Russia has great credibility in the Middle East - LAS.

CAIRO, June 21 (Itar-Tass) - According to Amr Musa, the
secretary-general of the League of Arab States (LAS), said on Saturday
that Russia was trusted in the Middle East.

"Russia is a country which has great credibility in this region. It is
well-known for its position on observing the Arabs' rights and its
commitment to a fair and peaceful Middle East settlement," Amr Musa said
in the run-up to a visit to Egypt of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
June 23-24, 2009.
"We are looking forward to an opportunity to welcome President
Medvedev in the League of Arab States," the LAS secretary-general said.

.Voronin thanks Russia for support of Moldovan statehood.

CHISINAU, June 21 (Itar-Tass) - Moldova's incumbent President Vladimir
Voronin has thanked Russia and its leaders for supporting Moldovan
statehood in a critical moment of its history.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed. We are particularly grateful for
the personal position of the Russian president and the Russian Foreign
Ministry who so actively supported our statehood in one of the most
critical moments in its history. I am talking about their support for the
statehood rather than to any separate political force, " the Moldovan
president said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass on Saturday.
Voronin denied an assertion that his trip to Moscow that starts on
Monday is linked to the forthcoming early parliamentary elections in
Moldova.
"The elections have got nothing to do with it. They may just be
spurring up such activity. Despite the fact that persistent attempts are
made to push Moldova into a new political crisis, the country is being
governed and the government is actively working; there are a lot of urgent
issues of exclusively pragmatic nature. Some of them can be solved through
joint efforts of Russia and Moldova," President Voronin said.
The Moldovan leader stressed that those pragmatic issues included
economic and energy cooperation. Besides, it's extremely vital for Moldova
to fix new mechanisms of exporting wine products, which Moldova and
Russian have been polishing together in recent years.
"I have meetings scheduled with Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin. Of
course, we are going to touch upon political issues. The important subject
of the Dniester settlement has been relegated to the background in the
razzle-dazzle of the past few months, and that is impossible. Besides, we'
ll have to discuss some key issues related to the CIS agenda. So, you see,
the program is busy," Voronin stressed.
At the same time, Voronin's forthcoming meetings with Russian leaders
may raise someone's blood pressure.
"There's no doubt that this time my trip to Moscow will again give
food for various speculations. But, alas, there's nothing I can do. This
visit of mine can be called an election trip to the same extent as my
working visit to Serbia which I paid during the weekend and the upcoming
visit to Brussels," the Moldovan president explained.

.Fifteenth international Nureyev ballet festival to open in Ufa.

UFA, the Republic of Bashkiria, June 21 (Itar-Tass) - The 15th
International Festival of Ballet Art named after Rudolf Nureyev is opening
in Ufa, the Republic of Bashkiria, on Sunday. It is devoted to the memory
of the great ballet dancer who was nicknamed the Flying Dutchman in the
ballet world.
The festival will open with the first night of Prometheus, a ballet of
the Bashkirian Opera and Ballet Theatre to the music of Bashkirian
composer Rustem Sabitov. The ballet is based on the tragedy of Mustai
Karim titled "Don't throw fire, Prometheus!>
The festival's program also includes ballets from the gold collection
of world choreography: Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", "Don Quixote" by
Ludwig Minkus, Alexander Glazunov's "Raimonda", Hermann Levenshold's
"Silfida", "Giselle" by Adolf Adan and Carmen Suite by Rodion Schedrin.
The winners of the 11th Moscow contest of ballet dancers and
choreographers will give a gala concert on June 22. Ufa will be the first
stop of their guest tour across Russia.
The ballet festival named after Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) has been
held in Ufa since 1993. Nureyev's professional career started in Ufa. At
first he attended dancing classes at the local house of young pioneers and
later at a theatrical ballet studio. He made his debut in 1955. He danced
the part of a horseman in a ballet titled "A Crane's Song". After some
time Nureyev moved to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). He later emigrated
to France where he became the artistic director of the Paris Grand Opera.