RF defence leadership considering army police creation-Serdyukov.

MOSCOW, April 21 (Itar-Tass) - The leadership of the Russian Defence
Ministry is considering the issue of the creation in the Russian army,
with the use of foreign experience, of military police, RF Defence
Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said at a meeting with representatives of
non-governmental organisations on Tuesday.
"We are considering this issue. Unfortunately, we have so far not
found a structure that could satisfy us. However, we are studying the
experience of foreign countries that have such structures," the defence
minister said.
"First of all we should understand for ourselves what the military
police (in our army) will look like, and only after that we will be able
to get down to its creation," Serdyukov noted.
-0-


.Meeting of NATO FMs in Tallinn to take place despite air crisis.

BRUSSELS, April 21 (Itar-Tass) - The meeting of NATO foreign ministers
in the Estonian capital on April 22-23 should take place, despite the air
service crisis in Europe, it is said in a statement of NATO press service
received by Itar-Tass.
As of today the ministerial meeting stays on the Alliance's agenda,
the statement says.
The meeting's central issue is to be the situation in Afghanistan.
Aside from the meeting of the 28 NATO countries, Tallinn will host an
expanded meeting of representatives of the states participating in the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday that he
hopes that at this meeting the Alliance will be able to specify proposals
on cooperation with Russia on the creation of a common missile defence
system.
According to a NATO release, on 19 April, NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen presented the programme for the Informal Meeting of
NATO Foreign Ministers, which will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, on 22
and 23 April. He highlighted as priorities the NATO-led operation in
Afghanistan, discussions on the Alliance's new Strategic Concept, nuclear
issues, missile defence, as well as NATO's reform and enlargement.
On Afghanistan, the Secretary General reminded that the aim of the 46
nations contributing to the NATO-led International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) is to move forward on transition to Afghan lead - a process
that will take place when clear political and military conditions are in
place, with the Afghans playing a key role. "In Tallinn, we will take the
next step, by agreeing on the principles and decision-making framework for
transition," he said.
The Secretary General also announced that the ISAF operation is still
missing about 450 army and police trainers, and said he would encourage
Foreign Ministers to see what they can do to free up these resources,
according to the release.
The discussion on Afghanistan will involve the Foreign Ministers of
the 46 ISAF contributing nations, the Afghan Foreign Minister as well as
representatives from the European Union and the United Nations Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Another main point on the meeting's agenda will be the process of
reflection on a new Strategic Concept. NATO Ministers will be updated on
the work of the Group of Experts and will discuss the way forward to the
Lisbon Summit in November, where the Alliance will approve its new
Strategic Concept.
-0-


.Medvedev to go to Ukraine to discuss gas, BFS issues.

MOSCOW, April 21 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
Wednesday for the first time over two years of work on the supreme state
post will arrive in Ukraine. He will hold a meeting with his Ukrainian
colleague Viktor Yanukovich in Kharkov.
The most sensitive issues on the agenda are the supplies of Russian
natural gas to Ukraine and the conditions of the functioning of the
Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian territory. "It is planned to
consider interaction problems in the gas sphere - in the context of the
supply of Ukraine with Russian gas and its transit to European consumers.
Another important issue for both sides is the creation of conditions for
the functioning of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian
territory," the press service of the Russian head of state told Itar-Tass.
"Kharkov is the right choice, because gas is important, but besides
gas there is also industrial cooperation and it is important to show its
significance to the heads of enterprises and regions," Russian
presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists.
Kremlin sources noted that in Kharkov it will be already the fifth
Russian-Ukrainian summit meeting over the past two months. "Such an
intensive political dialogue clearly testifies to the beginning of a
qualitatively new stage in the bilateral interstate relations," the press
service stressed.
The Russian president's trip will begin with visiting the Kharkov
Aviation Plant. Then the presidents will have a one-on-one meeting, after
which Medvedev and Yanukovich will meet the leaders of border regions of
Russia (the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Rostov regions, Krasnodar
Territory) and Ukraine (the Kharkov, Donetsk, Lugansk, Sumy, Chernigov
regions). "The interregional and cross-border ties make a weighty
contribution to the expansion of the bilateral economic and humanitarian
cooperation. Thus, the share of 11 Russian regions in the total volume of
trade turnover with Ukraine in 2009 reached 77 percent. The meeting
participants will discuss ways of expanding the geography of the
interregional ties and their further strengthening," the Kremlin said.
-0-ezh


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next