Russia 100811 Basic Political Developments

U.S. to replace Russia on grain market during export ban - minister

http://en.rian.ru/business/20100811/160154011.html
10:52 11/08/2010

The United States, the world's largest grain exporter, will act as a substitute for Russia on the world grain market when an export embargo comes into force on August 15, Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik told Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Russia banned the export of grain, including wheat, barley, rye and maize, from August 15 to December 31, following a drought and wildfires that have destroyed 10.8 million hectares of crops. Forecasts for this year's harvest have fallen as low as 60 million tons, 38% less than last year.

Kazakhstan and Ukraine, two other leading grain exporters, have also been affected by drought, Skrynnik said.

It is unlikely that "these countries will take our place on the world grain market," she said. "If any [country] is going to take our export potential, it will be the United States."

Russia is the world's fourth largest wheat exporter. Its biggest customers are Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan and Iran. Last year, Russia exported a quarter of its grain output.

Russia may revise the embargo in October when the losses incurred by the drought become clearer, Skrynnik said.

She said the ministry does not expect a rise in bread prices - something that most analysts say is nonetheless inevitable after the worst drought and wildfires in decades.

Analysts said on Tuesday the short term losses for the Russian economy from the record-breaking heat wave and accompanying drought and wildfires may amount to 1% of 2010 GDP, or around $15 billion.

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti)

Medvedev orders amendments to procurement law - paper

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100811/160155083.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the government to amend the procurement law after a recent overpricing row, business daily Vedomosti said on Wednesday.

Medvedev saw red after presidential aide Konstantin Chuichenko reported on a gross overpricing of medical equipment in the Rostov region, where several x-ray machines, were bought on a government contract for 90.3 million rubles ($3 million) each - almost three times the manufacturer's price, 34.5 million rubles ($1.1 million).

The price soared because the x-ray machines were bought via two intermediaries, one in Britain and the other in Russia, Chuichenko said.

"This is an absolutely cynical and gross theft of government money. This cannot be tolerated anymore," Medvedev said.

"First of all, it attracts wild hatred from our people and, secondly, it creates a negative image of the country," he said.

The amendments will see that medical equipment is bought with regard to manufacturers' prices. The government will also introduce unified requirements for the equipment and price monitoring.

But the overpricing, however gross, was quite legal, a government official said, since the maximum price of a government contract is not stipulated by law and is set by the customer with regard to the budget limit.

The procurement law originally contained mistakes and amendments would be of little help, Alexander Stroganov from the government contract center said. Unless there is a centralized control over purchases, overpricing and corruption will continue to thrive.

The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service official said, however, that medical equipment should be sold in an auction.

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti)
Sungari waters reach Russia’s Amur River after chemical accident in China

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15394988&PageNum=0

11.08.2010, 08.52

KHABAROVSK, August 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Waters of the Sungari River from the area contaminated with chemicals after an accident at a Chinese chemical plant in the province of Jilin have reached Russia’s Amur River in the Far East, a spokesman for the Khabarovsk territorial administration of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told Itar-Tass on Wednesday in comments of laboratory tests.

Water samples taken near the village of Nizhneleninsky at the confluence of the Sungari and Amur Rivers have shown no increased levels of chlorides, phenols, ammonites or other hazardous substances. Water acidity also proved normal, the spokesman said.

According to Emergencies Ministry’s experts, the water from the Sungari River will reach Khabarovsk with its 600,000 population on August 14-15. The city gets drinking water from the water intake structure in the Amur River bed, therefore preventive measures were taken to ensure population’s safety at any level of the river waters’ contamination. Additional test collecting stations have been established up the river. Water tests will be collected at several stations along the Amur section from Nizhneleninsky to Khabarovsk till August 20.

Specialists of Khabarovsk’s water supplies company Vodokanal say no contamination with hazardous substances have been registered in the Amur waters as of yet, that is why they employ regular water treatment technologies. In case pollutants concentrations go up, Vodokanal will use charcoal filters.

