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Bloomberg: Russian GDP Grew in February for First Time Since November 2008
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Bloomberg: Russia May Lower Rates This Month on Lending Decline (Update1)
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions -
Bloomberg: Lukoil, Polyus Gold, Raspadskaya: Russian Stock-Market Preview
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Bloomberg: Rusal Shares Rise After Credit Suisse Rates Stock ‘Outperform’
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Reuters: Bank of Moscow clears Eurobond guidance –source
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RBC: Mechel to float bonds in March
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Reuters: Russia's Belon to up coal supply to MMK, stop export
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Mining Weekly: Rio Tinto in talks with Norilsk after Russian miner ends JV
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Bloomberg; RenCap’s Sacks Aims to Complete South Africa Hires in 6 Months
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Bloomberg: Norilsk to End Rio Tinto Venture, Review BHP Accord (Update2)
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Cbonds: Fitch Rates Insurance Group MSK at IFS ‘BB’; Withdraws Moscow Insurance Co Ratings on Merger
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RenCap: Sollers and Fiat offer VEB 10% in future JV
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BizJournals: MAG makes $9M Russian deal
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Reuters: Mutual need brings Russia, western car makers closer
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory) -
The Moscow Times: Cabinet to Study Higher Gas Extraction Tax - The government will consider raising the gas extraction tax for the first time since 2006 to help close budget gaps left by the country's worst economic crisis on record, a government official said in an interview published Wednesday.
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Itar-Tass: Azerbaijan ready to transit hydrocarbons from Asia to Europe through its pipes
Gazprom -
Bloomberg: Gazprom Offers Buyers ‘Incentive’ to Exceed Minimum Volumes
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Bloomberg: Gazprom Sees LNG Competing With Shale Gas, Targets U.S. Market
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Bloomberg: Gazprom Hails Ukraine Gas Pipeline Venture Idea After Disputes
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Financiarul: Gazprom accepted on Romanian OPCOM market
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Full Text Articles Basic Political Developments Reuters: U.S. military chief eyes START successor deal soon
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-46638920100304
Thu Mar 4, 2010 6:40am IST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer said on Wednesday he hoped for an agreement in "the next few weeks" on a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.
Negotiations will resume next week on a successor to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START 1.
"I'm heavily involved right now ... in the negotiations for the follow-on START treaty," Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an audience at Kansas State University.
Mullen said the original START treaty had been "very successful historically."
"I think the one that will follow, hopefully in the next few weeks, will also both reduce weapons but recognize both countries still have them. And quiet frankly both countries still have the potential to wipe each other out."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he hoped for agreement "in the very near future."
Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama have agreed the treaty must cut deployed warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 on both sides.
Estimates of the nuclear stockpiles vary, but the U.S.-based Bulletin of Atomic Scientists estimated at the start of 2009 the United States had about 2,200 operationally deployed nuclear warheads and Russia about 2,790.
Russian and U.S. negotiators have been working for months in Geneva to hammer out a new treaty. They missed a target of Dec. 5, when START expired.
A new pact could ease strained ties between Washington and Moscow and emphasize their commitment to nuclear disarmament at a time when major powers are pressing Iran and North Korea to renounce their nuclear ambitions.
(Reporting by Adam Entous and Phil Stewart; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Itar-Tass: Chairman of US Chiefs of Staff hopes new START will be signed shortly
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14884213
04.03.2010, 05.23
WASHINGTON, March 4 (Itar-Tass) -- A new strategic offensive arms reduction treaty that should replace START-1 may be adopted within weeks, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen said.
Mullen said he was seriously engrossed in this work and described START-1 as historically very successful.
He expressed hope that the new treaty would be signed within weeks and that it, too, would reduce the number of weapons.
The admiral admitted that the existing arsenals in the United States and Russia were enough to destroy each other.
Itar-Tass: RF, China receive Sextet’s proposals on harsher sanctions against Iran
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14884388&PageNum=0
04.03.2010, 07.41
UNITED NATIONS, March 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Western members of the Sextet have provided the delegations of Russia and China with their proposals regarding harsher sanctions against Iran.
A diplomatic source at the U.N. Headquarters said on Wednesday that the proposals included additional measures against members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, as well as harsher sanctions in the fields of sea transportation, banking and insurance.
Russian Permanent Representative to the U.N. Vitaly Churkin said earlier this week that opportunities for the talks with Iran were still open.
“The position of Russia is that it is necessary to search for political and diplomatic solutions and opportunities for the talks with Iran,” he said.
