A photographer Marina takes a ride on a Russian military helicopter Mi-8 from Cubinka, 60 kilometers from Moscow and flying around. What she was able to see? Other military helicopters taking off and landing, rusty abandoned helicopters staying in the field, huts and houses, sawmills and hundred year old wooden structures, also the Victory Day infantry parade preparation and some more. All from above, all shot from the Mi-8 helicopter. Want to see it all? Then don’t hesitate and proceed inside.
During the Stalin’s period gold mining prospered in different corners of the USSR. The lack of this metal determined the gold finders to cherish. The Soviet state wasn’t considering the costs of such gold because again, of the great lack of this material. After Iosiv Stalin’s death such large-scale mining operations were stopped. Now, in Georgia some citizens are refreshing their grandfathers methods.
Only several families mine gold.
But farming is their main job.
Also some citizens are producing hooch.
Gold is mined near the river.
An old-fashioned machinery still works good.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – A newly formed Russian army helicopter brigade has begun training flights in the northwest of the country near the borders with the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia, a spokesman for the Western Military District said Wednesday.
“Helicopters of the army aviation brigade of the Western Military District, based in the Pskov region, have begun regular training flights in the skies over northwestern Russia,” Col. Oleg Kochetkov said.
Kochetkov said the flights involve dozens of Mi-28N Night Hunter and Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters as well as Mi-8MTV-5 and Mi-26T combat transport helicopters.
The 15th army aviation brigade, formed in December and stationed at the Ostrov airbase, is fully equipped with new, recently-built helicopters. The brigade currently comprises three helicopter squadrons, with two more to be added in the near future.
Media in the former Soviet Baltic states, as well as Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom, have expressed security concerns about Russia’s decision to station the 15th brigade near NATO’s borders.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier announced the beginning of military drills of units from the Southern and Western military districts near the borders with Ukraine and the Baltic states in response to an “unprecedented” increase of NATO military activity near Russia amid the Ukrainian crisis.
The combat drills come as NATO is ramping up its military presence in the region.
© RIA Novosti.
Mi-28N Night Hunter: The main attack helicopter of the Russian Air Force
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced earlier this month that the alliance would intensify air patrols over Eastern Europe and dispatch extra ships to the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas due to the crisis in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO was attempting to use the Ukrainian crisis as an imaginary threat to unite the alliance’s members and to push for Moscow's isolation.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed in a phone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi the situation in Ukraine and the necessity for all concerned parties to respect this month's Geneva agreement, the Kremlin said Wednesday.
“Both leaders have exchanged opinions on the situation in Ukraine and stressed, in particular, the necessity for all parties to respect Geneva commitments of April 17,” the Kremlin press service said.
Putin and Renzi also discussed the current issues of Russian-Italian cooperation in various arenas, including energy.
On April 17 in Geneva, top diplomats from Russia, the United States, Europe and Ukraine agreed a number of measures aimed at the de-escalation of tensions in the crisis-hit country, including the disarmament of irregular militant groups and a dialogue on constitutional reforms.
Last week, Ukraine's acting President Oleksander Turchinov ordered security forces to resume a special operation in the country’s east to crack down on pro-federalization protests.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite the Geneva agreement calling for the end of violence and total rejection of extremism, the Right Sector movement continues to stage its provocations in Ukraine, including targeting Ukrainians.
BRUSSELS, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The newly imposed US sanctions against Russia will not affect the work of the International Launch Services (ILS) company, a spokesperson for the Luxembourg-based satellite fleet operator SES told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“This is what ILS told us. International Launch Services has all the necessary permits from the US Department of State to execute the previously scheduled launches till 2016,” Yves Feltes said.
“Any new licenses will be considered by the US Department of State on a case-by-case basis. As for the current sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department against Russian citizens and companies, they did not affect our work,” Feltes added.
The ILS Company sells commercial contracts for satellites on the Russian Proton rocket. Its majority interest belong to Russia’s Khrunichev, which builds the Proton.
Telecommunications satellites built for SES, Turkish Turksat and British Immarsat are now scheduled for launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan. An Inmarsat spokesperson earlier told RIA Novosti that the company remains on course to launch their second and third Global Xpress satellites by the end of the year.
Media reports emerged earlier suggesting the liftoff could be cancelled as the satellites contain some US-manufactured electronic components which fall under US export restrictions.
The United States announced Monday it had restricted exports of high-tech defense products to Russia.