The accident occurred in the Chinese province Jilin on June 28, when floodwaters washed some 7,000 barrels with poisonous chemicals from the plant’s warehouse into the Wende River and the Sungari River. According to information of the Chinese side, 3,000 170-kilogram barrels were filled with trimethylchlorosilane and other hazardous chemicals, while 4,000 barrels were empty. The Chinese side assured that all barrels were taken out from the Sungari River and the river water was not contaminated. Contacting with water, such chemicals do not form any toxic products.
3 Abakan Mining Co miners refuse to leave mine over wage arrears

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15395078&PageNum=0

11.08.2010, 10.17

KRASNOYARSK, August 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Three miners employed with the Abakan Mining Co (former Yeniseiskaya mine) on Tuesday refused to leave the mine after their shift demanding repayment of wage arrears, Yulia Pavlova, a senior aide to the prosecutor of the town of Chernogorsk, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.

After the mines owner died in February 2009, bankruptcy administration was instituted, and on September 14, 2009, the Khakassian Court of Arbitration ruled to recognize the Abakan Mining Co as bankrupt.

The mine employs 65 people who are tasked to maintain it in a working condition. If maintenance works are ceased, subterranean waters might flood both the mine and a Chernogorsk suburb adjacent to the mine.

“The total sum of wage arrears amounts to 2.5 million roubles. Administrative proceedings were initiated against the bankruptcy receiver. Pre-trial check is underway. The situation at the mine is under control of the prosecutor’s office,” Pavlova said.

According to Anatoly Petrenko, the mine’s receiver, the company’s property will be auctioned in late September. So far, in his words, it is the only source of possible revenues that might be used to repay delayed wages.
Russia against unilateral Iran sanctions

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138220§ionid=351020101
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:11:07 GMT

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Borodavkin has reiterated Moscow's opposition to US and EU unilateral sanctions against Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

In a meeting with Iranian ambassador in Moscow, Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi, on Tuesday, Borodavkin voiced his country's opposition against such policies.

In his turn, Sajjadi appreciated Moscow' stance on unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and EU and hailed Russia for positive policies on Tehran's nuclear program.

Borodavkin also underlined the importance of commissioning the Bushehr nuclear power plant, saying Russia's nuclear chief will attend the launching ceremony at the end of August.

Iran's first nuclear power plant will come on stream in the southern city of Bushehr by September.

Head of Russia's State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom), Sergei Kiriyenko, had earlier announced that the construction of the plant will not be affected by sanctions against Iran.

Moscow has repeatedly opposed to unilateral sanctions against Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has recently declared that Russia will not accept the approach taken by the US and regards it contrary to decisions made by the UN Security Council and Group 5+1.

On May, Brazil and Turkey brokered a deal in Tehran where Iran agreed to send 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for fuel for the medical research reactor in Tehran.

The US and its European allies snubbed the declaration and used their influence in the UN Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran which was followed by a series of more sanctions from the US and the EU, targeting Iran's energy and banking sectors.

AS/MGH/MMA

Iran Appreciates Moscow's Opposition to Unilateral Sanctions http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8905200253 TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Envoy to Russia Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi appreciated Moscow's stance in opposing the unilateral sanctions imposed against Iran by certain countries over Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.

Sajjadi made the remarks in a meeting with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov in Moscow where he praised the country for opposing unilateral sanctions of the US and European governments against Iran and the positive policies of Russia in nuclear issue and confirmation of Tehran Declaration for exchanging nuclear fuel and acceptance of a proposal for joining Brazil and Turkey to nuclear negotiations.

Moscow has repeatedly opposed to unilateral sanctions of the US government against Iran and has declared that in case of imposing such sanctions, it will take decisions to confront it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently declared that the US approach is not acceptable for Russia and Moscow considers it against the UN Security Council and the Group 5+1 decisions.

Also during the meeting, the two sides expressed interest in developing bilateral relations and necessity of more consultations in this concern between senior officials of the two countries.

Sajjadi and Denisov also underlined importance of commissioning Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and described the event as a positive step toward promotion of bilateral cooperation.

Russia has already declared that the power plant will be commissioned in September 2010 and tests of machines and equipment have been done successfully.

