RF govt to determine infrastructure price policy guidelines.

MOSCOW, December 17 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian government will approve
at its meeting o n Thursday the guidelines of the tariff-price policy in
the infrastructure sector for 2009-2011.

A source in the cabinet told
Itar-Tass that the government's policy in this sphere is aimed at "maximal
removal of infrastructure restrictions and conducting the price regulation
system reform."
Thus, it is proposed to gradually liquidate cross-subsidisation. To
this end the mechanism of compensation of shortfalls in incomes of energy
companies will be adopted in the third quarter of 2010. Besides, the
government intends to increase the efficiency of activities of regulating
organisations by setting long-term tariffs and concluding long-term
contracts. It is also planned to "accurately distribute profits at the
expense of proceeds coming from pay for connection to electrical networks
and tariffs," the source added.
The government will also propose to transfer to long-term contracts
according to the "take-or-pay" principle. "One of the trends is the use of
long-term contracts on the purchase of fixed volumes of products and
services of natural monopolies, that is we can speak about the
international analogue of the "take-or-pay" principle," the official said.
The new document also focuses attention on the work aimed at energy saving
and raising energy efficiency. In particular, it is planned to transfer to
the consumption of utility resources "exclusively based on indications of
metering devices," the RF government source said.
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.RF, S Ossetia to agree on visa free travel of citizens.

MOSCOW, December 17 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian government will consider
at its meeting on Thursday a draft agreement with South Ossetia on mutual
visa free travel of the two countries' citizens, it is said in materials
placed on the RF government's official website.
A source in the cabinet told Itar-Tass that the "main idea written in
the draft agreement is the introduction of visa free regime of the two
countries' citizens not only with foreign passports, but also with
internal documents of Russia and South Ossetia." He noted the introduction
of the new form will require following ratification of the agreement after
its signing.
The draft agreement on the whole, the source stressed, "is aimed at
the establishment of the most favoured regime for mutual travel of
citizens, easing of the tense situation that has now developed at
checkpoints on the border with South Ossetia, as well as strengthening of
the contractual-legal framework of the bilateral relations." The
simplification of the regime of travel for citizens of Russia and South
Ossetia, government officials believe, will create favourable conditions
for the development of deepening of humanitarian exchanges.
The RF government will also consider at its meeting the possibility of
signing with South Ossetia of another document - on cooperation in the
fight with illegal migration. In particular, the source explained, the
document determines the mechanism of cooperation of the two countries "in
the organisation of the immigration control, registration of persons
illegally crossing the states' borders, exchange of information about
exposed illegal migration channels, about citizens involved in the
organisation of illegal migration that are staying in the territory of the
two countries." The fulfilment of the agreement is also aimed at
corresponding crime prevention.
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.Three people hurt in dormitory fire in Vladimir - ministry.

MOSCOW, December 17 (Itar-Tass) - Three people have been hurt in a
fire in a dormitory in Vladimir, the press service of the Central regional
centre of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told Itar-Tass.
"The fire in the dormitory at a hospital in Sudogorskoye Highway was
reported at 04:15, Moscow time, Thursday. It was rated third degree
according to the fire danger scale. The blaze was extinguished at 04:54,
Moscow time," the emergencies centre said. A total of 50 people were
evacuated from the building. "Three have been hospitalised," an official
of the centre noted.
"The information about how many people there were in the dormitory at
the moment when the fire started and if there have been fatalities is
being clarified now," the Central regional emergencies centre said.
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.United Russia to set up Public Committee for media affairs.

MOSCOW, December 17 (Itar-Tass) - The Public Council for interaction
with mass media and the expert community will be established at the
presidium of the General Council of the United Russia party. This decision
was made at a meeting of this body on Wednesday, the press service of the
party's central executive committee told Itar-Tass.
Director of the Political Conjuncture Centre Alexei Chesnokov will
head the Public Council. He is to submit to the party's General Council's
presidium the draft regulation on the new structure, as well as proposals
on the Public Council membership, the press service said.
United Russia is the major political party in the Russian Federation.
United Russia supports President Dmitry Medvedev, and is currently the
largest political party in the Russian Federation. On April 15, 2008,
Vladimir Putin accepted the nomination to become chairman of the party.
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