“Effective immediately, the department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls will deny pending applications for export or re-export of any high technology defense articles or services. In addition, the department is taking actions to revoke any existing export licenses which meet these conditions. All other pending applications and existing licenses will receive a case-by-case evaluation to determine their contribution to Russia’s military capabilities,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti), Nikita Alentyev – The latest round of sanctions against Russia will ultimately result in greater political stability within Russia, Israeli political activist Avigdor Eskin told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“Notably, the level of political approval to those in power, and hence the political stability, is unprecedented in the face of Western sanctions. This is sort of a gift to President Putin and it is up to him now to use it wisely,” he said, explaining that this kind of national accord was unthinkable just a little over a year ago.
Together with the new phase of sanctions, the European Commission said it is working on the next phase of stricter limitations targeting Russia’s economy. Eskin dismissed speculation on possible sanctions, focusing on those measures that are already in force.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate about possible further sanctions, but the current ones are, essentially, a ‘cure’ for Russia’s longstanding economic illness,” Eskin said.
“Russia has been lacking a mobilization factor much needed to reform the resource-driven and export-oriented economy into a system focused on manufacturing and services. The Western actions and what Ukraine is doing would be that necessary mobilization factor,” he said, stressing that history has shown countries have been able to emerge out of isolationist attacks stronger and more resilient.
Speaking on more specific consequences of the sanctions, Eskin mentioned the return of Russian capital into the country as a way to offset capital flight from risk-averse foreign investors.
“This would also make for appropriate circumstances for the return of capital to the country, as no Russian businessman is currently confident in what is to happen to their money abroad, which would re-direct capital back into Russia,” he said.
Eskin said that the wording chosen for sanctions aims to stress that those decision-makers “in charge” of Crimean reunification should be “held responsible,” although, in fact, these very people deserve a “thank you,” rather than a punishment.
“The territorial transformations associated with Crimea can only evoke gratitude to those in charge. Never has a transformation of such kind been so bloodless. The people yearned for reunification and their will was fulfilled. In this respect, it is very difficult to understand the grounds for criticism against Moscow,” he explained.
On Monday, the US imposed sanctions against 7 Russian individuals and 17 Russian companies, accusing Moscow of failing to meet its commitments under the Geneva accords and further escalating the crisis.
On Tuesday, the European Union also imposed sanctions on 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials. Most of those listed in the EU sanctions expand on the US list.
Later that day, Japan also announced additional sanctions against Russia over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Tokyo said it will deny visas to 23 Russian nationals, including government officials, amid Moscow’s "lack of visible action to reduce tensions in Ukraine."
Moscow has repeatedly warned that talking in the language of sanctions is "inappropriate and counterproductive" and warned its Western partners about the "boomerang effect" that sanctions would have.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa met in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss Middle East issues, including Syria, Iran and the Israeli-Palestininian situation.
"I’d like to talk with you about your vision of the situation in the region as a whole. I mean all the components of this rather complicated process: the Israeli-Palestinian settlement, the situation in Egypt – I am curious to know the opinion of your government," Putin said.
The geopolitical situation in the region is "unbalanced,” Al Khalifa responded.
The Russian president said that while Russia and Bahrain "cannot boast of having large-scale economic relations," the diplomatic and political relations between the two countries have always been very good.
According to Al-Khalifa, the King of Bahrain has requested Putin to do whatever is necessary to improve and intensify bilateral relations, adding that Russia and Bahrain have already achieved success in military and technical cooperation.
He said that the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company have signed a memorandum of understanding, and that Bahrain’s national airline will launch direct Moscow flights.
"I believe that it is the right time now … for us to develop and improve our relationship. I'm 44 years old and, to my shame, I can say that this is only my first visit to Russia. Your country is great. The Russian people, Russian culture, architecture and history have moved me," the crown prince said.
KIEV, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian Acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia hopes to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the release of European military observers detained in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk.
“I submitted a request for a telephone talk with the Russian foreign minister and we hope that all these efforts will result in the release of the hostages,” Deshchytsia said during a press briefing Wednesday.
Late last week, activists in Slaviansk detained on suspicion of espionage 11 members of a military mission under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including eight Europeans and three Ukrainians.
Following negotiations, one of the OSCE team members, Swedish military officer Ingvi Thomas Johanson, was released for medical reasons.
Deshchytsia said that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was in close contact with officials from the home countries of the citizens being held by self-defense forces in Slaviansk, in particular Germany, Poland and Denmark.
“We also conduct regular consultations with the OSCE Monitoring Mission,” the acting minister said, adding that the head of the mission is currently in Donetsk for meetings with regional authorities to assess the situation.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky announced that Kiev had devised a plan to secure the release of the OSCE observers. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called on Russia Monday to help secure the release of the remaining inspectors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope Tuesday that the inspectors would soon be free to leave.