The first phase of the Vigilant Eagle exercise completed

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15394830

11.08.2010, 08.08

KHABAROVSK, August 11 (Itar-Tass) - Russian and U.S. fighter jets, refueling aircraft and civilian air traffic control services are taking part in the first ever Russia-U.S anti-terror exercise, nicknamed the Vigilant Eagle.

One of the headquarters of the exercise is located in Khabarovsk; the other is at the Elmendorf Air Force Base in the U.S. State of Alaska.

“Representatives of the military agencies of both countries will give a press conference late on Wednesday. They will sum up the preliminary results of the exercises and answer journalists’ questions,” a source at the Far Eastern air force and air defense formation told Itar-Tass. He said that the final phase of the first stage of exercises was under way. Maneuvers over the northern part of the Pacific involve NATO fighter jets, Russian A-50 reconnaissance planes, American AWACS aircraft and refueling aircraft from both countries.

According to the scenario, cooperative actions of combat units dealing with acts of terrorism were simulated. Notional terrorists hijacked a plane with 10 passengers onboard. It took off from an airport in the United States, cut off all radio contacts with the ground and demanded that the plane land in the Far East. The pilots managed to send a signal to the ground that terrorists had hi-jacked the plane.

The F-22 Raptor fighter jets took off to detect it. Then, the monitoring of the hi-jacked aircraft was handed over to Russian MiG and Su-27 planes.

The event is authorized under a cooperative military agreement between the Russian and US presidents.

‘Vigilant Eagle’ Tests NORAD, Russian Response

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60376

By Army Maj. Mike Humphreys

North American Aerospace Defense Command

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 10, 2010 – An automated female voice commands over onboard speakers, “Traffic! Traffic! Descend! Descend!” as a North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22 fighter approaches the right wing of the track of interest.

Five minutes after take-off from Anchorage en route to the Far East, Fencing 1220 -- a Gulfstream 4 simulating a Boeing 757 commercial jetliner -- squawked an emergency to ground controllers, spurring action from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Defense Department and kicking off exercise Vigilant Eagle, the first joint counter air-terrorism exercise between NORAD and the Russian air force.

“This exercise is very beneficial to North America and to Russia,” said Col. Alexander Vasilyev, deputy director of security and safety for the Russian air force. “There has never been an exercise like this before.

“Terrorism is something that affects all our countries,” he continued, “so it is very important that we work together to develop procedures and bring the relationship between our countries closer together to unite our countries in the fight against terrorism.”

Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, Alaska NORAD Region deputy commander, explained that today's exercise involved practicing communication procedures between NORAD, plus U.S. civilian air traffic control agencies and Russian counterparts. The goals is to be able to pass on information about air terrorism events, thereby allowing them to posture their forces to respond in kind, he said.

Once the FAA was notified of the trouble on Fencing 1220, they requested assistance from NORAD, which assigned an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control platform to the track of interest and diverted two F-22 fighters to intercept, Balfe said. Because of the aircraft’s planned route, which would take it over Russian airspace, it was necessary to notify Russian air traffic controllers and the Russian military.

At a predetermined location halfway across the Pacific Ocean, the NORAD E-3, in direct communication with its Russian equivalent, an A-50 Mainstay, handed over control. Moments later, a deep Russian baritone bellowed, “Fencing One-Two-Two-Zero,” over the aircraft’s radio, and two SU-27 Russian fighters joined the pursuit close enough to see the sun reflecting off the pilot’s visor.

The feeling on board Fencing 1220 was one of collective awe as former Cold War opponents witnessed the fruit of years of planning and joint effort, but the scenario has all too real implications.

Back in Alaska, members of the 176th Air Control Squadron worked with Russian officers as exercise controllers, making sure all the appropriate processes and procedures were carried out.

Air Force Master Sgt. Doug Patchin, 176th ACS, said he believes Vigilant Eagle is a ground-breaking event that could be emulated by other commands. "This exercise is phenomenal,” he said. “The hope is that everyone walks away from the exercise with a common understanding of what communication procedures would be used in a real-world crisis.”

