.

It is hoped the system will boost Russia's GLONASS satellite navigation system, the only current alternative to the US's Global Positioning System (GPS) to feature global coverage and comparable accuracy.

The Nicaragua accords also propose to establish a more general cooperation program on space exploration between the two nations, including the allotment of intellectual property rights and procedures for customs controls.

In 2010, Russia finished the deployment of the full GLONASS constellation of 24 satellites, enabling complete global coverage. Since that time, the design of the satellites has undergone several upgrades, with billions of dollars spent on supporting the system.

Above all, the Russian government expects the agreement to require no additional funding. "All costs of setting up and equipping protected sites where technological knowledge can be tested in total security will be covered by partner organizations," the legislative committee that drafted the bill said.

The draft law has been passed on to the government and is set to be debated in the near future.

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Rossiya Segodnya Launches Spanish-Language News Wire

MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian international news agency Rossiya Segodnya launched on Tuesday the Spanish-language news wire, Servicio de Noticias Novosti, for its subscribers in Latin America and Spain.

The news wire, covering the most important events in Russia and the world with the focus on the targeted audience, is part of the news agency's large-scale products in various languages.

"The focus will be made on increasing the share of exclusive information and formation of agenda which is different from the one in mass media. Mainstream media journalists, especially in the United States and West Europe, prefer to ignore those problems in their countries which they usually criticize in other countries, including in Russia. Most mass media share the same stance on many world issues, including the situation around Ukraine and Crimea, Syria, Iran and the situation in the United States. They are the same. We are different," said the editor-in-chief of the news agency, Margarita Simonyan.

Rossiya Segodnya will prioritize the formation of its own news agenda of the major world events, exclusivity and deep assessment of issues, said the editor-in-chief of the news agency, Simonyan.

"The agency will be informing not only and predominantly about Russia but mostly about global events with a Russian attitude to it. Russia is a global player and its voice must always be heard. We will help everyone who is interested in the stance and attitudes of Moscow learn about them first-hand - and not just in the form of interpretation by our foreign colleagues, as is often the case," she said.

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Moscow Slams Kiev's Plans to Hire Mercenaries to Maintain Law and Order

MOSCOW, March 31 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev's plans to hire foreign private security firms to maintain law and order in Ukraine violate the country's legislation and prove that the new authorities are unable to ensure security of its citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

"It is obvious that such practices, if they are implemented, will violate the Ukrainian laws, which prohibit hiring foreigners for work even in the domestic security companies," the ministry said in a statement.

"Such initiatives prove that those who have seized power in Kiev are unable to ensure basic order in the country, and, probably, to guarantee their own security," the statement said."Lacking popular support, the Maidan authorities are ready to mobilize any help from their international sponsors, including hiring foreign mercenaries, as a last resort to secure their grip on power."

The ministry commented on media rumors reporting possible involvement of Barbados-registered Greystone Ltd, part of the Academi corporation that boasts "protective security and training solutions to customers in challenging environments," in providing security services for the Ukrainian government.

The ministry described the company as "an equivalent and, possibly, an affiliate of the Blackwater private army, whose employees have repeatedly been accused of cruel and systematic human rights abuses in various conflict zones around the world."

Blackwater was one of the three private U.S. security contractors hired to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Its guards mistakenly opened fire on Iraqi civilians in September 2007, killing 17 people, including women and children.

The company denied any wrongdoing, but its chief executive Erik Prince had to resign in 2009 amid the political backlash that followed. Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services, was sold in 2010 and later renamed Academi.

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