“I hope that this conflict will be resolved and they [the observers] will be able to leave … but all involved in this process should draw conclusions from this situation and analyze it thoroughly,” Putin told reporters after a summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Belarus.
He also stressed that the Ukrainian authorities should have discussed the visit of OSCE observers with pro-federalization activists who do not recognize the Kiev regime and control the area.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – A third of Russians who took part in a recent Happiness Index survey said they were the happiest they had been in 25 years.
Some 78 percent of respondents told pollsters from the VTsIOM public opinion research center they were content about their lives, the highest figure in 25 years.
Young people in the 18-25 age bracket appear to be the happiest, the study revealed. They made up 92 percent of happy respondents.
The index has climbed one percent since last year. According to researchers, the happiness level among Russians remained above a record 77 percent for two years running.
One in three respondents said happiness for them was linked with their family life, their children and grandchildren, as well as an interesting job and education, while the number of those who though it was good just to be alive has doubled, pollsters said.
They added that the unhappy ones among Russians complained about a low standard of life and bad health.
The Happiness Index was derived from the total number of those who said they were “definitely happy” and “quite happy” as opposed to “rather unhappy” and “definitely unhappy” people. It is calculated in the range of -100 to 100.
The survey was conducted among 1,600 respondents across 45 Russian regions.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – AEM-Technologies, an engineering division of Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom, has won a tender to build a reactor for the world’s largest MBIR multifunctional fast neutron nuclear reactor, the Atomenergomash holding said Wednesday.
Russia, the United States and France signed a deal last June to jointly conduct research at the reactor in Dimitrovgrad in Russia’s Volga region, in hopes of studying new types of nuclear fuel, construction materials and coolants.
The MBIR is planned to have a capacity of about 150 megawatts, making it the most powerful research reactor in the world. The project is expected to cost 16.4 billion rubles ($454 million).
AEM-Technologies will build the reactor vessel and vessel internals, the statement said.
A multi-purpose international research center will be established as part of the project, which will also produce radioactive isotopes for medical purposes. The research reactor is scheduled to come online in 2020.
Unlike today's reactors, which slow down neutrons, the new reactor will allow them to run fast, producing much less waste and potentially breeding new fuel in the process.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Kerch Strait Ferry Line, linking southern Russia’s Krasnodar region with Crimea, will stop freight services May 1 in an effort to triple the capacity for passengers, the United Transport Directorate of Russia said Wednesday.
“Since the beginning of the tourist season from May 1, the ferry line Port Caucasus to Port Crimea will be redirected only for passenger transportation services in an effort to increase the traffic capacity from 2,000 to 6,000 people a day,” the directorate said in a statement.
Freight shippers will be able to use an alternative route to Crimea through the port city of Novorossiysk to the Crimean resort town of Feodosia, which opened on Tuesday.
The directorate said the new freight ferry Poseidon Express, operating the route between Novorossiysk and the sea commercial port in Feodosia, can house nearly 120 heavy transporters. The trip lasts for 9 hours.
The German-built ferry, which is able to carry 81 passengers and 17 crew members, has 34 cabins making it convenient for drivers to rest during the trip, the statement said.
Crimean Tourism Minister Yelena Yurchenko said earlier this month Russia’s newest region of Crimea was ready to receive six million tourists this year.
Crimea, previously an autonomous republic within Ukraine, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the government in Kiev which seized power as a result of a coup in February, instead rejoining Russia following a referendum on the issue.
Late last month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev proposed a sweeping development program to improve the lives of Crimea’s residents, ranging from revamping the region’s healthcare and education systems to boosting its ailing economy.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – China strongly opposes unilateral sanctions against Russia, Beijing's ambassador to Moscow told reporters Wednesday, adding that US and EU sanctions would not resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
“We are against imposing unilateral sanctions on Russia. They are not a way out,” Chinese Ambassador Li Hui said.
The remarks followed Washington’s announcement on Monday that it had added seven high-ranking Russian officials and 17 Russian companies to a blacklist of sanctioned persons.
On Tuesday, the European Union agreed to fall in line with Washington and added another 15 Russian and Ukrainian individuals to its sanctions list. Among those targeted are Russia’s military chief of staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, and intelligence chief Igor Sergun, as well as six pro-federalization activists from Ukraine’s southeastern regions.
Li’s comments echoed a statement by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang earlier this week that “imposing sanctions is not helpful in terms of solving the problem. It will only exacerbate tensions.”
The Chinese minister called on all parties to continue dialog and promote a political solution. “Imposing sanctions goes against the interests of all parties," he said.
At the same time, Li lauded the continued growth of Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation, adding there was a marked rise in trade turnover in recent years.
