• China lends Nigeria Dollars 2bn in exchange for oil talks. • Ft com site : China oils Nigeria talks with loan

loan, while another N80 billion (US 0.5 billion dollars) was clarified as concessionary to be invested in the country.
The Minister, who spoke to newsmen on the details of President Umaru Yar' Ardua's visit to China a forthnight ago, said the discussions in China were to woo investors into key sectors of the economy, especially in improving infrastructure.
He said all the loans fall into categories of long-term repayments at low interest rates, as contained in the country's new policy to check debt overhangs.
"A grant agreement was signed between the Nigerian and Chinese governments for the building of hospitals, schools and anti-malaria projects, envisaged for completion in the next two years.
"To this effect, the government of China is to provide the federal government of Nigeria with two grants totalling N1.9 billion, which is about 80 million Yuans (US 11.42 million dollars)," he said.
Shamshudeen said an agreement of another N8.5 billion (US 5million dollars) was signed for the supply, installation and commissioning of Global Open Trunking Architecture (GOTA ) security communications between a telecoms firm, ZTE and the government. According to him, the China National Oil Corporation (CNOOC) also indicated its interest to invest in the refineries and the petro-chemical industries, agriculture and tranining projects for Nigeria.
Document AFNWS00020080331e43v001km
This Day (Nigeria) - AAGM: China to Invest Over N1 Trillion in Country - FG.
286 words

31 March 2008

This Day (Nigeria)

AIWTHD

English

The Financial Times Limited. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. All material subject to copyright. This Day (Nigeria) (c) 2008 All rights reserved
The Federal Government said yesterday in Abuja that the Chinese government has signed agreements with Nigeria to invest over N1 trillion to buoy the country's economy.
The Minister of Finance, Dr Samshudeen Usman, said that about N340 billion (US 2 billion dollars) agreement was signed as concessionary loan, while another N80 billion (US 0.5 billion dollars) was clarified as concessionary to be invested in the country.
The Minister, who spoke to newsmen on the details of President Umaru Yar' Ardua's visit to China a forthnight ago, said the discussions in China were to woo investors into key sectors of the economy, especially in improving infrastructure.
He said all the loans fall into categories of long-term repayments at low interest rates, as contained in the country's new policy to check debt overhangs.
"A grant agreement was signed between the Nigerian and Chinese governments for the building of hospitals, schools and anti-malaria projects, envisaged for completion in the next two years.
"To this effect, the government of China is to provide the federal government of Nigeria with two grants totalling N1.9 billion, which is about 80 million Yuans (US 11.42 million dollars)," he said.
Shamshudeen said an agreement of another N8.5 billion (US 5million dollars) was signed for the supply, installation and commissioning of Global Open Trunking Architecture (GOTA ) security communications between a telecoms firm, ZTE and the government. According to him, the China National Oil Corporation (CNOOC) also indicated its interest to invest in the refineries and the petro-chemical industries, agriculture and tranining projects for Nigeria.
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)
FTDL63232591
Document AIWTHD0020080401e43v00005
Interfax Russia & CIS Military Weekly
33,396 words

28 March 2008

03:09 PM

Russia & CIS Military Weekly

RSSMIL

English

(c) 2008 Interfax Information Services, B.V.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Russia is alarmed by the situation in Kosovo and is calling on NATO to ensure that the Kosovo Force (KFOR) strictly abide by their mandate, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax.
The situation in Kosovo is a traditional theme at sessions of the NATO-Russia Council, Grushko said.
"NATO is not playing any political role in Kosovo's affairs these days. However, this issue is being considered at NATO-Russia Council sessions primarily in terms of how much the Kosovo Force led by NATO abides by its mandate following from UN Security Council resolution 1244," he said.
Russia insists that KFOR's actions strictly comply with this resolution, Grushko said. "The Kosovo Force must fully comply with resolution 1244 and not take any actions surpassing this resolution," he said.
"Certainly, during such meetings, Russia informs its partners about its concerns because of the deterioration of the situation in terms of security in Kosovo as a result of unlawful actions involving the unilateral declaration of independence and the recognition of Kosovo's independence by certain countries," Grushko said.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax-AVN) - The ground cargo transit to the anti-Taliban coalition in Afghanistan is possible only if non-military property intended for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), not the NATO group of forces, is delivered, a military and diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax-AVN on Monday.
