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Russian Premier Vladimir Putin has urged an expansion of the CustomsUnion by allowing other members of EurAsEC (Eurasian EconomicCommunity) to join. He made the declaration in St. Petersburg onFriday, RIA Novosti reports.The Customs Union consists of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also members of EurAsEC. Armenia,Moldavia and Ukraine are observer countries.
Russia and Italy are convinced that Iran must present its proposal onexchanging low-enriched (3.5%) uranium for highly-enriched (up to 20%)on the territory of Turkey to the IAEA, Italian Foerign MinisterFranco Frattini told a press-conference after the first round ofRussian-Italian talks, RIA Novosti reports.
The contracts on construction of copper-smelting, copper refinery andenriching plants on Sungun mines (in East Azerbaijan) are planned tobe signed in September, Iran News reports citing IRNA.Director General of the Iranian copper smelting industry company,Ardashir Saadmohammadi, met the governor of East Azerbaijan province,noting that the contracts will most likely be signed with thecontractors. Realization of the projects will go ahead according toschedule.
The USA, Russia and China have agreed on a new UN Security Councilresolution on Iran, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said athearings in the U.S. Senate on the ratification of the new STARTtreaty, RIA Novosti reports.Representatives of the Iran Six are still discussing the text of theresolution project on possible additional sanctions against Tehran,developed by the USA. The 'six' failed to agree on the US propositionand the diplomats believe that the resolution approval process maycontinue until June.
The creation of joint-ventures or alliances, primarily with well-knownmanufacturers from former Soviet republics is important for thedevelopment of Kazakh oil and gas equipment production, a KazMunayGazspokesman told VK.He believes that joint ventures will allow nearby republics to enterthe Kazakh market. Azerbaijan, Tatarstan, and Bashkiria specialized inthe production of oil and gas equipment and engineering, even theSoviet times, Bolat Tashmetov said.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and French Total stillintend to go ahead with exploratory drilling at Absheron in theAzerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The head of SOCAR's drillingdepartment, Shaik Bekirov, said that the drilling will start inOctober this year using the Lider drilling installation, 1news.azreports.According to Bekirov, the new exploratory drill hole will be situatednear the first one, "which is a more beneficial spot".
The head of the Nalchik city administration, Zalimgeri Hagasov, andthe mayor of Elista, Vyacheslav Namruyev, have signed an agreement ontrade, economic, research, technological and cultural cooperation,reports Yuga.The sides pointed out that they will both benefit from closercooperation. "Our children and veterans could relax in the sanatoriumsof your country.
The construction project of the orbital railway to Tbilisi will becarried out by a Georgian-Chinese joint consortium of the Georgiancompany "Moststroi" and the Chinese National Railway building Company,reports Business Georgia.The project provides for extending a railroad running through thecenter of Tbilisi, to the Tbilisi Sea.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is ready to continueassisting in the development of Armenian agriculture,secretary-general of the organization Jacques Diouf said at a meetingwith Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Thursday.He arrived in Armenia for the 27th regional conference of FAO forEurope, ITAR-TASS reports.
Russia will propose uniting the Burgas-Alexandrupolis andSamsun-Jaykhan oil pipeline projects, after clarification ofBulgaria’s position on the first of them, Russian Minister of EnergySergey Shmatko said, RIA Novosti reports.He noted that implementation of the trilateral agreement betweenRussia, Greece and Bulgaria on the Burgas-Alexandrupolis project hasalmost halted, but so far they cannot unite the projects.
Switzerland officially proposed to Baku broad cooperation in variousenergy spheres, when a Swiss parliamentary delegate met today withofficials in the Azerbaijani Ministry of Industry and Energy, Turanreports.
The nuclear power plant in Bushehr will be launched at the end of summer 2010, the head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko said today, RIA Novosti reports.Construction of the Bushehr power plant was started in 1975 by German companies, but due to the Iranian revolution, the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran and the US embargo on high-tech imports to Iran, the contract was cancelled.
According to APA, citing Trans-Port, within the framework of the second National exhibition in Belarus there were negotiations between Homel car-maintenance plant of Kalinin of Belarus railroad and Azerbaijani Railroads (AR).The chief engineer of the plant Zinoviy Fildin said that the AR will negotiate with the authorities of the car rail yard: “Our plant has been producing and maintaining passenger cars for 130 years, AR has need in buying and maintaining the cars”.
Russian Vice-Premier Igor Sechin said today in Ankara that RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedev plans to sign intergovernmental agreementson his visit to Turkey, RIA Novosti reports.Some documents are still being studied by experts. The main issues arecooperation in the spheres of gas, energy, nuclear power, oiltransport and a visa-free regime, Sechin said at a jointpress-conference with Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz in Ankara.
A group of BOTAS company experts will arrive in Baku on May 10 to take part in the working out of an agreement on a gas contract between Azerbaijan and Turkey, reports 1news.az, citing ANS. This was announced by the head of the investment department of the Azerbaijani National Oil Company Vagif Aliev. The document will take 2-3 days to draw up.
An intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on annullingthe bilateral visa regime for tourists planning to stay for less thana month will be signed within the framework of Medvedev's visit toAnkara 11-12 May, Turkish media report.Media reports also mention that a top-level council will beestablished. This will be the start of the three-stage road map ofAnkara-Moscow ties, involving political and trade aspects andcooperation between NGOs.
Azerbaijan is prepared to supply half its gas extracts to the Nabuccopipeline that will bypass Russia as it pumps gas to Europe, RIANovosti reports, citing a presidential administration official."Azerbaijan attaches great importance to Nabucco ... We are ready tosupply 50% of Azerbaijani gas via the pipeline," Ali Gasanov, head ofthe social and political department of the Azerbaijani presidentadministration, said.
Construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline for the transport of naturalgas from the Caspian to Europe, bypassing Russia, will start on timein 2011, official Nabucco spokesman Christian Dolezal said, theTurkish business channel CNBC said.According to Dolezal, 70% of expenses will be compensated by thefinancial institutions and 30% - by consortium members."The EU has already provided us with a 200 million euro loan," -Dolezal said as quoted by RIA Novosti.
Russia expects Iran to be more flexible when discussing issues onexchanging low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel produced abroad,Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at UN Headquarters, wherea conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is being held,RIA Novosti reports.This is Russia’s reply to the declaration by Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad on Iran's readiness to exchange. At the same time, theIranian leader did not go into details about the conditions.
Russia is ready to share experience in the sphere of nuclear securitywith countries using atomic energy for peaceful purposes, RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedev said in his message to participants of theUN committee on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The message wasread by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, RIA Novosti reports.
