Congress of Russian press to discuss its role in European culture.

LUCERNE, Switzerland, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- The World Congress of the
Russian Press will continue its sessions on Saturday.

At the full-scale
meeting the delegates will hear statements by editors and journalists of
periodicals published in Russia's near neighbors and also in some Western
countries, such as Britain, Ireland and Norway. The role of the Russian
media in the history of European culture will be the main theme.
On Friday, the president of the World Association of the Russian
Press, Vitaly Ignatenko, said the WARP had become an integral and
important part of the world information space and of the entire "Russian
world", which today numbers 35 million compatriots in five continents.
Russia's Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev noted the importance
of preserving the Russian language's niche in the world.
"Preservation of the Russian language space is one of the high
priorities," Shchegolev said.
The delegates to the forum of the Russian media were welcomed by the
leaders of Switzerland.
The president of the Swiss Confederation, Hans-Rudolf Merz, made use
of his knowledge of the Russian language, which he studied back in his
college years, while conversing with the delegates in order to emphasize
his special respect for Russia and its culture.
The World Association of the Russian Press was established in June
1999 at the first-ever world congress of the Russian press in Moscow and
Sochi. Its founders are the news agency Itar-Tass, the Russian Institute
of the Press, and the newspapers Novoye Russkoye Slovo (New Russian Word),
of the United States, and Russkaya Mysl (Russian Thought), of France.


.Saakashvili denies political crisis in Georgia.


TBILISI, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili
has denied a political crisis in the country.
"There are no signs of a political crisis in sight, contrary to what
the leaders of opposition parties have been claiming," Saakashvili said on
the Rustavi-2 television channel at midnight.
"In the Opposition there are forces that would like to plunge the
country into the era of chaos and lawlessness, where it was in the 1990s.
These forces claim they are prepared to paralyze the economy and block
strategic transport routes," Saakashvili said. "Inside the Opposition
there are certain forces that wish to attain certain aims, but they have
no concrete programs they would act on in case of their rise to power."
He expressed the hope that sooner or later the leaders of the
Opposition would realize the ineffectiveness and inexpediency of their
demands and actions and enter into a dialogue with the authorities.
In the meantime, the president's opponents keep claiming that
Saakashvili's policies have brought about a serious political crisis and a
way out will be possible only in case of his resignation.


.FAS tightens control of retail prices of medicines.


MOSCOW, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Federal Anti-Monopoly Service
(FAS) in cooperation with other agencies is tightening control of likely
price abuses in the market of medical formulas, the FAS press service has
said.
The FAS is one of the agencies the government appointed to be
responsible for monitoring the prices of medicines. It has instructed all
of its territorial divisions to arrange for quarterly monitoring of prices
of the 100 most wanted medicines charged by retailers holding the
dominating position on the markets of medicines, medical products and
accessories.
The gathered price statistics will be analyzed every quarter, starting
from January 1, 2009.
The FAS will be monitoring the prices of both items on the list of
essentials and others.
Should retailers prove responsible for establishing unduly high
monopoly prices, for abusing pricing rules or for concluding price
conspiracies, the FAS will open cases over anti-monopoly abuse, Prime-Tass
reports.


.Georgia enjoys special support from US - Saakashvili.


TBILISI, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Georgia enjoys special support from
the United States, President Mikhail Saakashvili claimed in a midnight
live broadcast on the Rustavi-2 television channel.
"Georgia today is in a better position that it was in August 2008," he
said. "The previous US Administration then was in the last year, in the
last months of its rule. Today the situation is changed. Georgia has a
strategic agreement with the United States."
Saakashvili was referring to the Charter of Strategic Partnership,
signed on January 9, 2009.
He declared that Georgia's main priorities remained unchanged - "the
preservation of statehood and restoration of the country's territorial
integrity."
Saakashvili said he was certain that "Georgia will restore its unity
and territorial integrity."
In the meantime Opposition leaders argue that "Saakashvili is unable
to restore the territorial integrity of the country and that his policies
will lead to disaster."

-0-str