Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Who will build Belarus' nuclear power plant?
Very soon, Belarus will decide who is to build a nuclear power plant there. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says that despite a previous understanding, it might not be Russia. At the same time, experts suspect that the ever conflicting allies will, in the end, agree and Minsk's threats are a way to make Moscow more agreeable.
As early as January, it was revealed that Belarus was negotiating with countries other than Russia for the possible construction of a nuclear power plant because Belarus and Russia could not come to an agreement. China was named as an alternative to Russia. But at that time officials in Minsk claimed that a treaty with Russia to build a plant would be signed in a matter of days and that there was no conflict.
True, Atomstroyexport, Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, was hinting at some connection with politics. However, the contract expected to be inked last year was never signed. On Friday, Lukashenko admitted there were differences and said that if a compromise fails to be reached in the near future, Minsk would start looking for another partner. Other options are available, he said. Lukashenko said he told his government to hold final talks with Russia on the subject, and, if they fail, to open negotiations with other investors.
A source in the fuel and energy sector of Belarus said, off the record, that Belarus has held no substantial talks with any other potential investor yet because a "divorce" from Russia has not been formalized. In an interview with the media, nuclear physicist Alexander Voitovich, a member of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences, suggested that both parties might agree after all, and that the Russian company would remain the general contractor. He also described the Russian proposal to set up a cooperative electricity exporting venture as a natural one. "Russia wants to be certain that the money it spends on a plant will be an investment." Voitovich believes.
Some also think that Belarus will never build the project, and not just because its strong-willed leadership cannot reach an agreement with an investor. Lithuania, on the border where Belarus plans to build the plant, is opposed to it. It is reported to be keen on constructing a new nuclear power plant itself. Another plant is slated to appear in the Kaliningrad Region of Russia. Such a "crowding" of nuclear reactors could be deemed dangerous by international experts. In addition, experts close to the subject hint that no country, save China, really wants to work with Belarus' odious president and that he lacks credibility in general.
Kommersant
Number of vacationing Russians topped pre-crisis level in June
The flow of Russian tourists to popular summer destinations exceeded the 2009 stunted level and topped the successful 2008 figures, according to foreign statistics for June. Still, travel agents see a conflicted travel season this year, as their business profitability dropped due to stronger competition. Working on popular destinations has never yielded more than a modest 2% profit anyway.
The number of vacationers choosing traditional "beach" tours grew significantly in the first month of this summer: 578,500 people went to Turkey (up 20%), 75,100 to Spain (up 66%), and 36,800 to Cyprus (up 54%). This growth compensated for last year's recession dragging losses: in June 2009, the number of Russians traveling to Turkey dropped 9%, Spain 12% and Cyprus 19%.
For June 2010, the total number of Russians who visited the 22 countries that have provided statistics was 1.216 million, up 30% from June 2009. July and August will likely see even greater increments, especially at visa free destinations for Russians, as the unusual heat and smoke chased Russians from the central part of the country, said Anna Podgornaya, general manager at tour operator Pegas Touristik.
Greece lost some of its popularity at the start of this holiday season, as repeated strike reports naturally scared vacationers off their preferred destination for family holidays with young children, tour agents explained. Yet, the visa information provided by the tourism department at the Greek Embassy in Moscow suggests that the demand surged during the summer (up 64%, to 70,900 people in June and up 56%, to 74,300 in July).
Although sales of package tours to Greece have indeed grown, travel agents are not making much profit on them, said Vladimir Vorobyov, co-owner of Natalie Tours. He believes travel agents will suffer losses at the end of the season because they have to sell the tours below cost.
The profitability of this business is falling due to fierce competition, despite the 30% rise in the number of tours booked, major European operator TUI Travel said in its second quarter report, describing the situation in Russia and Ukraine. In Russia, TUI Travel is officially represented by two companies, Mostravel and VKO Group.
The profitability of sending people to Turkey and Egypt, the two most popular summer destinations, is no higher than 1.5%-2%, said Natalia Akimtsova, marketing director at Anex Tour.
The profit margin is not growing, agreed Alexander Sinigibsky, CEO of Russian TEZ Tour. He describes this season as complicated saying it will be difficult to forecast any travel agent profitability.
Vedomosti
Yukos is not a business
Moscow's Khamovniki court again ignored the ban on detaining entrepreneurs and extended the detention of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. The Supreme Court's explanations about what is considered a business did not help.
The Khamovniki court again granted the state prosecutor's petition, extending the detention of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, the former heads of the oil company Yukos, by three months. In his ruling the judge, Viktor Danilkin, emphasized that the circumstances under which this measure of restraint had been chosen had not changed.
The prosecutor's petition said that if the detention were to be revoked, then the defendants would be transferred to a penal colony with "much looser security regulations." This would allow Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to have unlimited correspondence and receive many more visits while "a significant proportion of the revenues received from selling stolen oil have been legalized and are actively used to counteract the investigation."
