The Russian Information Agency Novosti begins Hotline coverage for Monday, February 2, 2004.
MOSCOW
* The Russia Central Elections Commission will meet to examine issues related to the registration of Vladimir Putin as a candidate for election as the Russian president.
* Hearings on the draft of the new wording of the Russian Forest Code will be held in the Russian economic development ministry under the chairmanship of Russian economic development and trade minister German Gref.
* In the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce, Yevgeny Primakov, will meet with the prime-minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Lidia Shuleva. During the meeting the sides will discuss the intensification of bilateral trade-economic relations and the creation of a permanent Russian-Bulgarian business forum.
* A press- conference "Russia - USA": Strange Partnership" /on the results of the visit of US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, to Russia/ will be held in the Independent Press Center. Taking part in the press- conference are: Sergei Oznobishchev, deputy chairman of the Russia- USA Association, director of the Institute of Strategic Studies; Pyotr Prostyakov, president of the Foundation for the Development of Democracy and Peace; Sergei Kortunov, head of the Committee for Foreign Policy Planning.
* Sergei Baburin, State Duma deputy, deputy head of the Rodina (Homeland) faction, co-chairman of the Supreme Council of the Rodina bloc, will hold a press-conference , "Personal Ambitions to the Detriment of Common Interests. On Settling Differences in the Rodina bloc".
* A press-conference devoted to the 8th World Russian Popular Assembly will be held in the department of foreign church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Taking part in the Assembly is deputy head of the World Russian Popular Assembly, chairman of the department of foreign church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Cyrill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, as well as other organizers of the Assembly.
SYKTYVKAR
* A delegation of the Russian Audit Chamber led by its chairman Sergei Stepashin will visit the Republic of Komi to participate in a regional conference of representatives of the audit bodies of the Federation subjects that are part of the North-Western federal district. The conference will discuss the replenishment of the revenues part of regional budgets at the expense of tax revenues.
MINSK
Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov will pay a working visit to Minsk where he will take part in the third joint meeting of the collegiums of the Russian and Belarussian foreign ministries. Belarussian foreign minister Sergei Martynov will also be present.
CARACAS
Russian vice-premier Vladimir Yakovlev will leave for Venezuela, to take part in a meeting of the co-chairmen of the Russian-Venezuelan intergovernmental commission on cooperation.
LONDON
* Russian vice-premier Galina Karelova will stay in London, where she is to participate in the steering committee of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS.
GENEVA
* The next round of talks on Russia' Accession to the World Trade Organizations is to open here.
EL AIN (UAE)
The Air-Show -2044 will open in the city of El Ain. Its program includes demonstration flights and an aerobatics show. Taking part in the air-show are planes and flyers from 15 countries, including 16 military and civil planes from Russia.
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