* Russian Chief of the General Staff Gen. Yury Baluyevsky said:
- Russia believes that the U.S. global missile defense system is aimed against it and will not cooperate with Washington on the issue
- the placement of a U.S. missile shield in Europe is aimed primarily at creating an impenetrable defense against Russia and China
* Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was ready to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, the Al-Alam channel said
* Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, is reluctant to discuss the resumption of a moratorium on uranium enrichment at the upcoming talks in Turkey with Europe's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, an Iranian government official spokesman said
* Iran's nuclear program can still be suspended and talks with the Iran Six resumed, said Sergei Kislyak, a deputy Russian foreign minister
* The Martti Ahtisaari plan, which envisages granting Kosovo supervised independence, is unworkable, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov said
* A missile attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip Tuesday was a cover for an attempted abduction of Israeli military personnel, Israeli media said referring to Army sources
* The foreign minister of Georgia's self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba, said a resumption of negotiations with Tbilisi would be premature
* Russia and India launched a three-day joint naval counterterrorism exercise in the Sea of Japan, the press service of Russia's Pacific Fleet said
* Russia's Navy successfully tested the British-made Panther Plus submersible, an aide to the Navy commander said
* In the wake of adopted budget decisions, Russia's financial system will remain stable at least until 2020, or until 2030 given favorable conditions, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said
* Belarus's president delivered an annual address to parliament, offering partnership to the West and former Soviet nations, and outlining plans to cut energy dependence on Russia
* Troika Dialog Group, a Russian investment company, will organize initial public offerings (IPO) for 15 Russian companies this year, the head of the group said
* The U.K. subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a six-year agreement with Brazil's Propower to acquire carbon emission reduction credits, Gazprom said
* Construction started on a pipeline in Turkey to pump oil to Europe and the Middle East, bypassing the country's crowded straits
* Fifteen people were killed and many wounded in a massive pileup on a Syrian motorway, an administration official of the Rif Dimashq province said
* Hundreds of people queued up in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to bid farewell to the deceased first president of Russia, and over ten thousand mourners already paid tribute
* Turkmenistan's president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov signaled interest in a proposal of his Russian counterpart regarding oil and gas cooperation in the Caspian area
* A Moscow court found Sergei Mavrodi, founder of a multi-million-dollar pyramid investment scheme, MMM, guilty of fraud
