Russia ready to mediate in Libya conflict…

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated on Tuesday Moscow’s offer to mediate in the conflict in Libya.

Medvedev was speaking during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates near Moscow. On Monday, Medvedev said Russia would “gladly” undertake peacemaking efforts in the North African state.

“Medvedev also expressed concern over how the UN no-fly zone is being endorsed and the possible casualties among civilians because of the indiscriminate use of air force,” the president’s press service said.

NATO member states including the United States, Britain and France are continuing air strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces. Libyan state television has reported that at least 60 civilians have so far been killed in the attacks.

Russia opposed military action but did not use its power to veto the UN resolution.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin likened the operation to “medieval calls for crusades,” a description dismissed by President Dmitry Medvedev, who said the comments were “unacceptable.”

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Euroset seeks to raise $140 mln in London IPO in April

London Stock Exchange Group
Stocks...

Euroset Holding N. V., the parent company of Russia’ largest mobile phone retailer Euroset, plans to hold an Initial Public Offering in April to raise about $140 million, a source close to the IPO told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

The company, which earlier on Tuesday officially announced IPO plans, will float shares of an additional issue and a stake owned by Alpazo Ltd registered in Cyprus. Its beneficiary is Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut, who controls 50.01% in Euroset.

The size of the stake to be sold is to be determined by market conditions, Euroset said in a statement.

Premarketing may start already on Tuesday, a road-show is expected at the beginning of April, the source said.

Euroset’s second core shareholder VimpelCom, one of Russia’s three top mobile operators, does not plan to divest its 49.9% stake.

Funds raised in the IPO are to be spent on retail business development and for general corporate purposes.

Alfa Capital Markets, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs International and VTB Capital are appointed global coordinators and bookrunners.

In October 2010, Euroset, cofounded by scandalous business tycoon Yevgeny Chichvarkin, said it wanted to raise $1.86 billion on the London Stock Exchange.

In 2008, Chichvarkin went into a self-imposed exile in Britain saying he faced imprisonment in Russia and could be killed if put behind bars.

Last September, a British court delayed until next year a hearing into Russia’s request to extradite Chichvarkin, who is accused at home of running a mafia-like structure. Chichvarkin has denied accusations, saying the charges were politically motivated.

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Russia supports NATO success in Afghanistan…

NATO

MOSCOW, March 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russia welcomes the success of NATO-led coalition forces and the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday.

“Our positions on Afghanistan coincide in many areas. Russia is interested in the stabilization of the region and in the success of the coalition forces [there],” Serdyukov said after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Moscow.

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Gates expects fighting in Libya to recede within days…

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday the significant military fighting going on in Libya now “should recede in the next few days.”

He told his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov in Moscow that the Western-led coalition was “going to great lengths” to avoid civilian casualties.

“Many of the targets were in isolated locations,” Gates said.

Serdyukov said the beeline to the security of civilians and long-term stabilization in Libya was an immediate ceasefire and the start of dialogue.

“We are once again calling on all Libyan parties to the conflict as well as participants in the military operation to do everything they can to stop the violence,” Serydukov said.

Russia was one of five countries, including China, that abstained from a UN Security Council resolution adopted on Thursday. The resolution imposes a no-fly zone over Libya and allows “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from leader Muammar Gaddafi’s attacks on rebel-held towns.

Operation Odyssey Dawn entered its third night of airstrikes on Libyan air defenses on Monday. Libyan state television has reported that at least 60 civilians have been killed and over 150 wounded.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday likened the UN resolution to a “call for a crusade.” The comments were swiftly rebuked by President Dmitry Medvedev, who described Putin’s remarks as “unacceptable.”

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Putin is Correct and Medvedev is Incorrect…

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Medvedev and Putin

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed as “unacceptable” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s description of Western-led attacks on Libya as a “crusade,” marking their first public foreign-policy dispute.

Putin, who spoke amid a visit to Russia by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said the UN resolution and resulting allied offensive amounts to a “medieval call for a crusade.”

