Russky Kuryer
Russia Not Friendly Country To U.S.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meeting in Ankara was hardly a working function held as part of the preparation for the upcoming Putin-Bush summit in Bratislava. The agenda embraced a large number of widely different issues, from non-proliferation to the situation in post-Soviet states, recalls Russky Kuryer.
It was a crucial element for the Kremlin that Ms. Rice did not visit Moscow during her first tour of Europe and the Middle East in her new capacity. As White House spokesman Richard Boucher said, the secretary would visit friendly countries. Apparently the U.S. no longer views Russia as such, which promises diplomatic frosts. Integrity in bilateral relations is giving way to fragmentariness, when the parties grope for spots they can safely stand on.
Mr. Lavrov spotlighted Russia's accession to the WTO and energy dialogue with the U.S. However unpleasant it may be for the Kremlin, U.S. President George W. Bush is again raising the issue of democratic reforms in Russia. Mr. Lavrov can only confirm that Russian President Vladimir Putin would answer any questions in Bratislava and pose some of his own.
According to Mr. Lavrov, Russia and the U.S. agree that differences should be discussed honestly and frankly, in order to find mutually acceptable solutions.
The discussion of the Yukos saga at the ministers' meeting was described rather strangely. Mr. Lavrov said they "touched upon the issue," while Ms. Rice admitted that the problem should be tackled according to Russian legislation. In this case, why did the Secretary raise the question at all? Or did she want to express her support for Mr. Putin in this delicate matter? American sources point in the opposite direction, stressing the U.S.'s concern over the drawn-out conflict involving the Russian oil giant.
Kommersant
Maskhadov: Truce Call Addressed To Putin
The news about a truce in Chechnya, declared by separatist leaders, had far-reaching repercussions in Russia and abroad during the weekend. Spokesmen for the Russian authorities declared that such statements are just a cheap PR move. Many of them called the order of a cease-fire fake. The Russian daily Kommersant asked the author of the order - Aslan Maskhadov - for comments, submitting its questions to and receiving the reply from his general spokesman.
Mr. Maskhadov confirmed the authenticity of the document. He said the call for truce is just an attempt to demonstrate loyalty to peace and invite the Russian leaders to sit at the negotiating table. He considers that only the joint efforts of the Russian president and the leaders of the self-proclaimed Republic of Ichkeria may head off the catastrophe into which Russia and the whole Caucasus are sliding now. "This is why my call is addressed first of all to the Russian president," he said.
Mr. Maskhadov hopes for an adequate reaction from Russian authorities. That is why after the order on a temporary cessation of all types of offensive combat actions, he issued an order on the appointment of a delegation for contacts with the Russian side.
He warned that if the talks do not produce results, he would consider himself relieved of the moral responsibility for continued war efforts.
If the war ends, he said, all the persons involved in crimes against humanity, including Shamil Basayev, who is suspected of masterminding the seizure of the Dubrovka theater and the Beslan school, will be turned over to the International Tribunal.
"Until then, I will oppose him and other warlords in every possible way in implementing any acts against the peaceful population of Russia," Mr. Maskhadov said. He noted that after the theater siege, Mr. Basayev is no longer a member of the Ichkerian armed forces structures and that is why he may not obey the truce order.
Vedomosti
Russia Ready To Sell New Oil And Gas Reserves
The Russian state is beginning a major sale of oil and gas reserves in East Siberia. Later this year, the Natural Resources Ministry will auction off the Chayandinskoye oil and gas field in Yakutia. With recoverable resources of 1.24 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 50 million tons of oil, this field is one of the world's largest. The ministry will also sell several other oil and gas fields, writes Vedomosti.
In all, the Natural Resources Ministry has a list of 38 oil and gas fields in the Irkutsk Region, the republics of Yakutia and Evenkia, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The starting price for the Chayandinskoye field alone, analysts say, will be at least $100 million, with another several billion dollars in required investment. However, investors are expected to seek discounts given the remote location of the site.
Though officials have promised a fair competition, experts say Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP, and Gazprom are the frontrunners in the race for East Siberian fields. All three majors want to bid in the auction. Gazprom press secretary Sergei Kupriyanov says the joint development of the Chayandinskoye field has been negotiated with Rosneft and Surgutneftegaz.
Director of the Institute for Energy Policy Vladimir Milov does not believe a foreign company can win a license in East Siberia. However, some experts do not rule out that the wealthy China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) could join Gazprom in the auction. Last year, CNPC announced it was ready to bid for the Chayandinskoye field. A source close to CNPC has confirmed the Chinese major is still interested in Siberian oil and gas assets and is ready to talk with the Russian government about possible cooperation.
East Siberia and Yakutia make up the least-developed oil and gas basin in Russia. The Natural Resources Ministry says recoverable reserves in this area amount to 1.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and 230 million tons of oil, with the estimated resources of 45.9 billion tons of fuel equivalent.
