Polish govt approves gas agreement with Russia.

WARSAW, February 11 (Itar-Tass) - The Polish government at a meeting
on Wednesday evening approved the natural gas agreement with Russia
related to the increase of supplies of Russian gas to Poland, press
secretary of the Polish cabinet Pawel Gras said here. "The government
adopted a resolution approving the gas agreement with Russia," the
official said.
This agreement was signed on January 27 this year between Russia's
Gazprom Export and Polish energy concern PGNiG (Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe
i Gazownictwo). It envisages increasing the Russian natural gas supplies
to Poland to 10.2 billion cubic metres a year.
According to earlier reports, Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, Polish
monopoly PGNiG and EuRoPol GAZ have signed a trilateral agreement on
long-term mutually advantageous cooperation in gas, according to a source
in the Russian company. The document stipulates the gas supplies from
Russia to Poland will be prolonged to 2037, and the volumes of supplied
gas may be increased to 11 billion cubic metres a year starting from 2010
under the existing contract depending of future demand in Poland. The
sides agreed to make appropriate changes to the existing contract,
Prime-Tass news agency said.
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.Railway blast in Dagestan did not disrupt train traffic.

MAKHACHKALA, February 11 (Itar-Tass) - As a result of an explosion on
a railway that occurred at about 22:30, Moscow time, Wednesday on the
southern outskirts of the Dagestani capital Makhachkala, the train traffic
on the route Baku-Moscow was not disrupted. Head of the rail transport
interior department of the Makhachkala department of the North Caucasian
Railway Colonel Ashikhan Magomedov told Itar-Tass that "according to
preliminary information, the tracks were not damaged as a result of an
unsanctioned blast, the bomber himself died."
According to the source, "operatives were dispatched to the scene, the
investigation has been started, the identify of the gunman who tried to
plant an explosive device is being ascertained."
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.NATO Wise Men Group to talk in Duma on relations with RF.

MOSCOW, February 11 (Itar-Tass) - The international affairs committee
of the State Duma lower house of Russia's parliament will discuss on
Thursday prospects for Russia-NATO relations with representatives of the
North Atlantic Alliance. For the first time all 12 members of the NATO
Wise Men Group led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will
take part in an enlarged meeting of the committee.
First deputy chairman of the Duma's international affairs committee
Leonid Slutsky told journalists that the meeting agenda includes issues of
modern international security in the context of the development of NATO's
new strategic development concept that is planned to be approved at the
Alliance's next summit in Lisbon. "The interest towards new quality
relations with NATO is growing in Russia," he stressed.
NATO members believe that they are threatened by many of the same
unlawful forces that present a threat to Russia, including terrorism,
violent extremism and the spread of nuclear weapons, head of the Wise Men
delegation Albright noted. According to her, that is why the Alliance has
invited Russia to work together in order to counter these threats.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said for his part that Moscow
values the NATO interest towards the RF position on a new strategic
concept of the Alliance. "We value NATO's intentions to hear Russia's
proposals on drafting a new concept of the alliance," he said.
Russia and NATO intend to sign in 2010 a number of agreements
developing the legal base for the mutual cooperation, including in
Afghanistan, head of the Duma international affairs committee Konstantin
Kosachev told Itar-Tass in an interview earlier. In his view, Russia, in
particular, should support the actions of the Alliance in Afghanistan.
"Either the NATO operation proves a success or it won't be a picnic for
all of us," he said.
The visit of the NATO Wise Men group to Russia is a step towards the
prevention of antagonism between the basic documents of the RF and North
Atlantic Alliance, Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin
told Itar-Tass in an interview earlier. He noted the significance of the
first ever visit to Russia of a NATO expert group engaged in the
development of the alliance's new strategic concept. Rogozin noted that
the Russian leadership and academic community "are positive about taking a
chance to influence the formation of the NATO strategic concept," however,
"they do not want to overestimate the importance of this visit."
"First of all we want to understand the extent of the real influence
of the Wise Men group of 12 members on the process of the working out of
NATO's new strategic concept, or this is part of a publicity move,"
Rogozin said.
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