MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti)
Russia to review its national security strategy / European Commission turns Ukraine into energy testing ground / State to support Russia's diamond monopoly / Foreign carmakers commission new assembly plants in Russia
Kommersant
Russia to review its national security strategy
Russia's national security strategy until 2020 was not approved yesterday, reportedly "for technical reasons," as the Kremlin and the Russian Security Council put it.
However, some of its authors said Moscow had decided to wait until a meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama. They would then review the country's foreign policy depending on progress in Washington's proclaimed intention to "press the reset button" on relations with Russia.
The draft strategy, which was discussed with members of the Russian Academy of Sciences in late December, identifies the directions from which Russia may expect trouble without naming the most probable adversaries.
The Kremlin has likely decided to postpone the approval and publication of the "anti-American" strategy until the two presidents meet at the G20 summit in London in early April.
Ruslan Grinberg, director of the Economics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: "The decision to put off the strategy's approval could be influenced by a nascent thaw in relations with the United States. As of now, it is not quite clear how relations between our leaders will develop. A new window of opportunity may open after their meeting in April. Therefore, the decision to postpone the strategy's approval is quite logical."
Grinberg also said the approval of the document, on which Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, former head of the FSB, spent so much time and effort, was probably postponed also because it should take into account the global economic downturn.
The draft concept discussed with the academicians provided a shallow analysis of the Russian economy. It said, in particular, that Russia "has overcome the consequences of the systemic political and socio-economic crisis of the late 20th century" and "has stopped the decline in the living standards and the quality of life of Russian citizens."
Given modern realities, these statements sound overly optimistic.
Vremya Novostei
European Commission turns Ukraine into energy testing ground
A new round of controversy surrounding Russian gas supplies to the European Union via Ukraine is in fact the logical consequence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in January, says political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov.
The unheard-of disruption of natural gas supplies to the EU came in fact as a surprise gift for the European Commission which had long been trying to force EU national capitals to share powers in the energy sphere.
The January 2009 conflict, which hit nearly all of Gazprom's European customers, also provided the Commission with an indisputable argument, and it is eagerly trying to build on it.
Moscow sees the EU-Ukraine declaration on modernizing Ukraine's gas pipeline system as an attempt to force it out of the management of Ukrainian pipelines, the analyst went on.
More importantly, Brussels is seeking to introduce in Ukraine certain energy market principles which have proved dysfunctional on European markets, such as competition-based access to pipelines and storage tanks and transport operators independent of producers.
The Commission seems to want to make Ukraine a testing ground to experiment with energy market policies Brussels would like to use in Europe.
The Declaration is almost impossible to implement, the analyst argues. None of the member countries is going to like the Commission's energetic interference, as they are not keen on sharing authority. Major companies will be even more anxious, as they are responsible for long-term planning of supplies and therefore see stable relations as a top priority. Finally, Kiev has proved a highly unreliable partner over the past few years, so stable deals can hardly be expected.
This kind of initiatives arising from tactical haggle within the EU does not help solve the really complex energy security problems. They in fact reveal a lack of any strategic approach.
It is only possible to remedy the situation with a realization that the European energy cycle "from the well to the gas burner" is an integral whole. It needs to be "cured" as a whole, not patched up, Lukyanov concludes.
Kommersant
State to support Russia's diamond monopoly
This year the government plans to increase by several times spending on replenishing the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones. Most of the money will be used to purchase diamonds from the Alrosa company. The adjusted 2009 budget has set aside about 45 billion rubles for these purposes. At the same time, the government is planning to boost sales of precious metals on external markets.
A government source says that most of the state-allocated sums will be used to buy diamonds from Alrosa. "This is a political decision. In fact, we have here anti-crisis measures for Yakutia whose revenues depend directly on the financial situation of Alrosa," the source said. According to the source, money to buy diamonds for the State Fund will come from the sale of some of the state reserves of gold and other precious metals whose liquidity is currently much higher than that of precious stones.
According to a Yakutia government spokesman, "amid the financial crisis the republic looks to the center for serious aid." The republic's requirements are estimated at $3 billion.
Last fall, Alrosa and its biggest customer De Beers announced a sizeable cut in rough stone deliveries to keep prices from falling. But since the beginning of the year demand for diamonds on world markets has dropped practically to zero: Alrosa has not held a single tender to sell unpolished stones since the start of the year. In this situation, the State Precious Metals and Gemstones Repository (Gokhran, a state institution under the Finance Ministry that forms the State Fund) has remained practically the only guarantor of the company's liquidity.
"The purchase by Gokhran of uncut diamonds from Alrosa is the only way out, because the company bears a huge social burden," says Sergei Goryainov, an expert from Rough&Polished agency.
In addition, according to him, the costs of mothballing Alrosa's only one underground mine are comparable with costs of completing its construction.
"Now any support for the company is welcome, especially if the state gets some kind of material asset in return, be it gold or diamonds," said Alexei Moiseyev, a Renaissance Capital analyst. He noted that diamonds are much less liquid than gold.
Gazeta.ru
Foreign carmakers commission new assembly plants in Russia
Russian automakers are reducing production, whereas foreign corporations are increasing their output in the country. Analysts say full-scale production will become the trump card of foreign carmakers during the crisis.
Germany's Volkswagen, which owns the Skoda trademark, has launched full-scale production of Skoda Octavia at its plant in Kaluga, some 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Moscow. It includes welding and painting. VW also plans to roll off Skoda Superb, the most expensive and prestigious Skoda car, in the near future.
The assembly of several other foreign cars will soon start in Russia.
Nissan Teana, a business class model, is to be assembled at a plant near St. Petersburg, and GM will start producing Chevrolet Cruze in the city this summer. Korea's Hyundai is also to begin production in St. Petersburg, and a consortium of the French Peugeot Citroen and Japanese Mitsubishi carmakers will commission a plant in Kaluga next year.
Analysts say that Russia's decision to increase import duties on foreign cars is forcing automakers to invest in their Russian projects.
Ivan Bonchev, senior manager and CIS Automotive Leader with Ernst & Young, said: "Producers can keep their prices low during the crisis by operating Russian plants. It is especially important now that many people cannot take out auto loans."
In his words, major producers of auto components may come to Russia exactly because there are foreign car assemblies here. However, the market of auto components will not boom soon because foreign companies are making a limited number of automobiles, and the low demand on the market prevents them from increasing production to the planned level.
The approved privileges are not enough to encourage the development of the auto market, Bonchev said, adding that the Russian government could approve more radical measures, such as stricter conditions for localizing auto plants.
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