RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 9:53 PM

MISSION CONTROL (near Moscow), July 6 (RIA Novosti) - NASA will provide the Russian segment of the International Space Station with energy generated by American solar generators, Russia's space agency said Thursday.
Russia cannot deliver its own energy module to the orbital station due to a significant reduction in the number of U.S. space shuttle flights. The module was originally intended to be delivered to the ISS by an American spacecraft.
"The Russian segment will receive energy from the American solar generators to compensate the modification of the Russian program," said Alexei Krasnov, the head of the Russian space agency's manned flights program.
He also confirmed that NASA would pay for the delivery of a U.S. astronaut to the ISS by a Russian spacecraft in fall 2006.
"In the fall of 2006, an American astronaut will fly to the ISS on board the Soyuz spacecraft, and NASA will pay for these services," Krasnov said.
The official also said that all preliminary contracts on the delivery of space tourists to the ISS remained in force. Russia's space agency said in April it had signed contracts with Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto, who will fly to the ISS with the next crew in the fall of 2006, and with former Microsoft developer Charles Simonyi, who will fly in the spring of 2007.
Russia has also agreed to fly the first South Korean astronaut to the ISS in the spring of 2008.

Russia's Maria Sharapova fails to reach Wimbledon final

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 9:10 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Former world no.1 Maria Sharapova failed to advance to the singles final at the 2006 Wimbledon tennis championships, suffering a 3-6, 6-3, 2-6 defeat Thursday to first seed Amelie Mauresmo from France.
Nineteen-year-old Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon in 2004, was seeded fourth at the tournament.
Mauresmo will meet third seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne from Belgium in the final.

No third presidential term - Putin

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:48 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin reiterated Thursday that he would not run for a third presidential term.
"I believe it is counterproductive to adjust laws, especially the constitution, to suit oneself," Putin said during a Web cast.
Putin's second presidential term expires in 2008, and according to the Russian Constitution a single person cannot hold the presidential post for more than two consecutive terms of four years each.
"We must all learn to abide by the law," the president said. "But another point is that to truly love one's country, one must not allow it to depend on a single person."

Russia open to reciprocal visa-free regime with Europe - Putin

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:31 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia would be willing to switch to a visa-free regime with European nations and other countries if the move is reciprocal, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"Russia is ready for a visa-free regime with Europe and other countries at any moment," he said in a Web cast, in response to a question put by a British questioner complaining about difficulties he had experienced in obtaining a Russian tourist visa.
Putin re-addressed the question to Brussels, London, Paris and Berlin, and added that he had hoped that the fall of the Berlin Wall would remove all obstacles to people's movement, at least within the continent.
Russia and the European Union signed an agreement on visa facilitation at the Russia-EU summit in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi on May 25. The agreement introduced relaxed visa requirements for certain categories of people for stays of up to 90 days.
The president thanked the questioner for raising the issue, and promised to personally see to it that his visa was issued faster.
Addressing the British questioner and his compatriots almost one year after London bombings, Putin expressed condolences to the families of the victims.
"I want to express condolences to all those affected, and the families who lost their relatives in these terrorist attacks," Putin said.
Two bombs went off in London underground and one on a bus on July 7, 2005, killing 56 people, including four terrorists, and injuring more than 700.
Putin said that hopefully the upcoming summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations in St. Petersburg on July 15-17 would address the fight against terrorism.

Shuttle Discovery successfully docks with ISS -1

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:22 PM

(Adds paragraphs 2-4)
MISSION CONTROL (near Moscow), July 6 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station at 18:52 Moscow time (14:52 GMT) Thursday.
The shuttle delivered seven astronauts, including two women, to the station. Hatches will be opened between 16.03 and 16.48 GMT, and the newcomers will meet with the 13th expedition crew, Pavel Vinogradov and Jeffrey Williams.
A Mission Control source said the astronauts would make two spacewalks July 8 and July 10, and that a third spacewalk could take place July 12. In this event, the shuttle will return to Earth July 17 instead of July 16, he said.
Tuesday's launch of Shuttle Discovery was the second manned U.S. mission following the Columbia crash in February 2003

Rosneft extends IPO bid deadline till July 12 - 1

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:13 PM

(Adds paragraphs 4-6)
MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Rosneft said Thursday it had extended a deadline for Russian nationals to bid for its shares at its initial public offering by two days, until July 12.
The Russian state-run oil company plans to float up to 400 million of its common shares and GDRs in Russia and London.
It will be Russia's biggest IPO this year, which the company has said could bring in $8.5 billion and raise its capitalization to $60-80 billion.
The minimum bid to buy shares has been set at 15,000 rubles ($555). Rosneft earlier said the price could range from $5.85 to $7.85 per share. The company is expected to fix the price on July 14, when the books are closed.
Respected Russian business daily Kommersant reported Tuesday that Prime Minster Mikhail Fradkov had approved the issue of 14.27% of Rosneft's shares. After consolidating subsidiaries and paying off its treasury stock, Rosneft will be able to float about 12.7% of shares, the paper said.
The global coordinators and book-runners for the Rosneft IPO are ABN AMRO Rothschild, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, JPMorgan Securities Ltd., and Morgan Stanley & Co. International Limited.

