Lithuania, Russia wants to establish a forum of confidence.

VILNIUS, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - Lithuania and Russia are planning to
establish a forum of confidence to discuss thorny humanitarian issues,
including the historical past.

"We talked about historical assessments. We agreed that a
Lithuanian-Russian confidence forum similar to the Russian-Polish and
Czech-Russian forums should be set up," Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius
Kubilius told journalists at a news conference on Friday after talks with
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Kubilius said the forum could discuss the most painful problems which
cause differences in assessment and often hinder rational development of
inter-state relations.
The Lithuanian premier spoke highly of the fact that Vladimir Putin
was planning to visit a tragedy site in Katyn together with Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk.
"Such facts are inspiring hope for a different view on the history of
our struggle for freedom," Kubilius said. He recalled that it had been
very hard for Lithuania in its time to confess in the eyes of the whole
world that Lithuanians had collaborated with the Nazis and participated in
the Holocaust.
"We've passed through our own period of responsibility, guilt and
confession. We write about that in our textbooks," the Lithuanian premier
emphasized.

.Canadian ice dancing duet wins gold in Turin.

ROME, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - Canadian Ice Dancing duet Tessa Virtue
and Scott Moir, the Olympic Champions in Vancouver, have won the Figure
Skating World Championships in Turin. The Olympic silver medalists Meryl
Davis and Charlie White of the United States won a silver medal. An
Italian pair, Federica Faiella ad Massimo Scali, took the Bronze.
A Russian pair, Yana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitsky, were sixth after
the compulsory and original dances. They withdrew from the competitions on
Friday.
The two other Russian ice dancing pairs, Yekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry
Solovyov, and Yekaterina Rubleva and Ivan Schefer were placed 8th and
13th, respectively.
The winner in women's single skating will be known on Saturday.
The only medal the Russian national team has won in Turin so far is in
pair skating. Alexander Smirnov and Yuko Kawaguti have won the Bronze.

.Ukraine not to trade sovereignty for cheap gas- PM.

KIEV, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - The Naftogaz Ukrainy Company will have
two billion dollars worth of financial deficit this year.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Tigipko said in a live
interview with the Inter television channel on Friday that deficit was
estimated at 16 billion hryvnas (two billion dollars) with the profit of
106 billion hryvnas (or 13.25 billion dollars).
"We will have to deal with this figure through budget
decapitalization," the vice-premier went on to say.
Tigipko said that the second budget problem this year was the Pension
Fund deficit estimated at four billion dollars. He promised that ordinary
people wouldn't feel this shortage.
"We are going to do everything so that people don't feel these
problems," the vice-premier went on to say.
Speaking about gas prices, Tigipko said gas prices for Ukraine were
higher than those set for Belarus and even Moldova. However, he disagrees
with an opinion that Ukraine is to lose part of its sovereignty in
exchange for cheap gas.
"We are members of the World Trade Organization, we are talking about
a program of rapprochement with the European Union and a free trade zone
with the EU," Tigipko said. He added that in his view Ukraine won't agree
to any integration if it runs counter to the country's EU aspirations.

.Dogs of 229 breeds to participate in dog show in Moscow.

MOSCOW, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - More than 7,000 dogs of 229 breeds will
participate in the annual international "Eurasia-2010" dog show in Moscow.
It will be held in the Crocus -Expo exhibition complex on March 27-28.
Sixty -five judges from Russia, France, Britain, the United States and
other countries will assess representatives of each breed that will
compete on 63 rings.
The main ring will turn into a stage where trained dogs will
demonstrate exhibition performances. Other events include competition of
young dog trainers, a dog's fashion contest and dancing with dogs.
The Best in Show contest will determine the best dog of "Eurasia-2010".
A contest of children's drawings on dog-related themes will be held on
the sidelines of the dog festival.
The Russian Federation of Dog Breeders has been organizing the Eurasia
show in Russia since 1991. The show turned international in 1996.

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