Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Iran has peaceful intentions - Rosatom head
On August 21, the Bushehr nuclear power plant will go into operation in Iran. Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Rosatom, told Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the Iranian leadership had peaceful intentions.
He said this Saturday will see the physical launch of the plant: it will turn from a facility under construction into an operating unit. This will be done under the supervision of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. They will unseal containers of fuel Rosatom delivered over a year ago, and the fuel will be taken to the reactor room.
It is not only that Iran will use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes that is important, but also that Russia has proven it always fulfils its obligations. Russia's position is that any country in the world has the right to use nuclear power peacefully under IAEA supervision. "It is also important that this is a large international project. Of course, most of the work has been carried out by Russia, but deliveries have come from over 10 other countries, including many in the European Union and in the Asia-Pacific Region. Therefore this global project demonstrates once again that if Iran develops peaceful nuclear energy under IAEA supervision and complies with the standards of international legislation, this is a possibility for Iran as it is for any other country," the Rosatom head said.
However, the corporation's international plans are not confined to Iran. In September, Rosatom is planning to wrap up an inter-governmental agreement with Vietnam on the construction of the first nuclear plant there. Next week Moscow is expecting a delegation from Bangladesh to inspect Russian nuclear plants and decide whether Bangladesh needs similar ones.
Overall, Kiriyenko only had good news for Putin. Even the situation in Sarov, where the nuclear facilities were under threat from approaching wildfires, did not appear too difficult to manage. "Fire attacked three times. At first, it came from the west. Then it crept up from the south. The last blaze encroached from a nature preserve to the east," Kiriyenko said, adding that more than 3,000 men and 300 pieces of equipment had been gathered together to fight the fires. He asked for the staff of the Emergencies Ministry, Interior Troops and Federal Penitentiary Service to be given awards in recognition of their efforts.
Expert Online
Industrial growth slows
According to data provided by the Federal Service for State Statistics, the industrial production index stood at 105.9 percent in July against 109.7 percent in the same period last year. This slowdown in the annual industrial production performance is mostly connected with the positive figures for July 2009.
Industry grew by only 1 percent compared with the previous month. In particular, the mining industry grew by 2.9 percent, the production and distribution of electricity, gas, and water grew by 2 percent, while the manufacturing industry fell by 0.4 percent.
The current slowdown in the industrial production performance is part of the economic recovery process after the economic crisis. In particular, in 2009, the positive situation in foreign trade and consumer demand encouraged by the state boosted economic recovery. The stable growth of these indicators launched economic growth.
If we bear in mind that most manufacturing companies ran on reserves during the crisis, it becomes clear that strong industrial performance is connected with the restoration of these reserves. This theory is proved by data about GDP growth in the second quarter and the sources of this growth. According to a study by the Tsentr Razvitiya (Development Center) think tank, in the second quarter, for the first time after the crisis the contribution of the net exports to GDP growth was negative. This factor was compensated neither by an increase in investments in the fixed assets nor consumer demand. Thus, the growth of reserves in the second quarter was considerable.
However, when the industry restored its reserves, a slowdown became inevitable, as we are seeing now. Due to the low figures of the previous year, the majority of industries are showing high growth rates, but monthly indices show a small reduction in many industries. An important exception is the building materials industry, which is directly connected with investments in the fixed assets. Both the annual and monthly indices have shown a positive growth, which promises a faster increase in investments in the coming months.
Thus, the slowdown in industrial growth is a temporary trend and shows no sign of continued stagnation.
BFM.ru
Alcohol ads to be banned from Russian media
Russia's chief sanitary officer Gennady Onishchenko has proposed a complete ban on alcohol advertising in the Russian media, starting with removing all beer ads from TV. Advertisers, along with alcohol producers and brewers are unanimous that the policy is more likely to inflict losses on their business than to reduce alcohol consumption.
"Let's ban alcohol advertising entirely, beer included," Onishchenko urged, commenting on the Moscow city hall decision to limit alcohol retail early in the morning and late at night, to be enforced from September 1. He described the Moscow government's decision as wise and useful, but said comprehensive policies were needed to actually reduce alcohol consumption in Russia. He primarily insisted on banning beer advertising during prime time.
Onishchencko's initiatives seriously affect the interests of alcohol producers and advertisers, as well as the media. "From a free market perspective, restrictions and limitations on products that are allowed for sale, look strange," said Sergei Veselov, market research director at the Video International analytical center.
In the first six months of this year, the revenues from beer advertising totaled 2.4 billion rubles (with VAT), and from spirits, 500mn rubles. The 2.4 billion rubles paid for beer ads included 1.9 billion for commercial videos shown on TV, which account for 4 percent of TV advertising budgets. Therefore, beer ads contribute some 4-5 billion rubles a year, and TV companies are unlikely to secure this income elsewhere, he said.
Beer accounts for 2-2.5 percent of all billboard, poster and other outdoor advertising media, and for 3 percent of printed media's advertising budgets. The shortfall may be quite painful for newspapers and magazines. As for advertisers and advertising agencies, Veselov said they have experience in adapting to government restrictions. He believes these agencies will survive by finding new niches and expanding their methods of conveying information.