Beijing has been cementing its business ties with Moscow amid strained relations between Russia and the EU. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China in May to sign a number of bilateral agreements, including on potential Russian gas supplies to China.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that Russia economy is already in recession as it has been contracting for two consecutive quarters, IMF's mission chief to Russia said Wednesday.
"If we stick to the definition of recession as negative growth for two consecutive quarters, then Russia in this sense is currently experiencing a recession," Antonio Spilimbergo the head of the IMF mission to Russia and adviser to IMF's European Department said at a press conference Wednesday
The IMF notes that the slowdown in the Russian economy, based on pre-existing structural problems, was exacerbated by geopolitical uncertainties related to the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian Ministry of Economic Development, seasonally adjusted GDP in the first quarter of 2014 decreased by 0.5 % against the same period last year. This is a first-time decline after three consecutive quarters of growth, the ministry reminded Tuesday. At the same time Russian Ministry of Finance last week did not rule out a possible decline in the second or third quarter.
MEXICO City, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Peru hopes that free trade zone talks with Russia will lead to a beneficial experience exchange between the two nations, Peru’s Foreign Minister Eda Rivas told RIA Novosti.
“We proposed to go ahead with a free trade agreement, which offers possibilities for experience exchange. As for economic cooperation, our goal is to expand and diversify exports, including non-traditional exports, and promote investment,” Eda Rivas said.
This comes ahead of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s planned visit to Peru later today. The Russian foreign policy chief is to meet with his Peruvian counterpart Eda Rivas and President Ollanta Humala, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“I hope for an open dialog where we will look in detail at all the main points of our rich bilateral agenda. It is the 45th anniversary of our diplomatic relations which is marked against the backdrop of strengthening bilateral ties in the sphere of education, health, science and technology, military and technical cooperation, among others. And I hope for more progress,” Ms. Rivas told RIA Novosti.
In 2013, Peru offered Russia to set up a free trade zone. Russia’s exports to Peru include fertilizers, metal rolls, aircraft spare parts, and petroleum produce. On the list of its imports are lead and zinc concentrates, fish flour, frozen fish and other seafood.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its growth forecast for the Russian economy for 2014 and 2015 to 0.2 % and 1%, respectively, IMF advisor Antonio Spilimbergo said Wednesday.
"We adjusted the forecast for economic growth in Russia. We expect growth of 0,2 % this year," Spilimbergo said.
He added that next year, the IMF predicts 1% growth for Russia's GDP.
The previous IMF growth forecast for the Russian economy was 1.3 % for 2014 and 2.3% for 2015.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a surplus for Russian federal budget, amounting to 0.34 % of GDP in 2014, IMF advisor Antonio Spilimbergo said at the press conference of IMF’s European Department Wednesday.
“This year we expect a budget surplus at the federal level of 0.3 % compared with a deficit last year,” Spilimbergo said.
In February Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the budget in 2014 is expected to be balanced, with an approved federal budget deficit of 0.5 % of GDP. As of 2013 the federal budget deficit stood at 0.5% of GDP.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – More than 2,200 Ukrainian citizens have applied for asylum in Russia since the beginning of the year, a dramatic increase over last year, the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) said Wednesday.
“Since early 2014, Russia received 2,266 asylum applications from Ukrainian citizens,” the service said in a statement, adding that last year just five Ukrainians applied for asylum.
FMS Director Konstantin Romodanovsky said Tuesday that the signs of a looming humanitarian disaster in Ukraine were growing and the situation was alarming.
After the political crisis erupted in Kiev, Ukraine became the single greatest source of asylum seekers in Russia, which recently relaxed citizenship requirements for Russian speakers in the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine has been swept by unrest since last November when the so-called Maidan mass rallies began in Kiev. The country underwent a regime change resembling a military coup in late February, leading to the ouster of the legitimate president, Viktor Yanukovych.
Eastern regions of the country have refused to acknowledge Kiev’s new authorities and continue to protest, calling for federalization and referendums on greater autonomy.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Zalyv Shipyard in Crimea’s port of Kerch could soon be commissioned to construct Arctic supertankers, a spokesman for Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation said Wednesday.
“Crimea has the only shipbuilding yard in Russia with a slab measured 300 meters in length and up to 50 meters in width. Such a slab allows building supertankers and gas carriers with a deadweight of over 150,000 tons,” Alexei Kravchenko said.
He added that smaller tankers would be less competitive as they would significantly increase the cost of transporting oil and gas.
The statement came on the heels of comments by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who said Tuesday that all defense industry plants in Crimea will be involved in the modernization of the Russian Black Sea fleet and the construction of Arctic vessels.