Russia's WTO accession no threat to agriculture, economy - Putin

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:09 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said during a Web cast Thursday that Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization would not threaten the country's agriculture or other sectors of the economy.
Answering a question on whether Russia's joining the WTO would cripple Russian agriculture and other sectors, the Russian leader said: "There is no such danger. The WTO has many problems, many agreements between the organization's member countries are not implemented, and we know this."
Putin said the WTO today is "a quality certificate" that creates favorable conditions for investment. He said Russian experts believed this would boost the economy and increase availability of higher-quality products at lower prices.
Putin said Russia would not agree with WTO accession terms it deems unacceptable, for example allowing foreign banks to open branches in Russia, at least for the foreseeable future, to avoid capital flight and money laundering.
Russia currently allows foreign banks to open subsidiaries, which are subject to Russian law, in the country, but not branches, which fall under the jurisdiction of the banks' home nations.

Rosneft extends IPO bid deadline till July 12

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 8:02 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Rosneft said Thursday it had extended a deadline for Russian nationals to bid for its shares at its initial public offering by two days, until July 12.
The Russian state-run oil company plans to float up to 400 million of its common shares and GDRs in Russia and London.
It will be Russia's biggest IPO this year, which the company has said could bring in $8.5 billion and raise its capitalization to $60-80 billion.

Wrap: Putin highlights energy security, accuses media of hysteria

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:38 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti)-Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted his country was a reliable energy supplier Thursday and accused Western media of whipping up hysteria over a dispute with Ukraine as a form of political pressure.
With energy security a key them when the leaders of the world's leading industrialized nations set to meet in St. Petersburg on July 15-17, Putin told a Web conference that recent criticism of Russia's role as an energy supplier was unwarranted.
"We have been delivering natural gas to Europe for the last 40 years," Putin said. "There were no failures on any single day."
In May, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney launched a virulent attack on Russia, saying it was using its vast energy sources as a means to blackmail and intimidate its neighbors and Europe. The charges came after energy giant Gazprom briefly cut supplies to Ukraine in early 2006 in a pricing dispute and then threatened to look to eastern markets if its European ambitions were thwarted.
But Putin said Ukraine had itself initiated the issue of market prices for gas but the two countries had failed to reach an agreement, which forced Gazprom to turn off the taps.
He added that a shortfall in gas supplies to Europe in winter was due to Ukraine's tapping the gas rather than Russia failing to honor its contractual obligations.
"That is why, and I want to turn your attention to this, we were forced to cut off supplies not to western Europe, but to Ukraine," he said. "And [our] Ukrainian partners knew very well what results could follow and we did not restrict our gas supplies to European consumers, but [our] Ukrainian partners, who started siphoning off [gas]."
But he said the complicated - "almost dramatic relations with Ukraine" - had provided positive results for European consumers.
"We have switched to market prices, which are set not by the Kremlin or the government," Putin said having added that the price formula for Ukraine was calculated just like it would be for any European consumer.
"This is the first positive result of our agreements with Ukraine," Putin said. "Now we must give Ukraine and personally President [Viktor] Yushchenko their due. They took a correct, courageous step, and now we have separated these issues: natural gas for Ukraine and a contract on the transit of gas to Europe, which is not connected with our agreements with Ukraine. This enforces the guarantees of reliable supplies to Europe."
However, on a negative note he accused Western media of whipping up hysteria around the dispute with Ukraine to exert political pressure on Russia, which was subject to intense criticism in the wake of the affair.
"Indeed, the hysteria kicked up in the media primarily in European countries and North America was an attempt to exert political pressure, not on Ukraine, but on Russia," he said.
Putin said the era of Russia in effect subsidizing its neighbors with cheap gas was over, but suggested the new epoch of market relations would only benefit consumers, especially those in Europe who started talking about diversifying supplies away from Russia after the Ukraine spat.
The president said that the Western consumers of Russian natural gas depended on transit agreements between Russia and Ukraine at the time, but at present the situation had changed drastically.
"We have agreed to separate these issues," Putin said. "No matter what agreements we have with Ukraine, if Ukraine fulfills its commitments, it will have to provide the transit of Russian gas to the European consumers for a long time."
The president said this approach would ensure the energy security of the European economy and households.
"These decisions improve the conditions of [natural gas] supplies to our consumers in Europe," Putin said, adding that the discussion of Russia's position on this issue the G8 meeting would help finding common solutions for energy security concerns.
The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada and France will be joining Putin for Russia's debut summit.