Izvestia
Foreign Banks Eclipse Russian Banks
The expansion of foreign banks into Russia assumed a genuine scale. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Macroeconomic Studies (CMS), last year saw unprecedented growth in the number of financial institutions with foreign capital. Experts believe it might indicate a clear intention of foreign banks to expand on the Russian market, writes Izvestia.
By January 1, 2005, 131 banks with foreign capital operated in Russia, including 33 financial institutions that are 100% subsidiaries of foreign banks. In the past two years, the number of foreign subsidiaries has increased by six, and the overall share of their assets in the Russian banking system has gone up to 5.8%. An analyst with Prospekt Investment, Igor Lavushchenko, believes foreign banks are starting to consolidate. Although direct affiliates of foreign financial institutions are banned from entering the Russian market, 100% subsidiaries can serve as adequate substitutions. The expert considers the increase of the share of such subsidiaries against the backdrop of Russia's increased investment rating as an attempt to create the infrastructure needed to service an inevitable future inflow of capital into the country.
Mr. Lavushchenko believes that Russian banks have a maximum of a year to define their strategies and positioning on the market where they can successfully compete with foreign rivals.
As a result of the summer 2004 banking crisis, banks with foreign participation expanded their presence on the private account market. During the Q3 2004, they increased their share in the overall volume of private deposits in contrast to the period between the beginning of 2002 and the middle of 2004, when their share had been constantly declining. Foreign subsidiaries attract customers through the security guaranteed by an international brand, experts claim. In the past three years, banks with foreign participation have also increased the volume of consumer loans by a factor of six because their interest rates were more moderate than those of Russian banks.
Noviye Izvestia
Kudrin, Zurabov Fall Out Of Favor With The People
The Public Opinion Fund (POF) has published ratings of the population's trust in the state officials directly involved in the implementation of highly unpopular and painful reforms in Russia, Noviye Izvestia reports.
The results clearly show that in the last ten months the share of Russians who do not like Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has increased from 8% to 14%, whereas the share of those who view it positively has dropped from 10% to 8%. The number of people who are not happy with the minister's work is almost three times higher than that of those who are satisfied with it. Strikingly, even those who would reelect Vladimir Putin as president are critical of the finance minister.
The attitude toward Health Minister Mikhail Zurabov (8% favoring him, and 26% criticizing him) is almost a mirror image of the public's opinion about his predecessor, Alexander Pochinok, prior to his dismissal. Only 12% believe the minister is carrying out his duties well, but 45% of Russians are not satisfied with his work.
The respondents obviously have other reasons to criticize the ministers aside from the exchange of benefits in-kind for cash payments (Mr. Kudrin is often blamed for poverty, low wages and subsidies, high prices and tariffs for communal services; Mr. Zurabov is blamed for the destruction of the health system), but this reform was the last straw, and public opinion with regard to both ministers has dropped to a critical level in the wake of it.
It is worth noticing that the POF, which experts claim often conducts such polls on behalf of the Kremlin, particularly focused the present study on Mr. Zurabov and Mr. Kudrin. Could it mean that the Kremlin is preparing the ground for their dismissal? Why else would the authorities want to find out what the public thought about the officials who have conducted extremely painful reforms that could not have been supported by society from the start?
Gazeta
Gazprom May Refuse To Purchase Turkmenian Gas
Having received Ukraine's consent to purchase gas at increased prices, Turkmenistan plans to revise the terms of a contract signed with the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. If Turkmenistan insists on raising the price of gas from $44 per 1,000 cu m to $60, Gazprom may denounce the agreement reached two years ago, warns Gazeta.
While there was a formal pretext for revising the gas terms supply to Ukraine (Kiev and Ashkhabad renew the contract every year), Russia buys gas in keeping with a long-term contract. In the Russian contract the price of gas ($44 per 1,000 cu m) was fixed for the first three years through 2006.
A Gazprom delegation will be sent to Turkmenistan during the next two years, sources in the republic said. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov will turn 65 on February 19, and the Turkmenneftegaz state corporation would like to commemorate it with a new contract with Gazprom.
But the Russian gas concern may do without Ashkhabad's services. In 2005, Gazprom expects an increase of its own output and may also buy additional amounts of gas from independent Russian producers. In addition, Kazakhstan is ready to increase gas supplies to Russia, and last week Gazprom signed a contract outlining the purchase of gas from Uzbekistan.
Ashkhabad's only trump card is the possibility to compete with Gazprom in Europe, supplying gas there through an alternative gas pipeline, said Dmitry Tsaregorodtsev, an analyst from Rye, Man & Gor Securities. However, it would be practically impossible to persuade private companies to invest in such a project under the present political regime in Turkmenistan, he said. This will in fact signify support for Mr. Niyazov, Mr. Tsaregorodtsev said, and it is unlikely that Europe will agree to that. Ashkhabad does not have enough funds for building an alternative pipeline. Turkmenistan will therefore have to accept Russia's terms, according to Dmitry Mangilev, an analyst from Prospekt Investment company.