Balfe described Vigilant Eagle as a momentous exercise and a watershed event.

“We are trying to transition our relationships militarily from a period of confrontation in the Cold War to a period of cooperation, and there is no better mission for NORAD to partner with our Russian counterparts than on the air terrorism mission,” he said. “Regardless of other geopolitical events, we all agree that air terrorism is something we want to prevent, deter and, if necessary, defeat.”

After six hours of tracking by ground controllers in the United States and Russia and aerial surveillance by U.S. and Russian airborne warning and control platforms and fighter aircraft, Fencing 1220 safely landed in the Far East to be handed over to authorities.

After an overnight rest, the exercise was conducted in reverse, allowing Russian forces to turn over responsibility to NORAD and bring Vigilant Eagle 2010 to a successful completion, Balfe said.

“We’ve worked hard on both sides to make this work, and I think it would be logical for this exercise to be a building block for future cooperation between our nations,” Balfe said. “We are building this relationship stronger, which has a real benefit to U.S. and Canadian citizens and obviously Russian citizens too.”

NOTE: A press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT Aug. 11, at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, with NORAD and Russian representatives to discuss the recently completed first ever joint anti-terrorism exercise between Russia and the United States.

Groundbreaking US-Russian hijacking drill ends

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hF9xezzIggkZHfvIB_EkgmOF-e-QD9HH35D00

By DAN ELLIOTT (AP) – 27 minutes ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A groundbreaking training exercise ended late Tuesday after U.S. and Russian fighter jets crisscrossed the Pacific in pursuit of a chartered plane playing the role of a hijacked airliner.

The "hijacked" plane — actually a chartered executive-style Gulfstream — landed in Anchorage after flying across the Pacific and back, monitored all the way by fighters and aerial command posts from both sides.

On board were officers from Russia and from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a U.S.-Canadian force that patrols the skies over North America.

The exercise was designed to test how well Russia and NORAD could coordinate their efforts in the event of a hijacking, especially during the critical handoff stage when the commandeered plane moves from one side's airspace to the other.

The drill will make it harder for terrorists to pull off a hijacking against the U.S., Canada or Russia by building up the air travel system's defenses, said Canadian Forces Col. Todd Balfe, the deputy commander of NORAD's Alaska region and the senior NORAD observer aboard the Gulfstream.

"I think any time that we increase our cooperation and our coordination, we harden ourselves against further events," Balfe said.

"If, for example, we make it harder for terrorists to do us harm, they'll choose either not to do us harm or will look for other, more difficult manners or other ways of approaching us," Balfe said.

If terrorists do succeed in hijacking a plane, the exercise will help NORAD and the Russians be prepared to respond.

Military commanders and civilian analysts say the threat of terrorism is serious for the U.S. and Russia. On July 29, a man seized a plane with 105 passengers and crew at a Moscow airport. On Christmas Day, a Nigerian man allegedly tried to blow up a jetliner over Detroit.

The joint exercise, called Vigilant Eagle, started Sunday when the Gulfstream, code-named Fencing 1220, left Anchorage and headed west. Along with Balfe, Russian Air Force Col. Alexander Vasiliev, U.S. Army Maj. Michael Humphrey and a U.S. translator were on board.

The Associated Press had exclusive access to the Gulfstream on both the westbound and eastbound flights.

Shortly after takeoff, the Gulfstream's civilian pilots sent a digital distress code to civilian air traffic controllers in Alaska signaling it had been "hijacked."

Civilian controllers notified NORAD, which dispatched two F-22 Raptor fighter jets to shadow Fencing 1220 and an E-3 Sentry airborne surveillance and control plane to track it.

When the Gulfstream entered Russian airspace over the Pacific, commanders in the E-3 handed over responsibility for the plane to their Russian counterparts on an A-50 Mainstay surveillance and control plane. Four Russian Su-27 fighters and one MiG-31 then took turns shadowing the Gulfstream.

On the return trip, the process was reversed, with Russian fighters and surveillance planes shadowing Fencing 1220 for the first portion before handing off responsibility to NORAD.

