Russia and Venezuela set up joint venture to develop Orinoco Oil Belt; Russia has proposed to hold Iran-Six meeting in October; Luxembourg Prime Minister to discuss bilateral ties with President Putin in Moscow; Private capital helps develop new firearms
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    • According to reports, Rosneft and Venezuela’s Corporation Venecolana del Petroleo (CVP) have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture to develop the Carabobo-2 block in the Orinoco Oil Belt. Rosneft has a stake of 40% in the joint venture. The reserves of the Carabobo-2 block reach 6.5 billion tonnes of oil.1

    In another development, according to reports, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that Russia proposes to hold a meeting between Iran and the ‘sextet’ of international mediators at the level of political directors in October; even though he did not specify the negotiations’ possible venue. 2

    Reports noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker in the Kremlin with talks expected to focus on economic issues including the Eurozone crisis. Luxembourg is in the trio of the major investors into the Russian economy. The volume of capital investment reached 36.7 billion U.S. dollars by the end of June 2012. 3

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has said that private capital in the defence industry has helped make a breakthrough in the development and production of firearms. These include development of a new pistol and two new sniper rifles. 4

    Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said that Russia will bring down, by two times, oil export duties for discovery and developing new deposits in East Siberia. 5

    Reports noted that China continues to be Russia’s biggest trading partner with total bilateral trade being US$ 49.8 billion in the first six months of the year 2012. The Netherlands came second with trade valued at US$ 49.3 billion while that with Germany was also US$ 49.3 billion. During the same period Russia’s total foreign trade amounted to 475.5 billion U.S. dollars. 6

    According to reports, one more unit of Kalinin NPP, in the town of Udomlya of the Tver Region, has become operational in Russia; taking the total nuclear power units operating in the country’s ten nuclear power plants to 33. 7

    Russia’s state foreign debt was estimated at US$ 41 billion as of September 1, 2012. 8

    According to reports, after a meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russia will continue to facilitate a resumption of Palestinian-Israeli talks. 9

    Russia has expressed hope that an agreement on visa cancellation with the European Union will be signed at the December 2013 summit. 10

    Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has said that Russia expects NATO will file a request with the UN Security Council for permission to continue training the servicemen of Afghanistan’s Security Forces. Russia has serious questions about the future parameters of Western military presence in Afghanistan. 11

    The CIS heads of states will meet in Yalta to discuss among other things the ratification of the free trade zone agreement in the region. For Russia, Belarus and Ukraine it will become effective on September 20 of this year. Armenia has completed ratification procedures, and the agreement will take affect for it on October 17. The other signatories -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan – are expected to ratify it by the end of the year. 12

    In other developments, according to reports, Russia has successfully tested a ‘future soldier’s uniform’ intended to be used for its armed forces. Ratnik (“Warrior”) comprises more than 40 components, including firearms, body armor, optic, communication and navigation devices, life support and power supply systems and even knee and elbow pads and can be used by regular infantry, rocket launcher operators, machine gunners, drivers and scouts. Development and implementation are expected to be finished by 2015. 13

    Meanwhile, reports noted that the FIFA World Football Cup in 2018 will cost Russia about 600 billion roubles with the costs expected to be equally shared by the state and the private sector. A total of 11 cities will host the matches. 14

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