"Russia will restrict ground transit to the anti-Taliban group in Afghanistan by these two conditions," the source said.
"Firstly, this can be only non-military cargo: food, clothes, fuel, furniture and other equipment, that military units need in everyday life, rather then for military actions - so no ammunition and military equipment," the source said.
"Secondly, this deals with the transit for the needs of the ISAF, rather than the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan known as Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), this means the forces created under a UN mandate," the source said.
According to the source, the Russian Foreign Ministry views negotiations with Washington and Brussels on the ground cargo transit to the ISAF from the position that Russia's participation would comply with the UN Security Council Resolution 1386, which encourages states to provide the ISAF with "necessary assistance that may be requested, including the provision of flight clearances and transit."
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Russian government to resolve the issue of providing humanitarian assistance to Kosovo.
"I asked the prime minister to work on the issue," Putin said addressing Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov at a Monday meeting with members of the government.
"If [people in Kosovo] need humanitarian assistance, let's do this; however, without politicization," Putin said.
"If the issue deals with political aspects, this is one side of the problem; the other side is humanitarian," the president said.
"If we look at humanitarian problems, we should proceed from the fact that the population of this enclave [Kosovo] should feel fine regardless of ethnic origins," Putin said, commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarks that "the humanitarian situation in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo has become slightly tense over the past two weeks."
The Serbian government asked Russia for humanitarian assistance the other day, Lavrov said, adding that Serbia asked to supply medicines, medical equipment, personal hygiene and long shelf-life food products.
"We would consider it as important to react to this request," Lavrov said.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - About 30 states have recognized independent Kosovo, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a Monday meeting of the Russian government.
"A much larger number of states said they would not recognize independent Kosovo," he said.
Apart from political tensions caused by the unilateral declaration of independence, Kosovo has a difficult humanitarian situation, Lavrov said.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - Russian and U.S. experts are expected to meet for consultations on missile defense issues in Washington in the next few days.
The Russian delegation will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak, a diplomatic source told Interfax on Monday.
Kislyak is planning to fly to Washington on March 25.
"At the consultations the parties will continue the discussion that started at the Moscow meeting of the defense and foreign ministers in the two plus two format," the source said.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax) - The ninth anniversary of NATO bombings of the former Yugoslavia, which is marked on Monday, and consequent events showed that the alliance held an inefficient policy on the Balkans, Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachyov said.
"Today is one of the most tragic dates in the post-war history of modern Europe; it is the ninth anniversary of NATO bombings of the former Yugoslavia, including Kosovo," he told Interfax on Monday.
Kosachyov eye-witnessed the bombings as he was accompanying then Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov to Belgrade for negotiations with then Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
"I took direct part in those events, and I remember well that NATO decided to bomb [the former Yugoslavia] regardless of the outcome of those negotiations [between Primakov and Milosevic]. The bombings were part of the general plan aimed to weaken and, possibly, topple the Milosevic regime," he said.
The Kosovo problem "was a NATO instrument of pressure on the Milosevic administration. As it frequently happens, one illegal action caused another and military force was used on the Balkans without authorization of the UN Security Council. The Kosovo problem began to develop unpredictably," he said.
"Time passed, and Kosovo separatism became a headache of NATO, but it was too late," he said.
"The current awkward and illegal unilateral recognition of independent Kosovo by a number of countries is a forced step of the West. Judging by the recent developments, this step is highly uncomfortable," Kosachyov said.
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian State Duma intends to give military enlistment committees additional powers to enable them to tighten the rules of army recruitment.
"A corresponding bill has already been passed in the second reading and will be examined in the third and final reading soon," head of the State Duma Defense Committee Colonel General Viktor Zavarzin told Interfax-AVN.
Under the bill, military enlistment committees are to register citizens in places of their permanent residence and at temporary residences if they stay there for more than three months.
"In this case, citizens ready for military service must check out with military enlistment committees at their permanent residences and register with district enlistment authorities upon arrival at a temporary residence," Zavarzin said.
The bill would make it mandatory for citizens to notify military enlistment committees whenever they plan to stay away from their permanent places of residence for a period of 15 days to 3 months, the general said.
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Moscow is concerned by the U.S. missile plans in Eastern Europe and the possible prospects of Ukraine and Georgia joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Russia's president-elect Dmitry Medvedev said.