The Russian diplomat expressed hope that “in relation to concrete issues … it is still possible to get a positive response from the Iranian side... We hope to see such a reaction from Iran that will make it possible to continue the six-party talks with Tehran on the whole range of relations,” he said.
Itar-Tass: Russian diplomat says talks only way to settle Iran's nuclear pblm
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14883995&PageNum=0
04.03.2010, 01.00
VIENNA, March 4 (Itar-Tass) - There is no alternative to negotiations as the way of settling the Iranian nuclear problem, the Russian envoy Grigory Berdennikov said Wednesday at a session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency /IAEA/.
He heads the Russian delegation to the session.
"We'd like to stress the absence of alternatives to the diplomatic resolution of the issue and the remaining outstanding questions that concern the Iranian nuclear program so that the IAEA would have an opportunity to make sure undeclared nuclear materials and prohibited activities are not found on the Iranian territory," Berdennikov said.
"The IAEA continues effectuating inspections in Iran and has a wealth of data on the Iranian nuclear program," he said.
In part, inspections were held the check the information on "materials available de facto at the fuel enrichment unit, the information on the structure of the enrichment unit in Fordu, the research reactor in Arak, which is under construction now, the unit for the manufacturing of fuel, and other facilities."
"All these facts prove that Iran continues ensuring the IAEA's controlling functions envisioned in the agreement on guarantees," Berdennikov said.
AP: New Iran sanctions proposal sent to Russia, China
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j6iX73KpIjh520lAiHk9TnZfmE_QD9E7EE200
By EDITH M. LEDERER (AP) – 7 hours ago
UNITED NATIONS — Key Western powers have sent a revised proposal for new sanctions against Iran to Russia and China that would target the country's powerful Revolutionary Guard and toughen existing measures against its shipping, banking and insurance sectors, well-informed U.N. diplomats said Wednesday.
Russia has expressed a willingness to negotiate on the elements for a new U.N. sanctions resolution but China, which relies on Iran for much of its energy, has not responded, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are taking place among capitals.
The United States circulated elements for a possible new U.N. sanctions resolution to other veto-wielding U.N. Security Council members — Russia, China, Britain and France — and Germany in January. The six countries have been trying, to no avail, to get Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program and return to negotiations on its nuclear program.
The revised proposal, sent by the Western nations in the past few days, builds on the three previous sanctions resolutions against Iran, aimed at pressuring the government, which has stepped up its enrichment program while insisting its goal is the peaceful production of nuclear energy.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, charged Sunday that the U.S. and its allies are behind the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency's claim that Iran may be making nuclear bombs, despite its repeated denials. His comments, on state television Sunday, came 10 days after the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was concerned Iran may be working on nuclear weapons, echoing conclusions reached by the U.S. and several of its allies.
The initial U.N. sanctions resolutions focused on Iran's nuclear and missile programs and the people and financing behind them.
Diplomats said the new proposal would target the Revolutionary Guard and companies and organizations controlled by the elite corps that have links to weapons proliferation.
The last sanctions resolution adopted in March 2008 authorized inspection of cargo shipments by two Iranian companies that are suspected of containing banned items. It also introduced financial monitoring of two banks with suspected links to proliferation activities and called on all countries "to exercise vigilance" in entering into new trade commitments with Iran, including granting export credits, guarantees or insurance.
U.N. diplomats said the new proposal would toughen the shipping, banking and insurance measures.
The list of individuals and companies with links to weapons programs is also likely to be expanded in a new resolution. All countries are required to freeze the assets of those on the list and ban travel for the individuals.
While the four Western powers have been pushing for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions, China has been skeptical, saying repeatedly that it believes there is more room for diplomacy.
The Western powers want a new sanctions resolution approved before the five-year review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty starts at U.N. headquarters in May. The 1968 accord is considered the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the spread of atomic arms.
The six countries have backed the three previous sanctions resolutions, and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that unity should be maintained.
"The value of the `six' is obvious, and we have been working as the `six' on this matter since May of 2006 and we have every intention to continue doing so as the `six'," Churkin told reporters Tuesday.
"There are variables sometimes in interpretation on what would be the proper thing to do but I see no reason why the six could not continue working effectively and hammering out joint positions on the issues of our dealings with Iran," he said.
Churkin stressed that the goal remains negotiations with Iran.
"Another resolution may happen ... but the key thing is not to have sanctions, the key thing is to have this matter resolved peacefully," he said. "And that is why it is more complicated than just what element, or elements one is going to have in a hypothetical Security Council resolution. This is where most of our concerns, our efforts, our work lie."
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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