“It’s unacceptable to use terms that effectively lead to a clash of civilizations like the crusades,” Medvedev said at his residence outside Moscow, without mentioning Putin by name. “Otherwise things could end far worse than what’s happening now.”

The clash came a year before the next presidential election, in which both men have said they may run. Putin criticized last week’s United Nations resolution that authorized military action by the U.S. and its allies.

Medvedev is trying to justify his decision on Libya and Russia failed at the UN meeting by not voting. Medvedev made it clear that he and he alone made the decision and that, as I have said a few days ago could be a future problem…

http://windowstorussia.com/thoughts-today-in-russia-over-coffee.html

I know what I hear on the streets of Moscow…

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Russia’s Zhirinovsky calls to revoke Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

Russia’s head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, has appealed to the Nobel Prize Committee to revoke U.S. President Barack Obama’s Nobel Prize, the party’s press service said in a statement on Monday.

Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his commitment to non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“The situation in Libya is yet another shocking act of aggression by NATO forces and in particular by the United States. This is a clear reflection of colonial policy. This is another crude invasion into the domestic affairs of an independent state. There is only one goal: to take control of Libyan oil and the Libyan regime and not saving the Libyan people,” the press service quoted Zhirinovsky as saying.

The colorful and flamboyant leader of Russia’s LDPR party plans to meet with Libyan Ambassador to Russia Amir al-Arabi on Wednesday to discuss the latest events in the North African country.

Earlier Zhirinovsky called on the Muslim world to support Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and sent an official letter to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen demanding the immediate stop to the military operation in Libya.

A military operation against Libya’s strongman Gaddafi, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for more than 40 years, began on Saturday. On Monday, Western forces launched a second wave of air strikes on Gaddafi’s positions under a UN resolution authorizing military action to protect Libyan civilians.

NATO has so far not indicated if it will participate in the operation.

Libyan television has reported that at least 50 civilians have been killed and over 150 wounded in the UN strikes and that many health and education facilities have been destroyed.

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U.S.-Russian talks on tactical nuclear arms cuts will take time

Reaching an agreement with Russia on cutting the tactical nuclear weapons stockpiles is likely to be a complicated process, Ellen Tauscher, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, has said.

“Moving missile defense from a negative to a positive factor in our relationship could facilitate cooperation in other areas as well, including talks on further reductions in strategic, non-strategic and non-deployed nuclear weapons. But reaching any agreement will not be easy and it will take time,” Tauscher said.

The remarks came on the eve of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov in Moscow, during which they are expected to discuss various issues of Russian-U.S. military and technical cooperation.

When ratifying the new strategic arms reduction treaty with Moscow in December 2010, the U.S. Senate adopted a resolution obligating the government to start bilateral talks on cutting the TNW stockpiles – landmines, artillery shells and short-range missiles. Washington says Moscow has a larger number of these systems.

President Barack Obama said in a message to the Senate in February his country expects to hold talks with Russia on TNW within a year after the New START arms reduction deal came into force on February 5.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in January that it is too early to discuss limiting TNW with the United States because Russia needs to see the way the U.S. fulfills its commitments under the New START.

Rose Gottemoeller, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, said in mid-February that the Washington was ready to begin multilateral talks on tactical nuclear weapons reduction in Europe. U.S. officials will visit a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, the Baltic States and Poland, in the near future to discuss the issue with the countries’ authorities, she said.

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Russia, U.S. begin data exchange under New START

The United States and Russia have begun exchanging information on their nuclear stockpiles under a new U.S.-Russian arms reduction treaty, a senior U.S. official said.

“With entry into force of the Treaty, we have begun implementing an extensive regime of mutual monitoring and information exchange,” Rose Gottemoeller, the Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, said.

“Our Nuclear Risk Reduction Center transmitted the U.S. database to Russia over this past weekend. Such information includes data on the Parties’ missiles, launchers, heavy bombers, and warheads subject to the Treaty,” she added.

Under the new arms control deal, which replaces the expired START 1 agreement, the sides are to hold their first information exchange within 45 days after it came into force on February 5. Data exchanges are to be held every six months.