"We are not happy about current active efforts to deploy the third missile launch site. We believe that this sort of decisions break the fragile balance of forces and means in Europe, and not only in Europe," Medvedev said in an interview with the British newspaper The Financial Times.
Nevertheless, Moscow "is ready to study those proposals that our U.S. partners [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates] brought here," he said.
"It was not us who started all that, but there must be a movement in some direction, something has to be done not to allow a radical worsening of the situation. Talks have been held, and those initiatives that the U.S. partners have brought to us are being studied," he said.
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - The bill toughening control by military commissariats over potential conscripts being proposed by the State Duma would, if adopted, equate young men to criminals, the Soldiers' Mothers faction of the liberal Yabloko party believes.
"If we introduce legislation to make the job of military commissariat officials more convenient, we'd be better off creating 'ghettos' for young people of conscription age to make it easier to look for them and catch them," the faction said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The document, if adopted, will require young men of conscription age to notify military commissariats when they intend to leave their place of residence for more than 15 days. The faction believes that, as a result of such a bill, young men will be treated as "criminals out on bail, who are required to check in at police stations regularly."
"If this amendment is adopted, it will inevitably result in violations of the rights of those who, for example, have received deferment from military service for academic or health reasons," says the document.
Colonel-General Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the State Duma's Defense Committee, said earlier that the State Duma intends to toughen control over conscripts by changing the rules governing military registration with the authorities.
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Iran should seriously review its foreign policy if it wants to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), said Alexander Lukin, the director of the MGIMO-University's Center for Eastern Asian and SCO Studies.
"Iran's stance towards a number of countries is confrontational, just as it is toward the UN and the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA. That is why it is unlikely that SCO leaders will want to have an international conflict in the organization," Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday.
"By its founding documents, the SCO is not a confrontational organization. Its activity is not directed against other countries or blocs, that is why if Iran wants to join the SCO, it needs to revise its foreign policy rather substantially. Primarily, agree on the nuclear issue with IAEA," the expert said.
"It has become known long ago that Iran wants to join the SCO," Lukin said. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that the SCO will in the near future enlarge through the adoption of new members, the expert said.
On the one hand, the SCO is an open organization according to its charter, the expert said, but on the other hand, it is too early for enlargement of the SCO, because "it has yet to mature and become an efficient international organization." "This is the position of Russia, China and Kazakhstan, primarily," Lukin said.
The SCO consists of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Pakistan, Mongolia and Iran hold observer status in the organization.
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Washington's decision to send weapons to Kosovo will further exacerbate tensions in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole, a Russian senator said.
"Many questions arise in this connection, the central one being how much material and ideological resources the United States plans to put in Kosovo for this territorial entity - a part of the Republic of Serbia - to be recognized as a full-fledged subject of international law?" Vasily Likhachyov, the vice chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, told Interfax-AVN.
The decision to send weapons is "the continuation of the theater of the political and legal absurd, dubbed 'Sovereign Kosovo'," he said.
It is outrageous that U.S. support for Kosovo on the way of the region's joining the international community actually began from the creation of a new center of tensions, since arms deliveries can be seen as "a direct threat to the neighboring states and as a threat of a line of attack on Serbia," he said.
"The decision must also be viewed as a serious political risk to the system of European security," Likhachyov said.
MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The continuation of the Iraq war will cause even more fatalities among U.S. troops, according to two members of the Russian Federation Council.
"The Iraq war has been continuing longer than World War I, and it has caused more fatalities in both Iraqis and U.S. personnel, and cost American tax payers billions of dollars," Viktor Ozerov, the head of the Federation Council Defense and Security Committee, said in an interview with Interfax.
Ozerov was commenting on reports claiming that the U.S. has lost 4,000 servicemen in the Iraq war.
"It was clear from the beginning that there were no meaningful reasons for overthrowing the Saddam Hussein regime militarily. And there is only one way out of the situation: the U.S. will fail to force order and democracy on that country by force of arms, no matter how long they continue fighting and how many American lives will be sacrificed," the Russian senator said.
This opinion is shared by another senator, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov. "This war is a shame for the United States and a challenge to the world community and a demonstration of disrespect for the UN," he told Interfax.
The losses sustained by American troops and their allies in the anti-Iraq coalition will grow, he added. "Democracy cannot be forced. What the U.S. is doing in Iraq is an attempt to cover its imperial ambitions," Popov said.
