Putin greets Patriarch Kirill on Easter.

MOSCOW, April 4 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
has congratulated the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia on Easter. The
premier hopes for further fruitful dialogue between the Russian Orthodox
Church and the state.
"This holiday unites millions of our compatriots. It has a powerful
creative force, it bestows happiness and hope for spiritual revival, moral
renewal and perfection of man," Putin wrote in his telegram of greeting.
"Today, I cannot but mention an enormous role of the Russian Orthodox
Church and personal assistance of Your Holiness in the solution of social
problems, the education and upbringing of young people, revival of
national traditions and the strengthening of social accord," Putin said.
The prime minister is also confident that "fruitful dialogue between
the Russian Orthodox Church and the state will continue to broaden."

.Freight train derails in Dagestan because of blast.

MAKHACHKALA, Dagestan, April 4 (Itar-Tass) --Seven cars of a freigt
train have derailed in Dagestan. The train was on its way from Baku, the
capital of Azerbaijan, to Moscow.
A duty officer of the internal affairs department on transport of the
Makhachkala branch of the North Caucasian railway told Itar-Tass that he
explosion had roared not far from the Inchkhe station at 03:40 on Sunday
morning.
According to preliminary reports, there are no casualties. At the
moment, mine clearers are searching for other possible explosive devices.
The explosion has suspended the movement of the Tyumen-Baku train.

.Putin returns to Moscow from Venezuela.

MOSCOW, April 4 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
had ended his working visit to Venezuela and returned to Moscow on
Saturday night, the prime minister's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told
journalists.
A source that had accompanied Putin on his Venezuelan trip said it was
difficult to overestimate the agreements reached in Caracas.
"The number of the documents signed is not that important; what
matters is their applied significance for the Russian-Venezuelan
relations and for the domestic economy," the source said.
He also stressed the importance of documents on the work of a Russian
consortium on the Hunin-6 oil deposit in Venezuela.
"The consortium has gained access to the Holy of Holies - the world's
biggest oil deposit. This project has been planned for many years ahead,
for decades. It also involves a number of contiguous projects such as the
construction of oil refineries (for the Venezuelan sour crude which needs
to be refined). The petroleum coke left after refining will be used at new
generating capacities that are also going to be built in Venezuela," the
source stressed.
He also explained that the consortium had paid one billion dollars for
the 'entry ticket', a common practice in such international projects.
"Six hundred million out of this billion were paid during the visit.
Vladimir Putin handed over a payment obligation to the Venezuelan side.
The remaining 400 million will be paid before the end of the year," the
source explained.
He noted that Venezuela would use these funds for placing orders at
enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. That will load the
enterprises, create guaranteed jobs and develop the technological basis
for the Russian defence industry.
According to the source, the Russian side has also offered Venezuela a
loan worth 2.2 billion dollars.
A contract for the delivery of 2,250 Russian 'Lada' cars to Venezuela
was signed.
"This is a good agreement. It will help us selling domestic products
in conditions when the internal demand is being established," the source
went on to say.
Assembly productions of the Russian automobile giants KAMAZ and
AvtoVAZ will be built in Venezuela soon. That will also support domestic
car manufacturers.
"By investing in Venezuelan projects, we are investing in the future
of our bilateral relations and, what's more important, we are
simultaneously investing in the future of Russian economy," the source in
the Russian delegation said.

.Soyuz TMA-18 to deliver a new crew to the ISS.

MOSCOW, April 4 (Itar-Tass) - Russian manned spaceship 'Soyuz TMA-18'
that blasted off from Baikonur last Friday will deliver a new
Russian-American crew to the International Space Station, Valery Lyndin, a
spokesperson for the Mission Control Centre, told Itar-Tass.
The docking with the ISS is scheduled for 09:26 Moscow time. It will
be carried out automatically.
"If the equipment fails, the Soyuz commander Alexander Skvortsov will
take the control of the spaceship into his hands," Lyndin went on to say.
The newcomers, including Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail
Korniyenko and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, will join Russian Oleg
Kotov, U.S. citizen Timothy Krimer and Japanese Soichi Noguchi who are
already working on the station.

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