Lawyers based their appeal on the ban on detaining entrepreneurs which was introduced in April on President Dmitry Medvedev's initiative. There are now regulations in place directly prohibiting the detention of defendants accused of commercial crimes. In May, the court ignored this ban when it extended the two men's detention and the Cassation Board of the Moscow City Court ruled that the crimes Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were charged with do not fall under this definition of business, as defined in the law.
Khodorkovsky's case is atypical and is no proof that the president's initiatives do not work, said Andrei Nazarov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Legislation Committee. This amendment is intended to exclude imprisonment as a way of punishing economic crime. Consequently there is no reason for the defendant in such a case to be held in pre-trial detention, the deputy explained. But Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are already serving their term in prison, and therefore extending their detention is a mere formality. In similar situations all convicts under investigation continue serving their prison term, Nazarov added. In addition, the amended law allows for the detention of businessmen in special cases.
Vzglyad
Romanian diplomat declared persona non grata for spying in Moscow
Gabriel Grecu, first secretary in the political department of the Romanian Embassy in Moscow, was detained on Monday for spying. Grecu was caught red-handed trying to obtain secret military information. The Romanian diplomat was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Russia.
According to the Public Relations Center of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the police found the diplomat in possession of spy tools, which, the Federal Security Service states, proves the nature of his activities against Russia. The service did not specify what spy tools Grecu had when he was detained or what information he was going to obtain. The Romanian diplomat accused of spying was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Russia.
According to the FSB's Public Relations Center, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an official complaint through diplomatic channels to the Romanian side in connection with Gabriel Grecu's actions, which were incompatible with his status as a diplomat. The foreigner was declared persona non grata and has to leave Russia within 48 hours.
Another major scandal involving employees of Romania's intelligence agency unfolded in March 2009 in Bucharest, with Russia also accused of spying. A Bulgarian citizen and a Romanian military officer were accused of cooperating with the Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services. Later, however, Russia's involvement in espionage could not be proved.
Under Russian law, espionage is treason. According to Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code, spying is defined as gathering, keeping and sharing secret state information with a foreign state and gathering information on the order of a foreign intelligence service that can be used against Russia's national security if done by a foreign or stateless citizen. The list of information considered to be state secrets is set out in federal law No. 5485-1. Spying is punishable by 10 to 20 years imprisonment.
The scandal involving this agent from Romania, which is a NATO member state, took place a month after the "spy scandal" involving Russian sleeper agents suspected of spying for Russia in the United States. The eleventh of the suspected agents and possible leader of the group, 54-year-old Canadian Christopher Robert Metsos, was detained in Cyprus, freed on bail and disappeared.
Vremya
Most Russian oil companies report lower net profits
During the first six months of the year, major Russian oil companies posted substantial growth in earnings. Rosneft increased its revenues by 12.8%; Surgutneftegaz by 18.6%; and Gazprom Neft by 25%. Bashneft managed to increase its earnings fivefold, up to 161.30 billion rubles. The oil companies say this performance was due to a favorable market. And yet, Russian oil producers, aside from Bashneft and LUKoil, have reported much lower net profits. The reason, experts believe, is the existing system of export duties, long pressed for by the oil sector.
Rosneft's net profits during the first six months of 2010 dropped 14% from last year, down to 69.72 billion rubles. In the case of Surgutneftegaz, they fell 27%, down to 56.05 billion rubles, and with Gazprom Neft, 23.5%, or down to 20.15 billion rubles. Paradoxically, such a fall, according to analysts, follows a growth in oil prices. Between July 2008 and February 2009, the price of one barrel decreased from $145 to $34. When prices were at their lowest, the companies asked the government to change the then existing system of monitoring quotes, which compelled them to pay duty based on quotations from the two previous months. The government met them half-way and cut the period needed for calculating duty from two to one month. That made responding to market changes easier. By February 2009, duty had reached an all-time low: $100.9 per ton (in August 2008 it stood at $495). But since then prices have steadily increased followed by the duty, but now without a time lag. It was announced on Monday that from September 1 the export duty would be $273.5 per ton.
Dmitry Lyutyagin, an analyst at Okrytie Financial Corporation, says: under the present system, the export duty claims a higher percentage of a company's earnings. "Today, the market oil price is almost twice as high as a year ago, but the duty no longer lags as far behind oil pricing, and when crude is sold, the government currently charges $36 out of $75 per barrel," the analyst said.
However, even in these conditions some companies have managed to show considerable growth. Bashneft's net profits during the first six months of 2010 rose fivefold to 15.32 billion rubles. LUKoil posted a fourfold rise in net profits, or 137.4 billion rubles. This result was obtained by a redistribution of net profits from its subsidiaries, guaranteeing the head company an additional 121.2 billion rubles.
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MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti)