The war has seriously incited tensions between the Western Christian and Islamic worlds, he said. "This war must be stopped as soon as possible, or the U.S. will face not only military, but also a political defeat," the senator said.
MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed prospects for Russia-NATO relations in a telephone conversation on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Wednesday.
"Special attention was given to discussing aspects of a strategy on the development of relations between Russia and NATO in the context of current problems of global and European security," the ministry said.
The ministers also addressed practical aspects of Russian-German relations. In particular, they updated a schedule of bilateral political contacts to take place in the near future.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - The heads of the diplomatic missions of countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have called for more cooperation between the parliaments of SCO countries.
Aspects of such cooperation were discussed at a meeting between Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Dmitry Mezentsev, who chairs the SCO Business Council, and the heads of diplomatic missions from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"In particular, the heads of diplomatic missions backed the idea of conducting the day of the SCO as part of the fifth Baikal international economic forum," Mezentsev told journalists after the meeting.
China suggested holding a meeting of SCO parliament speakers in autumn 2009. "This is because China is hosting the Olympics in August and is currently focused on preparations for this important event in the country," Mezentsev said.
In autumn 2008, CSO countries will hold an expanded meeting of experts. "This meeting will take place in St. Petersburg, in Moscow or in Yekaterinburg," Mezentsev said.
The meeting also focused on the results of the session held by the Business Council on Hainan Island in China in early 2008. "The meeting focused mainly on issues concerning health care for people living in SCO countries. Member states also discussed how to create common approaches and regulations in this field," Mezentsev said.
The parties also discussed a proposal to establish the SCO Research and Educational Center in Yekaterinburg. "Yekaterinburg city authorities are ready to provide every possible assistance in opening this center that will employ leading professors and specialists from Moscow State University (MGU), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and a number of other renowned Russian universities," Mezentsev said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - A march for voluntary conscription will take place in Moscow on Saturday, March 29.
"Marches of the kind are traditionally held ahead of the conscription campaign. The authorities of the northeastern administrative district allowed the organizers to march from the VDNKh metro station to the Ostankino TV center," anti-war movement coordinator Anna Karetnikova told Interfax on Thursday.
A number of political and human rights organizations, among them the Anti-War Committee, the Free Radicals, the United Civil Front and Oborona, organized the march, she said.
The organizers predict that about 1,000 people will turn up at the action.
KHANTY-MANSIISK. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - The Federal Security Service lowers the number of terror attacks by more than 50% each year, Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev said.
"We have lowered the level of the terror threat, and the number of terror attacks goes down by more than 50% each year," Patrushev told the 7th international conference on security in Khanty-Mansiisk on Thursday.
Two hundred and fifty-seven terror attacks were carried out in 2005, 112 in 2006 and 48 in 2007, he said, noting that no terror attacks have been reported this year.
Patrushev also said that this tendency was not accidental, but a result of the work of the national system for fighting terrorism under the National Anti-Terrorism Committee's aegis.
Intelligence indicates that terrorists mostly target hazardous or "critically vital facilities in the economy, transport and transport infrastructure," he said.
Terrorism today has its specific features, which necessitates prevention, and also cutting the terrorists' access to resources, the FSB director said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-АVN) - The Russian and U.S. presidents will discuss missile defense in Sochi, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Thursday press conference following a meeting with Tajik counterpart Hamrohon Zarifi.
"Obviously, all the key aspects of European security will be discussed at the negotiations. Our countries bear special responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security. Thus, the agenda will include missile defense, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), intermediate and shorter range missiles and other pressing issues," he said.
He said the same issues would be discussed at the NATO summit in Bucharest.
"It is very important to continue honest debates," Lavrov said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia still thinks it is unnecessary to deploy missile defense elements in Eastern Europe despite new U.S. proposals, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Thursday press conference.
"Our position has not changed. We think that the best way to remove the concerns about the third missile area is the rejection of such plans and a switch to collective efforts," he said.
Russian-American ABM consultations continue, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak represents Russia, he said.
Despite the new proposals, the United States plans to proceed with the deployment of missile defense elements in Eastern Europe, Lavrov said.
"We are studying their proposals but our general attitude remains unchanged," he said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush might sign some non-binding document reflecting the current condition of Russian-American relations at an upcoming meeting in Sochi, Russian Foreign and Defense Council Chairman Sergei Karaganov said.
