Spain welcomes Russia's calls for improving European security.

MUNICH, February 7 (Itar-Tass) - Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel
Moratinos told the 46th Munich Conference on Security Policy on Saturday
that Spain welcomed the Russian president's call to improve the European
security.
The Spanish foreign minister stressed the need to establish better
partnership with Russia and called for patience in developing more
cooperative and constructive relations between Western countries and
Russia, which is getting stronger in order to make it a strong partner in
fighting common global threats.
In this context, Moratinos welcomed President Medvedev's calls to
improve pan-European security and the active discussion, which Russia is
conducting at the OSCE within the framework of the Corfu process.
The Spanish foreign minister said that relations between NATO and
Russia and between the European Union and Russia were particularly
important for stability and common security and joint counteraction to
common terrorist threats, proliferation of nuclear weapons and failed
states.

. Ukrainians in Russia to vote at five polling stations.

MOSCOW, February 7 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainians living in Russia will be
able to vote at five polling stations that will open for the second round
of presidential elections.
"Voting will be held at five polling stations in the territory of
Russia: at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow and the general consulates in
St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen and Vladivostok," Oleg Voloshin, the
press secretary of the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia, told Itar-Tass. The
polling stations will be open from 8:00 in the morning till 20:00 in the
evening local time.
Voloshin explained that only citizens who are registered at the
consular section and those who have submitted documents confirming that
their sojourn in the territory of this election constituency is legal
would be allowed to vote. This last category has been included in
additional ballot lists. Previously, only persons who had absentee
ballots were permitted to do so.
"Now, citizens who want to cast ballot but are not registered in the
consular section can present one in a list of documents such as: a
citizenship certificate, a foreign passport, a migration card and work
permit, a document about education or permanent residence permit," Oleg
Voloshin clarified.
He said the embassy was receiving about 200 applications from people
who would like to vote.
About fifty thousand people are registered at the five polling
stations in Russia. During the first round of presidential elections about
1,600 people fulfilled their civic duty.
"It's really hard to say how many people are going to vote because
statistics show that the number of voters tend to increase during second
rounds," Voloshin added.
He expressed the hope that the elections would be calm.
Voloshin also thanked Russian law enforcers for the provision of
security at the polling station.

. Ukrainians in Trans-Dniester region to travel 100 km to cast ballot.

CHISINAU, February 7 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian voters from Moldova's
Trans-Dniester region will have to travel more than a hundred kilometers
to Chisinau to cast their ballot in the second round of presidential
elections on Sunday. Unlike in 2004, the Ukrainian authorities didn't
agree to open polling stations in the territory of the unrecognised
republic this year, despite the fact that Ukrainians account for almost a
third of its population and more than 70,000 of them have Ukrainian
citizenship.
The turnout in the first round of presidential elections was,
therefore, low even though the Trans-Dniester Union of Ukrainians provided
free of charge buses for the Ukrainians who wanted to vote. Only 1,300
people voted this year compared to 17,000 in 2004 when nine polling
stations opened in Moldova, of which seven were in the Trans-Dniester
region.
Before the elections the Trans-Dniester leader Igor Smirnov had asked
the Ukrainian leadership to open several polling stations but Kiev had
ignored that appeal. The reason for that is that, just like in 2004, the
majority of Ukrainians in the Trans-Dniester region voted for Viktor
Yanukovich. Only three fourths of them voted this year compared to 90% in
2004.

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