Currently, only shipyards in St. Petersburg and the Far East are receiving such orders, the spokesman said.
Arctic territories, believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves, have increasingly been at the center of disputes between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark as rising temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice.
Russia submitted a territorial claim for the Lomonosov Ridge, believed to hold vast hydrocarbon deposits, to the United Nations in 2001 but it was turned down over a lack of evidence. Norway, Canada, Denmark and the United States have also laid claims to the territory.
Russian Nature Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi told President Vladimir Putin in early April that a revised claim will be ready this fall.
WASHINGTON, April 30 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – Joint Russia-US space launches will not be affected by the latest round of sanctions against Russia, representatives of the Sea Launch and Inmarsat companies told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
Sea Launch, the world's only ocean-based space launch company, said it does not anticipate any impact on operations for the foreseeable future.
“All the necessary licenses have already been secured by Sea Launch’s US prime contractor, Energia Logistics, Ltd. and remain in effect. It is our view that the commercial launch services provided by Sea Launch do not meet the criteria established by the latest US State Department sanctions,” Sea Launch spokesman Peter Stier told RIA Novosti.
Stier added that although some joint operations with Russia might be in question, the EUTELSAT 3B launch schedule will not be impacted as a result of the latest round of US sanctions announced on April 28.
Inmarsat reported that they too anticipate no ill effects from the sanctions.
Inmarsat spokesman Jonathon Sinnatt told RIA Novosti that the company remains on course to launch their second and third Global Xpress satellites by the end of the year.
On Monday, the US announced an expansion of its sanctions list, adding seven high-ranking Russian officials and 17 Russian companies to the blacklist.
While announcing the sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney accused Russia of failing to meet its Geneva commitments and being behind recent violence in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly warned that talking in the language of sanctions is “inappropriate and counterproductive” and warned its Western partners about the “boomerang effect” that sanctions would have.
Sea Launch is an international non-governmental spacecraft launch service established in 1995 as a consortium of four companies from Norway, Russia, Ukraine and the United States. The company uses a mobile maritime platform off the coast of Los Angeles for equatorial launches of commercial payloads.
After Sea Launch emerged from bankruptcy in October 2010, a Russian corporation became majority owner of the reorganized entity, with Boeing and other American companies retaining minority shares.
Established in 1979 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Inmarsat offers communication solutions where terrestrial telecom networks cannot reach. Inmarsat is working on a Global Xpress network powered by three Inmarast-5 satellites launched on Proton rockets by International Launch Services from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The leadership of Cuba supports Russia’s stance on the situation in Ukraine and opposes double standards and sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met this week with Cuban President Raul Castro and his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla during a visit to the Caribbean country, his first stop on a tour of Latin America.
Lavrov also held informal talks with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
“The sides stressed their full commonality of approaches, in view of strengthening multilateral principles in world affairs, multipolarity and mutual respect,” the ministry said in a statement.
Lavrov underlined the need to end the economic, trade and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba, which has imposed severe hardships on the Cuban people.
During the talks, held in a friendly atmosphere, the sides exchanged views on a range of issues of bilateral cooperation, including the development of political dialogue, trade, and economic and cultural ties.
“The sides discussed particular aspects of coordination on the global arena, expressing support for strengthening Russia’s cooperation with the Latin American states, including their integration alliances,” the statement said.
The parties voiced plans to continue building up a strategic partnership between Moscow and Havana.
The fate of Crimea, formerly an autonomous republic within Ukraine and part of Russia since last month, has triggered the most serious geopolitical showdown between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.
Russia, which has been recently targeted by US and EU sanctions against both individuals and companies, has repeatedly warned that talking in the language of sanctions is “inappropriate and counterproductive” and warned its Western partners about the “boomerang effect” that sanctions would have.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian energy giant Gazprom is pressing ahead with its plan to build an Austrian branch of the South Stream natural gas pipeline after being held up for months by the European Commission.
On Tuesday, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller signed a memorandum of understanding with Austrian OMV chief Gerhard Reuss that aims to bring Russian natural gas to Europe via a route that bypasses Ukraine.
The Austrian spur of Gazprom’s pipeline is designed to carry an annual 32 billion cubic meters of gas from Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast across Serbia and Hungary to the Baumgarten gas transport hub in Austria.
The two companies said they expected to obtain all necessary permits by the end of next year, with the first deliveries scheduled in 2017 and the full commissioning due by January 2018.
The memorandum will also allow Gazprom to use OMV’s gas reservoirs in Austria and introduce the Russian energy major to the Central European Gas Hub (CEGH), an Austrian trading platform for international gas corporations.