West's press hysteria in Ukraine gas spat was pressure - Putin-1

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:27 PM

(Adds paragraphs 6-10)
MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin Thursday said Western media hysteria over a gas pricing spat between Russia and Ukraine was an attempt to apply political pressure on Russia.
Russia has since been subjected to increasing criticism of its use of mineral reserves - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accused it of using energy to blackmail other states in a vitriolic attack in May - but senior officials in Moscow have dismissed the notion.
"Indeed, the hysteria kicked up in the media primarily in European countries and North America was an attempt to exert political pressure, not on Ukraine, but on Russia," Putin said during a Web cast.
"Somebody wants to force us to sell gas for artificially low prices," he said. "That is over - everyone should play an equal price."
Russia has been selling gas to ex-Soviet states for considerably lower prices than Europe for the last 15 years and is now looking to revise gas contracts and introduce market prices. A bitter dispute with Ukraine earlier this year over price increases for natural gas has led to suspension of gas supplies to the country.
Putin said that the Western consumers of Russian natural gas depended on transit agreements between Russia and Ukraine at the time, but at present the situation had changed drastically.
"We have agreed to separate these issues," Putin said. "No matter what agreements we have with Ukraine, if Ukraine fulfills its commitments, it will have to provide the transit of Russian gas to the European consumers for a long time."
The president said this approach would ensure the energy security of the European economy and households.
"These decisions improve the conditions of [natural gas] supplies to our consumers in Europe," Putin said, adding that the discussion of Russia's position on this issue during the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg on July 15-17 would help finding common solutions for energy security concerns.
The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Germany, Canada and France will be joining Putin for Russia's debut summit.

Russia can ensure security, defense capability - Putin

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:25 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia can ensure its security and defense capability, the president said Thursday.
Vladimir Putin said during a Web cast, "I am sure that we can reliably ensure our defense capability and security."
In view of the offensive capability of other countries, Russia must attend to its defense needs, and allocate sufficient funds to its military, he said.
"Our military spending is 25 times lower than in the United States. We will approach these problems very carefully, and find asymmetric forms of responses to any threats, employing a high level of defense technology, and a high level of skills among personnel. We have maintained this potential, and will use it, along with new possibilities that become available," he said.
The president said that due to the size of the country and its current economic potential, army conscription would have to continue for the next few years.
From January 1, 2007, compulsory military service will be reduced from two years to 18 months, and to 12 months from the beginning of 2008.
"Specialists in modern weaponry say that it is impossible to call up young people for a shorter term, since the complexity of military technology is increasing, and it is not possible to teach them anything in a shorter period," he said.
Putin also spoke out against the system of bribes for draft dodging in the country.
Bribery to avoid service "is linked to increased social inequality - it means that whoever has money can buy their way out, and whoever doesn't cannot. This cannot be considered fair."
"Bribery must be fought against, in all areas including the army," the president said.