The right to begin conducting on-site inspections officially begins 60 days after the treaty’s entry into force, which is April 6, Gottemoeller said. However, she said, the United States has already conducted an exhibition of the B-1B heavy bomber at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona on March 18 and an exhibition of Russia’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-24 Yars, is ongoing.

“On-site inspections are a vital complement to the data exchanged. They provide the “boots on the ground” presence to confirm the validity of data declarations, thus helping to verify compliance with Treaty obligations, as well as adding to our confidence and knowledge regarding Russian strategic forces located at those facilities,” she said, adding “the same is true for Russia, since all Treaty measures are reciprocal.”

The new treaty on strategic arms reduction, signed in April 2010 by the presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, trims nuclear arsenals of both nations to a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200. The treaty was ratified by the U.S. Congress in December and by the Russian parliament in January.

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Main news of March 21

RUSSIA

* In a rare faceoff with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday he stood by Moscow’s decision not to veto the UN Security Council resolution on Libya

* The production of ballistic missile systems in Russia will double starting in 2013, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* Russia will not participate in any operations in regard to the no-fly zone in Libya, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Germany’s BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia’s gas giant Gazprom to enter the South Stream pipeline project

* A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) arrived in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Monday to inspect the country’s preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games

* A missile production plant in southern Siberia has produced enough Bulava ballistic missiles to complete its tests and arm the first Borey class strategic submarine, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said

* Russia will invest 3 trillion rubles ($100 bln) in the development of the country’s defense industry in the next decade, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired six police generals, the Kremlin press service said

* All air defense regiments in the Russian Armed Forces will be equipped with advanced S-400 Triumf and Pantsir-S missile systems by 2020, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* The use of military force against the civilian population in Libya is unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has appointed senior senator Mikhail Margelov special presidential envoy for cooperation with Africa, the Kremlin said

* Moscow police detained five people on Sunday for organizing an unauthorized St. Patrick’s Day Parade

WORLD

* The international coalition has implemented a no-fly zone above Libya and averted “a bloody massacre in Benghazi,” British Prime Minister David Cameron sai

* One of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s sons died in a Tripoli hospital of suffering severe burn wounds, a German website reported

* Libya’s temporary defense committee accused “other parties” of violating a ban on military operations in the country, JANA news agency reported citing the committee’s statement

* Norway sent six F-16 Falcon fighters to join the UN-authorized military operation against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, the Norwegian NRK television and radio broadcasting station said on its website

* Supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attacked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Cairo on Monday, the Agence France Presse news agency reported

* Workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant were evacuated on Monday after reactor No. 3 emitted a cloud of gray smoke, Kyodo reported, citing plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.

* The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan 10 days ago may cost the country’s economy $235 billion, or 4% of GDP, the World Bank said in a report

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Medvedev, Gates to discuss missile defense in St. Petersburg

Gates

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will discuss the issues of Russian-U.S. military and technical cooperation, including those related to missile defense, during their meeting in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, the Kremlin has said.

“Russian-U.S. relations have reached a very high level, which is proved by the serious results of joint work in various spheres,” a statement issued by the Russian presidential administration said.

“Besides signing and ratifying a new [strategic] arms reduction treaty, [the counties] managed to conclude bilateral negotiations on [Russia’s accession to] the World Trade Organization (WTO) and launch a perspective cooperation in the hi-tech and innovation sphere; an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy has also come into force,” the statement said.

Gates, who arrived in St. Petersburg on Monday, will also hold talks with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on Tuesday. The visit is Gates’ final trip to Russia as Pentagon chief as he is to retire in 2011, before the 2012 election campaign begins.

Missile defense is expected to become a major issue of discussion during the talks.

“Russia is ready to tackle the common tasks aimed at protecting the continent from possible missile threats together with its partners while sticking to a range of principal conditions, including the existence of real guarantees that the countries’ anti-missile potentials will not be aimed at each other, as well as [guarantees of] equality and indivisibility of security,” the Kremlin said.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so called Euro missile defense system during the Russia-NATO Council summit in Lisbon in November 2010. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system.

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