Gazprom has long been seeking to gain access to the natural gas junction in Baumgarten, which is physically owned by OMV and conveniently located in the heart of Europe.
The construction of South Stream’s Austrian leg was agreed on by Moscow and Vienna in 2010, creating a legal basis for the pipeline construction. The same year, Gazprom and OMV set up a joint venture to run the gas pipeline project, to continue 40 kilometers from the Hungarian border.
Under the deal, Gazprom was also to purchase 50 percent of CEGH shares, before the European Commission threw a wrench in the works leading to a change in South Stream’s path that now takes the main pipeline through Slovenia to Italy’s Tarvisio.
The current South Stream project closely follows the route mapped out for the abandoned Nabucco pipeline, which was devised as an alternative to Russian gas transports and frozen after Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan refused to give it the green light.
Currently, nearly a third of all Russian gas exports to Europe pass through Ukraine, posing a threat to European energy security due to the country’s repeated disruptions and continuing conflict with Gazprom over gas prices.
MOSCOW, April 30 (RIA Novosti) – The decision to send a group of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) member-states to eastern Ukraine’s Slaviansk could have been Kiev’s provocation, Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin has said.
In remarks to the incident over the detention of OSCE team in Slaviansk, Churkin told a meeting of the UN Security Council on Ukraine on Tuesday: “This was either a provocation of the Kiev authorities or I am sorry, stupidity.”
“They had been invited by the Kiev authorities, as they were responsible for their security. How can you place guests in a bus and send them without an arrangement to a region, controlled by self-defense forces, without giving them the respective documents, confirming their status,” he said.
Churkin added, “We are trying to assist the release of the observers.”
A bus carrying seven members of an OSCE observer mission in Ukraine and five Ukrainian military officers was seized by pro-federalization protesters in eastern city of Slaviansk on April 25. People's mayor of Slaviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said the monitors and Ukrainian military officials who accompanied them were detained on suspicion of “espionage.”
After negotiations, one of the OSCE team members, Swedish military officer Ingvi Thomas Johanson, was released for medical reasons. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called on Russia Monday to help secure the release of the remaining OSCE inspectors.
On Tuesday, Churkin also accused the coup-imposed Kiev authorities of pushing the country to a catastrophe by having done nothing to comply with Ukraine's commitment under the Geneva deal.
On April 17 in Geneva, top diplomats from Russia, the United States, Europe and Ukraine agreed a number of measures aimed at the de-escalation of tensions in the crisis-hit country, including the disarmament of irregular militant groups and a dialogue on constitutional reforms.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney accused Russia of doing nothing to meet its Geneva commitments and of involvement in the recent violence in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the West’s accusations as ungrounded.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova – The European Union’s executive body is preparing broad economic sanctions against Russia, but hopes it will not have to implement them, the head of the EU mission in Moscow Vygaudas Ušackas told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
The EU has said it has a three-stage sanctions process. The third stage, not yet reached, would be broad economic sanctions against entire sectors of the Russian economy.
“The preparative work is being done by the European commission on the possible decision for the third stage of restrictive measures which may evolve also some of the economic aspects of the relationship,” Ušackas said.
“I hope we will not have to decide upon them and we have to do our utmost to use that window which we have in front of us,” he said.
The EU announced targeted sanctions against 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials on this week, following a similar expansion of the United States' sanctions list on Monday.
“The sanctions are indeed considered to be a last resort measure to influence the decision making and the behavior of the partners concerned,” Ušackas told RIA Novosti.
“The fact that the EU is signing a new round of sanctions on such an important partner like Russia is a sign that things are not going well and that we respond to the lack of actions especially with respect towards escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” he added.
The head of the EU mission in Moscow also hoped that the new sanctions announced on Tuesday would urge Russia to do more to ease tensions in Ukraine and deliver on the commitments of the Geneva agreement.
“We know that Ukraine as a country itself is a mosaic of representation of different political forces,” he added. “What matters is that we, as responsible global players, the Russian Federation, European Union and the United States, do our utmost to deliver the commitments we made in Geneva, and I want to reiterate that Geneva is only one platform we all four agreed upon so as to make very concrete and tangible steps to support stabilization and de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Ušackas said.
Top diplomats from Russia, EU, US and Ukraine’s interim government gathered in the Swiss city of Geneva on April 17 and agreed on a framework to deescalate the crisis in Ukraine, calling on the sides in the standoff to refrain from violence.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev authorities are aggravating the crisis in Ukraine by taking illegitimate actions instead of contributing to its settlement, Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said during a session of parliament Tuesday.