"I do not rule out that Bush, who needs to leave behind at least something positive in Russian-American relations and who is currently facing serious problems in continuing the missile defense program, might agree to sign some quasi-binding paper. It is possible that there will be some talk about it in Sochi," Karaganov told Interfax on Thursday.
"Although this document would reflect significant differences, it will not tie Russia's hands," Karaganov said.
"The Americans will have the opportunity to proceed with building a missile defense system in Europe, although possibly with some restrictions," Karaganov said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for confronting present-day challenges without expanding the bloc system dating back to the Cold War era but by acting collectively.
"Our position regarding NATO's expansion is as follows: We perceive these plans as incompatible with the realities of the modern world. The threats are common for us all. These threats can be confronted only together rather than through a mechanical expansion of the blocs of Cold War times or through absorbing territories based on bloc approaches," Lavrov said at a press conference following negotiations with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrohon Zarifi.
Talking about the upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest in April, during which a NATO-Russia Council meeting will also be held, Lavrov said the parties intended to consider all key issues related to security in Europe, including missile defense and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - The upcoming Moscow meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will discuss security and military transit for NATO forces in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Thursday press conference in Moscow.
"CIS foreign ministers will convene in Moscow tomorrow, and the informal CSTO meeting will also take place to discuss how to counter the drug and terrorist threats originating from Afghanistan," he said. "We wish to help the people of Afghanistan stop these threats and stabilize the situation in the country."
"As you know, the Russian Federation is helping military transit to Afghanistan [for the International Assistance Force (ISAF)]. Relevant agreements have been signed with France and Germany. ISAF member countries have offered considering signing a similar agreement with NATO. Consultations are underway, as transit to Afghanistan goes through CSTO member countries and requires certain agreements. CSTO officials will have an informal discussion to that effect in Moscow," Lavrov said.
The press conference followed negotiations with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrohon Zarifi.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - Russia will provide protection to its fishing vessels on duty near Spitsbergen, head of the State Fishery Committee Andrei Krainy told a Thursday press conference in Moscow.
"We will have funds to charter two ships on Monday and send them out to protect our fishing trawlers near Spitsbergen," he said.
Protection will be provided year round, Krainy said. "I think the number of Russian vessels seized, like the Elektron and the Izumrud, will be much smaller," he said.
The sporadic confrontations result from the unsettled fishing problems in the Spitsbergen area, Krainy said. The Paris Agreement of 1920 set a three-mile Norwegian zone near Spitsbergen. The zone later grew to 12 miles and Russia had no objections. However, Norway unilaterally expanded the zone to 200 miles eventually. "We did not recognize that new zone in 1977 and we would not do that now, because it did not derive from the agreement of 1920," Krainy said.
At the same time, the Norwegian Coast Guard continues to detain Russian ships in the 200-mile zone and escort them to Norwegian ports.
Russia wins 65% of related court cases, Krainy said. Norwegian inspectors do not object to the solution of this problem, but it has dragged on through the absence of ships protecting Russian fishermen, he said.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - Russia's President-Elect Dmitry Medvedev has said he sees nothing unusual in the presence of former secret agents in state political structures.
"If people with experience of work in secret services take the helm, they usually offer political posts to people with a similar experience, people with whom they worked. There is nothing abnormal in this," Medvedev said in an interview cited in a book by popular TV journalist Nikolai Svanidze.
Excerpts from this book, due to be out in May, have been published on Medvedev's website.
"People coming from secret services have their own experience, positive and negative. They are just like everyone, they should not been demonized or worshiped," Medvedev said.
Such people "can bring something new to state management [because they are] well-versed in mechanisms of adopting decisions and have experience of working in secrecy, which is also good," Medvedev remarked.
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has expressed concern over the possible unification of nationalist groups in the country.
Nationalist groups are using up-to-date software and communication technologies to foster interregional ties, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said in his speech in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, on Thursday.
He called for adequate and timely measures to isolate such groups and for a judicial ban on firmly established extremist formations.
In 2007, 356 extremism-related crimes were registered, which was 35% more than in 2006. Most of these crimes were public calls for extremist activity and instigation of ethnic hatred.
"Quick response on the part of law enforcement bodies made it possible to prevent a large number of more severe and dangerous crimes and reduce the number of terrorist acts in Russia last year to 48," Chaika said.
