MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti)
G20 refuses to consider new global currency / Russia insists that Belarus recognize South Ossetia, Abkhazia / Moscow Arbitration Court orders Lufthansa to pay taxes in Russia / Gazprom hostage to European market and Ukrainian transit - analyst /
Gazeta.ru
G20 refuses to consider new global currency
The main result of the G20 summit in London was the decision to inject $5 trillion into the global economy. Of that sum, $1 trillion will be provided to the IMF for assistance to nations most affected by the global financial downturn.
This means that the United States' stance gained the upper hand and the summit did not even consider Russia's proposal of a new global currency to replace the dollar.
According to Russia, the new currency could be based on special drawing rights, or SDR, an IMF settlement unit, or strong regional currencies, including the ruble. China supported the idea, but the summit refused to discuss it.
The Russian president's economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich told the media that the issue of a global reserve currency had not been discussed in London. The G20 countries so far cannot agree on the "scale of reforms the IMF needs," he said.
Yegor Susin, chief analyst at Alpari, a Russian provider of Internet services to private investors trading on international financial markets, said: "The idea of a new global currency was designed to formulate conditions that could be abandoned at the summit in exchange for compromises. There was a chance that the issue would be discussed at the summit, but the positions of most countries, including China, are extremely weak."
Yelena Avilova, head of the Sistema Glavbukh accounting system, said: "China favors a new currency because it is one of the largest exporters in many industries. And Russia probably sided with China for political, not economic, considerations."
"In fact, Russia's stance is not being taken into consideration," Susin said. "Evidence of that was the meeting of the G20 finance ministers and a fortnight ago. The United States ensured the approval of its stance despite differences with China, Europe and Russia."
"The U.S. is talking about a multipolar world only because it wants to divide responsibility for the global financial problems," Avilova said. "But it prefers to retain the right to dictate the conditions for a way out of the crisis."
Kommersant
Russia insists that Belarus recognize South Ossetia, Abkhazia
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gave his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, an unpleasant surprise on Thursday, for the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia.. The Belarusian parliament has not put on its spring agenda the issue of recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although Lukashenko promised two weeks ago that it would do so.
Moscow believes the reason for the turnaround was its refusal to lend 100 billion rubles ($3 billion) to Belarus.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the issue of recognition of the two former Georgian republics will be discussed with the Belarusian authorities soon.
Russian officials saw the absence of this issue in the Belarusian parliament's agenda as an insult.
"This is a very unpleasant and completely unexpected surprise," said a high-ranking official on the staff of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. He said the same was true of the Belarusian decision to cut the broadcasts of some Russian TV cable channels on April 1.
Belarus has reasons to be displeased with Russia. The Russian Finance Ministry has recently refused to lend 100 billion rubles to Belarus, for which Lukashenko had been lobbying since late last year. A source at the Finance Ministry said on the condition of anonymity that Minsk "has sent a new request for a $2 billion loan against Russia's state guarantees."
Last fall, Russia promised to lend $2 billion to Belarus and has already provided $1.5 billion.
Analysts say that Belarus will continue to maneuver between the West and Russia, but Lukashenko will have to make a stand on Abkhazia and South Ossetia soon. Besides, Brussels is losing patience with Belarus. Yesterday the European Parliament adopted a resolution denouncing Belarus for repeated violations of human rights and encouraging it to start democratic reforms.
Yaroslav Romanchuk, president of the Minsk-based Mizes Center, said: "Lukashenko will play for time, but in May or June, when the money runs out, he will have to bow to Moscow and recognize the republics' independence."
However, Moscow does not want to wait. A high-ranking source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told the newspaper that the issue of recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia "will be discussed with Minsk in earnest very soon."
Vedomosti
Moscow Arbitration Court orders Lufthansa to pay taxes in Russia
On Thursday, the Moscow Arbitration Court upheld a local tax inspectorate's decision to order the Moscow office of German flag carrier Lufthansa to pay 232 million rubles ($6.9 million) in taxes, fines and penalties for the period of 1999-2001.
In December 2007, Moscow's Federal Tax Service inspectorate awarded this sum to Lufthansa, after monitoring payment of abolished sales, road-use, housing and social-facility upkeep taxes.
Last year, two Russian courts upheld the tax inspectorate's decision. In January 2009, the Moscow District Arbitration Court ordered a reexamination of the case because, as the Court saw it, lower courts had failed to check whether the 1971 Soviet - West German air-traffic agreement exempted Lufthansa from taxes.
Under the agreement, international air-traffic proceeds of German and Soviet (Russian) companies are tax deductible at home.
However, the Moscow Arbitration Court decided that Lufthansa must pay taxes in Russia. Its permanent Moscow office collects air-traffic payments, tax inspectors said. In such cases, the Russian-German agreement on avoiding dual taxation stipulates the payment of all taxes in Russia.
Lufthansa representatives told the court that specific services were being sold in Germany, while the company's Moscow office merely received payments.
The company will study the court decision before deciding whether to appeal it or not, Lufthansa spokesman Aage Dunhaupt stressed. He said not a single Russian carrier paid taxes in Germany.
The court agreed that the inspectorate did not violate inter-governmental agreements, a tax inspector said.
Tax inspectorate No. 47 also ordered British Airways and the Air France - KLM alliance to pay 31 million ($919,800) and 30 million rubles ($890,000) in taxes, respectively. British Airways appealed the decision at two Russian courts with no results. The KLM lawsuit was upheld at two courts. A Russian court also upheld part of the Air France lawsuit.
The court decided in favor of tax payments by Air France, but said they were calculated incorrectly, a tax inspector stressed.
British Airways and Air France-KLM spokespersons declined to comment on the issue.
Gazeta.Ru
Gazprom hostage to European market and Ukrainian transit - analyst
Russian energy giant Gazprom may reduce gas production by an unprecedented 16% (100 billion cubic meters) in 2009. Such plans are motivated by reduced domestic and European gas demand and by plunging gas prices.
A possible production slump would force the company to cut back on its investment program and would impair its development. Analysts say Gazprom has to downsize gas production after missing a chance to enter Asian markets.
Under the 2009 gas balance, corporate output is to plunge by 10% to 492 million cubic meters against 550 million cubic meters last year. Gazprom sources say production will slump by 16% to 470-460 million cubic meters.
The Central Dispatch Control Office of the Fuel and Energy Sector said gas output had plunged by 15% (to 153.3 million cubic meters) in January-March 2009.
Analysts estimate average 2009 gas prices at $260-$280 per 1,000 cubic meters. Forecasts made in late 2008 put them at over $400. Although Gazprom is to spend $26.2 billion on its 2009 investment program, such plans can be revised. The corporate investment program could be trimmed by $4 billion, analysts say.
Gallion Capital analyst Alexander Razuvayev said Gazprom had missed a chance to enter Asian markets, and that cheaper gas, investment-program and production cuts would therefore prevent it from supplying the required gas volumes in two or three years when fuel and energy prices are expected to rebound.
"Gazprom, which has missed its chance to earn super-profits, should have diversified supplies and should have developed Asian markets, primarily the Chinese segment. It should have built another pipeline parallel to the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean Oil Pipeline and a liquefied natural gas plant on the Russian-Chinese border," Razyvayev said.
He said Gazprom had become a hostage to the European market and Ukrainian transits. "Gazprom, which in the context of recent events should think of entering Asian markets, can afford to invest in the development of this segment," Razuvayev said.
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