“The new Ukrainian authorities that came to power on the back of a coup continue their illegitimate chain of actions, and therefore only aggravate a deep crisis and civil standoff in Ukraine instead of taking steps towards de-escalation of crisis and avoiding new casualties,” Naryshkin said at the meeting of the State Duma working group on monitoring Ukrainian legislation.
“Take, for instance, a law on presidential elections adopted by Ukrainian parliament,” Naryshkin said, explaining that according to the new legislation elections would be valid even if the majority of Ukraine’s citizens do not vote.
“Of course in such a situation, Russia cannot remain uninvolved, we have to facilitate extensive international dialogue aimed at resolving this crisis within legal boundaries,” the Russian official noted.
He stressed that a number of Western partners prefer not to go into legal details and “take the Ukrainian government’s word for it, supported by the US and EU leaders.”
Pro-federalization rallies have been spreading across southeastern Ukraine since a regime change took place in Kiev in February. Ukraine’s parliament has scheduled early presidential elections for May 25.
Protesters in Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine have called for referendums and the creation of independent people’s republics. The Donetsk region plans to hold such a referendum on May 11. Moscow has repeatedly expressed doubts about the legitimacy of upcoming presidential elections saying they violate international laws and urging Kiev to take into consideration the demands of all citizens of Ukraine.
HAVANA, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow repudiates recently imposed US and EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian standoff, and calls for national reconciliation in Ukraine through all-inclusive political dialogue, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
"We denounce sanctions in all their forms, including those that have been announced by the United States and the EU against all common sense due to events in Ukraine,” Lavrov said during talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla in Havana.
“We insist on immediate resolution [of the crisis in Ukraine] through all-Ukrainian national dialogue,” Lavrov said.
The European Union on Tuesday imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials.
The decision brings to 48 the number of people that the EU has put under sanctions in response to Crimea’s reunification with Russia, which the West does not acknowledge, as well as Russia’s position on Ukraine.
The news came after the US Treasury Department announced Monday it had imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and visa bans, on seven Russian individuals as well as 17 Russian companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle.”
The European Union followed the US move on Tuesday, announcing sanctions on 15 additional Russian and Ukrainian officials. Most of those listed in the EU sanctions expanded on the US list.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that talking in the language of sanctions is “inappropriate and counterproductive” and warned its Western partners about the “boomerang effect” that sanctions would have.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – At least three explosions rocked a military ammunition depot located to the east of Russia’s Lake Baikal, a local official told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“According to preliminary reports, three blasts hit an ammo depot near the village of Bolshaya Tura,” the source said.
“Local residents are being evacuated, although no casualties have been reported so far,” the official said.
Some four hundred people were evacuated from the danger zone, according to a local law enforcement source.
Neither the Defense Ministry nor the Emergencies Ministry have officially confirmed the incident.
The incident is the latest in a string of fires and explosions at munitions storage and disposal sites that have plagued Russia over the past two years.
There were two fatal explosions of stockpiled ammunition in Russia last year, down from five the previous year.
Critics of the military attribute the persisting problem of exploding army ammunition depots as the outcome of poor oversight and lax safety standards.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia remains the only consistent advocate of Christians in the Middle East, where "Christian communities are being exposed to genuine genocide," Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said in an interview with RIA Novosti Tuesday.
"Western countries, which were helping Christians in the region for centuries, have denied them support and almost officially recommended them to leave the region and move to other countries,” said Hilarion, who oversees the Russian Orthodox Church's external relations.
“I was told this by, for example, Maronites [members of one of the Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches] who have been living in Syria and Lebanon for centuries. They were disappointed by France, which had been traditionally supporting them but is refusing to defend them now. Our country has remained the sole defender of the Christian presence in the region. Many Christians remaining in flashpoints are relying on [Russia],” he said.
Christians are currently facing unprecedented persecution in the Middle East, he stressed.
“Christian communities in some countries are being exposed to genuine genocide” because of the spread of terrorism and extremism on religious grounds, Metropolitan Hilarion said.
“[The Russian Orthodox Church] on a regular basis receives reports on the destruction and desecration of Christian churches, kidnapping of clerics, beheading of Christians, mass graves of killed Christians being found, exiles of Christian families from their homes …, shelling of Christian residential areas," he said.
Extremists aim to completely expel Christians from their places of residence by means of terror or physical destruction, the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
Developed countries have to use political instruments for resolve this crisis, Hilarion added.
Three years have passed since the European Parliament signed a resolution titled the “Situation of Christians in the Context of Freedom of Religion,” but a mechanism for monitoring compliance of freedom of conscience in the world was not created, the Hilarion said.
“International institutions do not react to violations of rights of the Syrian civil population, including Christians. I would even say that actions and statements of representatives of some Western powers rather contribute to further polarization of society," Metropolitan Hilarion said.