Speaking about drug-related crimes, Chaika said their number had increased by about 10% to 230,000 last year, with more than a half (54%) being crimes connected with the distribution of drugs.
In 2007, law enforcement bodies seized more than 41 tons of illegal drugs.
BRUSSELS. March 28 (Interfax) - A draft political statement of the NATO summit in Bucharest slated for April 2-4 and the U.S. decision to supply arms to Kosovo will be the main subjects on the agenda of a informal meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Friday, Russia's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax.
"The meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time [Brussels, GMT + 1]. It will be held at Russia's initiative. We plan to look into primarily draft documents on the agenda of the Bucharest summit," Rogozin said.
This primarily concerns a draft political statement of the summit, "which is now rather heatedly debated by participants of the Russia-NATO Council," he said.
The U.S. decision to deliver arms to Kosovo will be another topical subject on the agenda of the today's meeting, Rogozin said.
"We will discuss this U.S. decision on arms deliveries to the Kosovo region in the light of its compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244," Rogozin said.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Moscow is prepared to step up cooperation with NATO, including in Afghanistan, but stressed that its cooperation with the alliance would not be possible without Russia's security interests being taken into account.
"Russia is cooperating with NATO countries on Afghanistan, and we consider increasing these contacts," Russian Deputy Foreign Ministry Alexander Grushko told Interfax on Friday.
Afghanistan will be one of the central issues at the NATO summit in Bucharest in early April, he said. It is also expected to be raised at the NATO-Russia Council meeting of heads of state. "This is precisely the case when Russian and NATO efforts, as well as those of other countries and organizations, can play a positive role and serve as an example of a new cooperation under the aegis of the United Nations," the official said
Asked whether there is going to be some sort of a political trade at the NATO summit in Bucharest, whereby Georgia and Ukraine will be denied NATO's Membership Action Plan in exchange for Moscow's willingness for closer cooperation with the Alliance on Afghanistan, the deputy minister said, "There is and can be no trade."
At the same time, "no proper cooperation is possible, if security interests of one another are not duly taken into account," he said.
"Further steps in the implementation of NATO's Open Door Policy will neither strengthen the security of NATO itself, nor of the countries which want to join the alliance, let alone Russia's security," the high-ranking diplomat said.
"Moreover, they may have the most serious implications both for the European and the Euro-Atlantic security in general, and may lead to a greater potential for new conflicts, which is certain to have a negative impact on the relations between Russia and NATO, including on the depth and content of the cooperation in certain areas," the high-ranking diplomat said.
"Our policy toward NATO is coherent and clear: we are prepared to cooperate with NATO throughout the whole range of new security threats which pose real danger both to Russia and the NATO countries. They certainly include terrorism and drug threats emanating from Afghanistan," Grushko said.
"As for NATO's expansion eastwards, our stance on it is as clear and coherent. It is a project from the political past which does not meet today's actual need for security," the deputy foreign minister said.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and European participants of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan are discussing several possible variants of rail transit of supplies for the force through the Russia territory, a Russian military and diplomatic source told Interfax-AVN.
"It became clear today that the air corridor solely is not enough to supply the group of the anti-Taliban force in Afghanistan. Ammunition and food transported from Europe to Afghanistan through the air bridge over the Russian territory in line with existing [Russia's] bilateral agreements with France and Germany are getting simply 'golden,'" the source said.
European participants of the ISAF are trying to secure at the talks the ground transit of cargo to Afghanistan through the so-called 'northern route,' which also runs through Russia, the source said.
Three routes may be used for rail transit, negotiations on which have lasted for over a year, he said.
The first route could run from Poland or the Baltic states through Belarus, Russia and central districts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, he said.
"Another variant provides for transit through the Caspian shore of Kazakhstan after the Russian territory and further through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to Afghanistan," the source said.
The third option is both railroad and nautical: St. Petersburg - Volga - the Caspian Sea and further through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to Afghanistan by rail, he said.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Federation Council has ratified an agreement on training military personnel for member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) at a Friday session.
The agreement sets basic principles of forming and developing the single system of training military personnel for the armed forces and other military units of CSTO member states, by agreed specializations and under agreed training program, both together with Russian servicemen and separately at special departments of military education institutions.
The agreement also sets the order of selecting, adopting and training personnel, as well as ensuring the education process.