Maksim Klyagin, an analyst with Finam Management, said a complete ban on any alcohol advertising is not the most probable scenario at this point. Yet, hypothetically, some restrictions may be imposed by amending the federal law on advertising and other regulatory acts.
Sources in the Brewers' Union have failed to predict the kind of restrictions the sector can expect. The parliament is due to consider a series of legislative initiatives, all of them affecting beer production and marketing in one way or another; more than 30 bills are awaiting consideration.
Vzglyad
Forging a nuclear friendship
Ukraine has acquired a 10 percent stake in the International Uranium Enrichment Center in Angarsk, Irkutsk Region, Russia. This gives Kiev guaranteed access to a natural uranium market and ensures a steady supply of fuel for its nuclear power plants.
Ukraine's Nuclear Fuel Holding Company and Russia's Rosatom State Corporation have signed an agreement for Ukraine to purchase a 10 percent stake in the International Uranium Enrichment Center (IUEC). The formalities connected with the acquisition are expected to be finalized in October 2010, after the share purchase.
Early in August, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia was willing to sell some shares in the IUEC to Ukraine. "Several years ago, Ukraine expressed a desire to join the center. And today I can say that the Russian side has performed all the necessary formalities. We are prepared to sell our Ukrainian partners a 10 percent stake," Putin was quoted by Interfax as saying.
Putin explained that the IUEC's objective is to ensure non-nuclear countries a stable supply of fuel for their nuclear power plants and at the same time to guarantee the observance of the non-proliferation treaty. In November 2008, Ukraine's cabinet of ministers approved a draft agreement with Russia and Kazakhstan on joint IUEC membership. The Russian government endorsed the proposal in February 2009.
As follows from a statement by Natalya Shumkova, head of the nuclear energy and atomic industry department at the Fuel and Energy Ministry of Ukraine, Kiev planned to acquire a 10 percent stake in the IUEC for $100,000. The question, however, is not one of cost, but rather that Russia will become the primary source of enriched uranium for Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
Currently, the capacity of the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant is 2.6 million Separative Work Units (SWUs) a year (a unit that enables the user to assess the actual costs to obtain one kilo of low-enriched uranium). Rosatom is planning to increase the output to 4.2 million SWUs and also to build a new plant with a capacity of 5 million SWUs.
This increase in production is expected to meet growing global demand for enriched uranium. The world's current uranium enrichment capacity is estimated at 38 SWUs. In 2050, it will reach 50 million SWUs. Incidentally, Russia accounts for 45 percent of all global uranium enrichment capacity.
Ukraine's IUEC membership is crucial for the country because Kiev gets a guaranteed buyer for its natural uranium in Russia whose own resources are insufficient.
GZT.ru
Lukashenko seeks salvation at CSTO summit
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is planning to discuss the situation in Kyrgyzstan with his CSTO counterparts at the organization's informal summit, opening in Yerevan on Friday. Another problem that could be discussed in Yerevan are the worsening relations between Russia and Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is also attending the summit in the Armenian capital and is seeking a private meeting with Medvedev to try to settle the escalating conflict with Russia, experts believe. Lukashenko needs to mend fences with Moscow to consolidate his positions in the run up to the elections in late 2010 and early 2011.
"While Lukashenko is actively seeking this meeting, it is far from certain that it will take place, considering the escalating rhetoric between the countries," political analysts Alexei Makarkin says. "Lukashenko's relations with Medvedev and Putin are so tense, that even the hasty recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia may fail to produce the result he is hoping for. At the same time, the recognition may irrevocably spoil Minsk's relations with the United States and the European Union."
"If the bilateral meeting does take place, it will signify a willingness to withdraw or relax the grievances," believes Dmitry Badovsky, deputy director of the think-tank Institute of Social Systems. "Russia has clearly indicated that the price for restoring normal relations is the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia."
Lukashenko understands that if Minsk recognizes the break-away republics, Belarusian officials may face visa sanctions, and the country may be denied new loans from the IMF and European banks and lose access to EU markets.
Considering the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus, Minsk's timing for staging yet another squabble with Moscow leaves a lot to be desired. In the run up to the elections, Russia will continue increasing political and economic pressure on Belarus, which will drastically limit Lukashenko's opportunities to maneuver between Moscow and Brussels, experts from the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISI) believe. Moscow may not accept the results of the presidential election, causing the EU to also question their results. That may increase Russia's influence on the Belarusian leadership.
As reported in European media, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin held an informal meeting with opposition politician Yaroslav Romanchuk and two other representatives of the Belarusian opposition. Romanchuk believes that 51 percent of the voters in Belarus will not support Lukashenko. There is, however, one significant problem. Lukashenko has thoroughly mopped up the political field in Belarus, and Moscow will be hard pressed to find a suitable candidate to support in the presidential election.
If representatives of the fragmented Belarusian opposition manage to consolidate their efforts, this election could be the last for Alexander Lukashenko, political analyst Valery Khomyakov believes. However, despite the election being less than a year away, the opposition has yet to produce a single candidate.
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MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti)