He urged all political forces to “approach what is happening in Syria with responsibility” and base their actions on the interests of the Syrian people.
NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – In the past decade, Russian scientists have gathered enough scientific evidence to substantiate the country’s territorial claim for hydrocarbon-rich areas of the Arctic shelf, a leading Russian scientist said Tuesday.
Valery Vernikovsky of the Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics said a UN commission rejected Russia’s previous claim in the early 2000s with the justification that “geological and geophysical issues were not properly studied.”
“That’s why several scientific institutes, including ours, have studied these problems under the supervision of the [Federal Agency for Subsoil Use] Rosnedra and the Nature Resources Ministry,” he said.
Russia submitted a territorial claim for the Lomonosov Ridge to the United Nations in 2001 but it was turned down over a lack of evidence. Norway, Canada, Denmark and the United States have also laid claims to the territory.
The territory is believed to hold vast hydrocarbon deposits, which are becoming more accessible as rising global temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice.
Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed by Russia in 1997, if a country can prove its continental shelf extends beyond the 200-mile limit, it can claim a right to more of the ocean floor.
If Russia proves that the Lomonosov Ridge and the Mendeleev Ridge are an extension of the Russian continental shelf, the country will receive the right to the additional 1.2 million square kilometers in the Arctic and to the development of huge oil and gas fields in the triangle formed by the Chukotka Peninsula, Murmansk and the North Pole.
Russia should gather conclusive evidence that the areas are made up of continental rather than oceanic crust and therefore constitute a natural extension of the Eurasian continent, Vernikovsky said.
The scientist said that a series of studies, including sample drilling at a depth of over 2,500 meters, have provided sufficient evidence to prove that that the Lomonosov and the Mendeleev Ridges are made of continental crust about 460-470 million years old.
However, he said, the decision about Russia’s claim will be political rather than scientific.
Russian Nature Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi told President Vladimir Putin in early April that Russia’s new bid will be ready this fall.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian senators approved a bill establishing a national card payment system (NCPS) at a session of the Federation Council on Tuesday.
The ruble sign will become the official mark of the system, which will be formed by the Central Bank of Russia.
Lawmakers have significantly tightened requirements for payment system operators with clearing and settlement centers outside Russia.
Specifically, the law obliges foreign payment systems starting July 1 to make quarterly contributions to a special account in the Bank of Russia in the amount of 25% of the average daily turnover. In addition, penalties are introduced for operators of payment systems for unilateral termination of customer service.
The system would be organized as a joint stock company with 100 percent of the shares owned by the Central Bank. The regulator will retain full control over the clearinghouse for two years after the launch of the system, at which time the Bank of Russia will have the right to sell shares, but buyers cannot accumulate more than a 10 percent stake.
The NCPS strategy will be developed by the Board of Directors consisting of nine members.
According to Central Bank estimates, the creation of infrastructure for the launch of the NCPS may take up to six months, however, the distribution of these cards to the public could take up to two years.
The country’s banks welcome plans to establish a national card payment processing system as recent Ukraine-related sanctions saw several Russian banks denied service by Visa and MasterCard, troubling the general public and raising concern over the security of the country’s financial system.
MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, approved a bill Tuesday introducing criminal punishment of up to five years in jail for the rehabilitation of Nazism.
The legislation criminalizes the denial of facts set out by the post-war Nuremberg trials and the dissemination of false information on the actions of the Soviet Union during the war. It also introduces fines for desecrating war monuments.
The bill was backed by a total of 130 Russian senators and opposed by just one, while two senators abstained from the vote.
Under the proposed law, the rehabilitation of Nazism is punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($8,400) or three years in jail.
If a state official commits that offense, he or she would be sent to prison for up to five years or face a fine of up to 500,000 rubles ($14,000) and be barred from government posts for up to three years.
Publicly desecrating symbols of Russian military glory or spreading information disrespecting public holidays related to the country’s defense will be punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($8,400) or community service for up to a year.
The authors of the bill say that national legislation in Austria, Germany, Belgium and France envisage criminal punishment for public denial, approval or justifying Nazi crimes during WWII as well as crimes against humanity set out by the Nuremberg Tribunal verdict.
Russian lawmakers have long criticized the “glorification of Nazism” in some post-Soviet republics, such as Ukraine and the Baltic states, which had resilient insurgencies that alternatively cooperated with and opposed both the Soviets and the Nazis during the war.
Many modern radical nationalists in these countries see the leaders of the war-era resistance as national heroes, despite their cooperation with the Nazis and, in some cases, involvement in genocide.