The agreement also provides for conferring degrees after the graduation from military education institutions.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Attempts to resolve the Georgian- Abkhaz and the Georgian-South Ossetian conflicts through Georgian entry to NATO are dangerous and counterproductive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"If it is meant to secure the alliance's support to resolve the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by force, then I think this is a very dangerous game," Lavrov told a news conference after a meeting of the Council of CIS Foreign Ministers on Friday.
The population of Abkhazia and South Ossetia resent Georgia's possible entry to NATO, the minister said.
"It is unacceptable to play with fire in such affairs," Lavrov said.
The minister also pointed out that Russia thinks that the NATO enlargement is not constructive.
"In the present day situation one should unite efforts, rater than mechanically expand the legacy of the Cold War in order to counter real, not invented threats," Lavrov said.
The NATO enlargement is nothing but the remnant of the Cold War era, which still bears the logic of strengthening separation lines in Europe, the minister said.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev has expressed hope that the State Duma will return to a discussion on a bill regarding food safety.
Speaking at the Federation Council on Friday, the minister said the bill "is currently in the State Duma. The country needs a law on food safety," he said. Offering a definition of food safety, Gordeyev said "this is the government's responsibility over the physical and economic access of each citizen to food."
This is why Russia needs specific rules on exactly how much meat, milk, potatoes and other foods need to be produced, he said. No such criteria exist at the moment and this "creates an unbalanced food policy," he said.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is certain that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is needed.
"The CIS reform program clearly shows that this format is in demand not only as a ground for meetings at various levels, but also as a tool to implement certain projects," Lavrov told a news conference following a meeting of the Council of CIS Foreign Ministers on Friday.
A draft resolution of CIS presidents regarding an action plan of celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War was adopted at the meeting, said Ednan Karabayev, foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, the current president of the CIS.
An agreement that broadcast coverage of the Mir TV channel will be full-scale was reached, and a decision on the information security strategy for 2008 - 2010 was approved at the meeting as well.
MOSCOW. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The desire of the United States and other members of NATO to admit new members may damage the North Atlantic alliance itself, said Konstantin Sivkov, the First Vice President at the Academy of Geopolitical Problems.
"NATO's endless expansion will eventually result in its "blurring." The more it admits various countries with various interests and opportunities, the less capable the alliance will become," Sivkov said, commenting on NATO's plans of possible enlargement.
Further expansion will affect primarily "NATO's fundamental principles," he said. They include, in particular, decisions on any particular act of foreign policy, such as the decision on the use of military force.
"This principles will be blurred and violated in the first place," Sivkov said.
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. March 28 (Interfax-AVN) - Retired army may be entitled to a second pension earned in the civilian sector after retirement on grounds of age or poor health servicemen in addition to their military pension.
State Duma member Lyubov Shubina, who is deputy chairman of the Duma Committee for Labor and Social Policy, told a press conference in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Friday that a corresponding bill was been approved in two readings in the Duma and in the Federation Council.
She said the Kremlin is now handling the bill.
MOSCOW. March 24 (Interfax-AVN) - A successful launch of a tactical missile based on the Tochka-U system took place as part of a tactical exercise in Russia's Far Eastern Military District, Col. Leonid Kozhan, an aide to the district's commander, told Interfax on Saturday.
"The firing of a Tochka-U tactical system took place at the Sergeevsky range in the Primorye territory as part of a joint exercise of a missile brigade and combined arms units," Kozhan said.
Rocket forces and artillery units from the Far Eastern Military District and Pacific Fleet marine forces conducted a joint firing exercise at a range on Cape Clerk in the Primorye territory, he said.
"The firing was aimed at practicing confronting a seaborne assault," Kozhan said.
KUBINKA, Moscow region. March 24 (Interfax-AVN) - A Sukhoi Su-25 attack plane will take part in the Victory Parade on Red Square on May 9, 2008, Russian Deputy Air Force Commander Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsin told journalists.
"During the parade, 32 aircraft of the Russian Air Force will fly over Red Square, including a Su-25 attack plane," Nogovitsin said in reply to a question from Interfax as to whether the temporary ban on Su- 25 flights following a March 20 crash would affect the plans for the air show during the Victory Parade.
A Su-25 attached to the Chernigovka air garrison 140 kilometers away from Vladivostok crashed during a planned flight on March 20. Its pilot was killed. The Air Force commander subsequently grounded all Su- 25s until the reasons behind the crash are established.
Nogovitsyn said that