Wrap: Putin calls for caution on N.Korea, urges Iranian response

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:21 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the world Wednesday to take a cautious approach to two countries suspected of nuclear ambitions: Iran and North Korea.
Answering questions during an on-line conference, Putin urged Iran to respond faster to the package of incentives put forward by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, and said common sense should triumph in approaches to North Korea, which conducted controversial test missile launches on Wednesday.
Given that Tehran said it would only react to the Iran-6 proposals on August 22, Putin said, "I hope that Iranian partners will listen to the recommendations and proposals worked out by the six countries and given to Iran for consideration."
Russia, which is helping to build a nuclear power plant southwest of Tehran and has other commercial interests in the Islamic Republic, has consistently resisted UN sanctions pushed by the United States and the United Kingdom.
And Putin called for the matter to be returned to the competence of the UN's nuclear watchdog after it was referred to the Security Council in early June.
"It would be right if the problem returned not to the UN Security Council and we did not talk about any sanctions, but to the professionals at the International Atomic Energy Agency," he said. "I think it is possible if Iran positively responds to the incentives."
He said he hoped dialogue would start with Tehran before Russia's debut summit of the Group of Eight nations to open in less than 10 days' time.
"As the host of the G8 summit, I would personally prefer dialogue to start before G8 leaders gather in St. Petersburg," the president said.
Iran is expected to be an issue when the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan join Putin in Russia's second city, but it is not expected to dominate the meeting.
However, he was less optimistic about North Korea and condemned Russia's communist neighbor for failing to notify the world about Wednesday's tests.
North Korea officially announced Wednesday that it had conducted test launches of at least seven ballistic missiles and claimed it was the country's sovereign right. The communist nation launched the missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2, despite a moratorium on missile tests.
Putin said Russia was disappointed with the tests but suggested that the six-nation talks seeking to resolve the nuclear problem on the Korean peninsula should step up a gear.
But he also said common sense should triumph in relations with what the U.S. terms a "rogue state."
"We would prefer it if Russia and the international community did not receive such presents," he said referring to the lack of warning over the missile tests.
But striking a note of caution, he said "these events should not lead to emotions that would conquer common sense when considering such issues."
He said there were no grounds to believe the communist state's program was aimed against Russia.
"We have no reason to think that North Korea's missile program is aimed at Russia because the defense capabilities of Russia and North Korea are incomparable," he said.
In fact, he said the secret nation led by Kim Jong-il had not reached a technological level where it would be able to build a missile capable of flying 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles). There had been media speculation that a missile would target Alaska flying over Japan.
Initial reports suggested that at least one of the seven missiles might have hit Russian waters, but Putin said the nation's warning systems could not confirm that.
"Our national monitoring system does not confirm the information that these missiles fell near Russian borders," he said.

Putin: Russia to continuing seeking market prices for resources

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:17 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not keep selling its natural resources at cheap prices, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Putin said during a Web cast that Russia had been supplying its nearest neighbors with natural gas at privileged prices for 15 years and so had virtually provided with economic assistance worth $3-5 billion a year in the period.
A bitter dispute broke out last winter between Russia and Ukraine, as Russia's neighbor refused to pay increased prices for natural gas, which led to energy giant Gazprom briefly turning off the taps in January.
Putin said that Russia had been holding talks on the transfer to market relations for a long time with many partners, including with Ukraine.
He added that a shortfall in gas supplies to Europe in winter was due to Ukraine's tapping the gas rather than Russia failing to honor its contractual obligations.
"At the practical level we were unable to receive neither a definite answer nor reach any clarity on this issue," Putin said. "That is why, and I want to turn your attention to this, we were forced to cut off [natural gas] supplies not to western Europe, but to Ukraine. And [our] Ukrainian partners knew very well what results could follow and we did not restrict our gas supplies to European consumers, but [our] Ukrainian partners, who started siphoning off [the gas]."
He said that complicated and "almost dramatic relations with Ukraine" gave positive results for European consumers.
"We have switched to market prices, which are set not by the Kremlin or the government," Putin said having added that the price formula for Ukraine was calculated just like it would be for any European consumer.
"This is the first positive result of our agreements with Ukraine," Putin said. "Now we must give Ukraine and personally President [Viktor] Yushchenko their due. They took a correct, courageous step, and now we have divided these issues: natural gas for Ukraine and a contract on the transit of gas to Europe, which is not connected with our agreements with Ukraine. This enforces the guarantees of reliable supplies to Europe."

Putin says using secret services abroad for anti-terror legal

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 7:02 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that using special services overseas to combat terrorism was not a breach of international law.
"I see no violations here. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, states can individually or jointly rebuff an aggression. It does not say that this aggression should come from one state against the other," Putin said during a Web cast.
Putin said he hoped the Russian parliament's upper chamber would endorse a draft law Friday giving the country's president the right to use the armed forces and secret services abroad to fight international terrorism.
He also said after the September 11 terrorist attacks the UN Security Council allowed the United States to strike back at the aggression of international terrorists.
"Why Russia cannot be given this right? We believe that we have already been granted it," Putin said.
He said if Russia had to use special services overseas there would be no violations of the country's constitution or the international law.
"This is countering aggression by the means that a country considers possible to protect its interests and interests of its citizens," he said.

Putin says kissed boy on the stomach out of emotion

RIA NOVOSTI. July 6, 2006, 6:59 PM

MOSCOW, July 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he had been driven by emotions when he kissed a boy on the stomach in the Kremlin last week.
Television footage of Putin talking to a boy and then suddenly pulling up his T-shirt and kissing the belly on June 28 caused excited discussions on the Internet.
"He seemed completely self-contained and serious, and at the same children are always helpless. He was a very nice boy and I just wanted to pat him like a kitten," the president said