UN, CSTO leaders to sign joint statement on cooperation.

MOSCOW, March 18 (Itar-Tass) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and
Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Secretary-General Nikolai
Bordyuzha will sign a joint statement in Moscow on Thursday on cooperation
between the U.N. Secretariat and the CSTO Secretariat.

The CSTO, which is composed of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, has had the status of
observer at the U.N. General Assembly since 2004. An agreement on CSTO
peacekeeping activities entered into force on January 16, 2009.
According to Bordyuzha, "broader cooperation between the CSTO and the
U.N. will facilitate the achievements of the international community's
goals and objectives regarding global security, and response to new
threats and challenges".
"CSTO activities to develop regional cooperation in such fields as
counter-terrorism, the fight against illegal drug and arms trafficking,
organised cross-border crime, human trafficking, response to natural and
industrial accidents are fully consistent with the U.S. tasks," Bordyuzha
said.
He also believes that "our organisation's participation in
peacekeeping operations authorised by the U.N. Security Council may be put
on a practical basis".

.State Duma committee to discuss Nevsky Express train crash
investigation.

MOSCOW, March 18 (Itar-Tass) -- The State Duma Security Committee will
meet on Thursday to discuss the results of the probe into the crash of the
Nevsky express passenger train in November 2009.
The meeting will be held behind closed doors "as part of the work to
oversee the investigation of the explosion" and "overall monitoring of the
situation in respect of security on the railways".
Deputy Transport Ministers Nikolai Lyamkov and Andrei Nedosekov,
officials from the Investigation Committee under the Prosecutor General's
Office (SKP), Russian Railways Company, the Emergencies Ministry, the
Interior Ministry, and Federal Security Service (FSB), and the Federal
Service for Supervision in the Field of Transport have been invited to
attend the meeting.
They will be asked to speak on "the state, problems and legal
regulation" of security on the railways.
State Duma Security Committee Chairman Vladimir Vasilyev is expected
to meet the press after the meeting.
On March 2-3, security forces carried out a special operation in
Ingushetia and detained ten and killed eight active members of a criminal
group which is believed to have been involved in the Nevsky Express
explosion.
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Alexander Bortnikov told
President Dmitry Medvedev that the evidence found during the special
operation prove the group's involvement in the crime.

.Rantala case to serve as example of how RF, Finland solve problems
-official.

TURKU, March 18 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian-Finnish Rantala family case
should serve as an example of how the two countries can solve problems
even in the absence of agreements, Russia's commissioner for children's
rights Pavel Astakhov said.
"I don't want this story to have a negative continuation or become a
subject of political discussions between the presidents, prime ministers
and parliaments," Astakhov told journalists on Wednesday.
He had advised the Finnish authorities to consider the possibility of
creating a body for dealing with mixed families and appointing a person
who has a good knowledge of Russia and the Russian language in order to
enjoy people's trust.
Astakhov said the Rantalas, who have been challenging the social
guardianship bodies' decision to place their son, Robert, in an orphanage,
would be offered a social rehabilitation plan on March 19, and if it is
complied with, there will be no trial, the boy will stay at home, and no
one will take him away from the family.
"The main purpose of the plan is to ensure normal life for the child
and the family. It basically becomes an alternative to the process
launched by the social guardianship bodies which we have managed to stop,"
he said.
According to the plan, "the parents have to give the child a safe
environment, normal development and daily schedule. The Rantalas have been
offered consultations, both family and individual", the ombudsman said.
The plan also gives social guardianship officials access to the
family. "What is most important now is that the family should comply with
this plan and avoid any measures, physical or mental, and violence in
respect of the child," Astakhov said.
Robert Rantala will go back to school on Thursday. He will study and
speak three languages: Russian, Finnish and English. "None of the
languages will have priority," the official added.
The boy will do his homework under the supervision of his mother who
will be helped by social services to choose the right methodology for
helping the child.
Astakhov also made some recommendations regarding Robert's documents,
including his Russian passport that has expired. "Robert's passport should
be extended and presented to him so that he understood that he is a
Russian citizen and that Russia protects him," he said.
-0-zak/


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