A detailed evaluation of the exercise is planned in September.

Balfe said the exercise has already succeeded on one of its goals — a smooth handoff from NORAD to the Russians.

"We've already done that," he said.

All three observers aboard Fencing 2012 — Russian, American and Canadian — marveled at the historic nature of the exercise, which demanded a level of cooperation that was unthinkable during the Cold War standoff between the U.S. and its allies and the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor.

Vasiliev said he always thought the time would come when the two former enemies would work together, but he said he never expected to be Russia's representative. Humphreys said the Russian fighters cruising alongside Fencing 1220 was an incredible sight.

Balfe called the exercise "a watershed moment."

"If I'd been told 20, 25 years ago I'd be sitting on a U.S.-registered airplane with a Russian colonel as my counterpart, going over through Russian airspace on this exercise, I'd have thought you were crazy."

Associated Press photographer Ted Warren contributed to this report.

Nezavisimaya/Russia Today: International virtual anti-terrorism forces

http://rt.com/Top_News/Press/eng.html
The US and Russia hold first-ever joint exercises for interception of aircraft

Vladimir Mukhin

The active phase of joint anti-terrorism exercises, which is taking place in the Far East with the participation of the Russian, US, and Canadian Air Forces, is nearing completion. The air defense exercises consist of military aircraft following an airplane, which is believed to have been hijacked by terrorists, and transferring control over the airplane to the aviators of the participating countries. This is the first time such exercises are taking place. Meanwhile, the training and the premises raise a number of questions. First, how typical is the situation for which the pilots are training? Second, are these exercises important for Russia? Third, what does the Russian army have to gain from this training?

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The scenario for holding these exercises was developed long ago, almost 10 years ago, after the terrorists had flown the captured US airplanes into skyscrapers. The exercises were scheduled to take place in August of 2008. However, after the war with Georgia, which had attacked South Ossetia, the Pentagon refused holding them. Only now are these exercises, which have been named Vigilant Eagle, taking place.

According to Russian Air Force Spokesman Vladimir Drik, in the scenario that has been set for the exercises terrorists hijacked an American commercial airplane on an international route. After this, the airplane with alleged terrorists, whose role was played by a Gulfstream IV, stops all communications with the outside world. Last Monday, the captured airplane began its flight from Alaska to Russia’s Far East. It was accompanied by two F-22 Raptor fighter jets. Moreover, an E-3 Sentry, a long-range radar detection aircraft, was dispatched. Upon entry into the air borders of Russia, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) transferred the responsibility over the captured airplane to Russia’s air services, after which it was accompanied by Su-27SM and MiG-31 fighter jets that have been guided by the long-range radar detection aircraft A-50. Later, the airplane landed on one of the airfields. Yesterday, the Gulfstream headed for Alaska. The airmen worked on the same drills.

According to NORAD Spokesman Maj. Michael Humphreys, these exercises are authorized by the “cooperative military agreement signed by the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America. To be exact, we want to assess all possible scenarios in which the use of jet-fighters may be needed to respond to a terrorist threat”.

“Holding joint air defense exercises with the Americans is a good thing. Especially since the fight against the threat of air-terrorism is real,” an officer of the Lipetsk Combat and Conversion Training Center for Russia’s Air Force personnel, who asked to remain anonymous, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG). “But, why did it take so long before these exercises were held?” The expert says that the training is not so much needed to perfect some specific tasks, as much as it is politically. “Issues concerning cooperation and accompaniment of aircraft that has entered into Russia’s air space – is one of the tasks of our air defense, and it is worked out on a regular basis.”

Director of the Center for the Analysis of Global Arms Trade, Igor Korotchenko, shares a similar opinion. He believes that such exercises are a type of a publicity move, displaying the alleged beginning of development of the US-Russian military relations. However, that is by far not the case. In his opinion, training the US and Russian military to provide assistance to distressed nuclear submarines would have truly been relevant. “It would also have been relevant to jointly work on curtailing drug traffic from Afghanistan. But that is something that’s, unfortunately, currently not being done,” says the expert.

Read the article on the newspaper's site