Medvedev urges to make enterprise owners pay wages.

ARKHANGELSK, July 3 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
urged regional authorities "to resort to all measures" to make owners of
enterprises timely pay wages to the workforce.

"It is necessary to resort to all measures of influence and force of
argument to make the owners of enterprises that receive proceeds and have
not filed for bankruptcy pay arrears," he told Arkhangelsk Governor Ilya
Mikhalchuk on Thursday.
"The owners must understand their responsibility," the president said,
adding the situation in Russian regions in conditions of economic crisis
depends on wages and employment.
In early June sacked workers of three shutdown enterprises in the town
of Pikalevo near St. Petersburg blocked a highway demanding work and wage
arrears.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had to interfere to make owners of the
enterprises pay wage arrears and resume operations of the facilities.
On Thursday the local BaselCement enterprise said it had produced the
first 30 tons of calcinated alumina.
The company said the furnace has been re-started and the second one
will be re-launched shortly.
2330 workers of the enterprise have been re-employed.

.Spokesman says Gates should not have disclosed talk with Putin.

MOSCOW, July 3 (Itar-Tass) -- The spokesman of the Russian prime
minister said on Thursday US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates should not
have disclosed the details of his talk two years ago with Vladimir Putin,
who was the Russian president at the time.
"The confidentiality period of the meeting has hardly expired. It was
hardly correct to divulge the contents of such meetings," Dmitry Peskov
told Echo Moskvy radio.
A month ago Gates disclosed to US senators the details of his meeting
with Putin and said Russia is now more concerned with Iranian capability
to create missiles that can reach Western Europe and Russia. Gates said
such a change in Russian position improved the prospects of bilateral
cooperation in missile defense.
Gates also said deployment of missile defense elements on the Russian
territory were in the framework of bilateral cooperation on the issue.

.Security forces seize weapons, explosives in North Caucasus.

NALCHIK, July 3 (Itar-Tass) -- Security forces seized numerous
weapons, ammunition and explosives in three days of anti-terrorist
operation in Kabardino-Balkaria in North Caucasus, the headquarters of the
operation said on Thursday.
"Law enforcers jointly with representatives of local administration
check passports, search basements, garages and abandoned buildings.
Helicopters are used to observe mountains and forests where bandits are
reportedly hiding," the headquarters said in a statement.
Warlord Adamei Janpuyev and his deputy Jambulat Jashuyev were killed
in the operation near the village of Tegenekli and a cave where bandits
sheltered themselves was found.
Police said the bandits planned a major terrorist act in the republic.
The anti-terrorist regime was imposed in Elbrus district of the
republic on June 30, as the situation deteriorated there. Since 2007 32
terrorist acts against law enforcers have been staged there. Nine
policemen were killed and 27 wounded in the attacks.


.Cuba thrice delayed repayment of Russian credit.

MOSCOW, July 3 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Audit Chamber said Cuba had
three times delayed repayments of the Russian state credit provided in
September 2006, however Moscow imposed no fines for overdue debts.
"Since the signing of the agreement (on granting a state credit
against Russian goods and services) the Cuban side has three times
violated the payment terms. However, the credit provision has not been
suspended and no fines were imposed as for June 1, 2009," the press
service of the Audit Chamber said in a statement on Thursday.
Various violations have been exposed in selection of suppliers, as
contracts have been signed with companies that had no sufficient
production and sales capabilities. Besides, authorized Russian bodies did
not control the implementation of the contracts and insufficiently
cooperated with Cuban counterparts, it said.
"The exposed violations became the reason for the delay in 2007-2008
in the implementation of the agreement between the governments of the
Russian Federation and the Republic of Cuba on the provision to the
government of the Republic of Cuba of a state credit to finance deliveries
of Russian goods, works and services," the Audit Chamber said.
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