Russia

[Arpa]

You are so right Ashot!

I already made it obvious, "so what if he is"??

I tried to anticipate all the potential hrya bashing that I am sure will follow.

[Ashot]

It’s official - Medvedev is president-elect

Russia's Central Election Commission has announced the official results of the country's March 2 presidential vote. First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was the clear winner in a poll which saw around 70% of eligible voters take part.

Behind him, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov took almost 18%.

 

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democrats, scored 9% and trailing was Democratic Party leader Andrey Bogdanov, with a little more than 1%.

 

Voter turnout beat that of December’s parliamentary election and exceeded the figure registered in the 2004 presidential poll.

 

Dmitry Medvedev won in the first run of the elections.

 

The next Russian President has already thanked his supporters for their trust.

 

”I would like to express my gratitude to all Russian citizens who cast their ballots in the presidential election. More than 74 million people, or 69.7% of those eligible to vote, came to the polls. It is quite a big number, and it means I now have your trust to address the major social and economic issues facing our nation and to improve the lives of our fellow citizens. I thank you for your support,” Dmitry Medvedev said.

 

Until Medvedev’s inauguration on May 7, the current President Vladimir Putin will continue to serve as head of state.

 

International observers' concerns

 

Despite the high turnout some foreign observers said Russian voters didn't have enough choice in the election.

 

“Candidate registration concerns could not have been accommodated, putting into question how free the election was. Equal access of the candidates to the media and the public sphere in general has not improved, putting into question the fairness of the election,” stated head of PACE observation team Andreas Gross.

 

The Election Commission, however, said less than 2% of the complaints made were legitimate, while other observers saw the high number of voters as a sign of democracy.

 

“There were some critics who didn’t even bother to become familiar with the way the election system works here. Straight away they started saying that the election was undemocratic. There was some harsh criticism but I think that the citizens of Russia stopped these critics with their high turnout,” said Anna Belousovova, an observer from Slovakia.

 

Note: Free Democratic State means - take your noses out from their business... why must the world be involved in the election process of other countries, especially when they are not even welcomed there. Everyone tends to put their noses in other's businesses while their business is as dirty as it gets. They should bann from the media anyone that talks against other nations!!!

[Ashot]

President-elect joins Putin and Merkel in trade talks

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Moscow on Saturday for talks with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Germany is Russia’s major trading partner and economic relations are expected to dominate the visit.

 

Last year’s turnover between the countries reached a record high of $US 52 billion.

 

The countries enjoy close energy ties and Germany remains Russia’s largest gas customer in Europe.

 

Other issues on the agenda include Iran’s nuclear programme, Kosovo and the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

 

Angela Merkel will be the first foreign leader to meet president-elect Dmitry Medvedev.

 

Russian-German relations

 

Russia’s and Germany’s leaders have met on many occasions in recent years. There was widespread expectation that relations between the two nations would worsen at the beginning of Chancellor Merkel’s term, but this deterioration failed to materialise. In fact, ties increased.

 

Perhaps it’s due to a common language. President Putin and Chancellor Merkel are often seen speaking casually at official events.

 

But the real reason Germany has become Russia's number one European partner is that the two need each other.

 

Michael Harms, head of the Delegation of German Economics in Russia, has no doubt that the basis of this mutual need is trade.

 

“In my view the most positive thing in German-Russian relations is economics. We are satisfied with this development over the past couple of years. We have seen double digit growth rate,” he said.

 

Germany exports almost as much to Russia as it does to China, and is one of the largest investors in a country people used to fear putting money into. It is also one of Russia's best energy customers.

 

Energy ties

 

The countries are now working on launching the Nord Stream pipeline.

 

But the partnership has seen difficulties as Berlin has been critical of Moscow when it comes to price disputes with transfer states like Ukraine that have threatened to freeze the flow of gas.

 

“I think these problems have been blown up by the media,” Harms said.

 

But it’s not just energy and economics holding the friendship together. Germany and Russia have found common ground on a number of international issues.

 

“The trust between our governments has also risen over the years. We agree with Russia on world politics, including the role of Iran and international security,” Harms added.

 

Medvedev's role

 

But the question is whether this partnership continue when the man who’s been responsible for at least half of it steps down.

 

“We very much like his [Medvedev’s] emphasis on the free market and his liberal approach to all economic questions and I think if he can realise this, it will be positive for German-Russian relations,” Harms said.

 

The world is waiting to see in which direction Dmitry Medvedev will take Russia. Some think he’ll continue Putin’s foreign policy, while others are waiting for something fresh.

 

[Ashot]

NATO to snub Ukraine and Georgia: Russian envoy

President Putin has discussed NATO-Russia relations with George Bush during a phone conversation on Friday. The discussion comes ahead of a session of the Russia-NATO Council, due to be held in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, next month.

 

The sides hope to sign an agreement over the transit of cargos to and from Afghanistan. It is expected to help counter drug trafficking.

 

The session will also cover all the issues currently dividing Russia and NATO, including the projected U.S. anti-missile bases in Eastern Europe and the Alliance's eastward expansion.

 

Meanwhile, Mikhail Saakashvili says Georgia will continue on the course to NATO integration.

 

However Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, says it is unlikely that the former Soviet republics, Ukraine and Georgia, will get an invitation to join the Alliance during the summit.

 

”Many NATO countries don’t think that Ukraine and Georgia are ready to join the Alliance due to their lack of political stability. We think Ukraine and Georgia won’t be invited into the Alliance integration programme. But they will receive signals, as they say here in Brussels, some sort of positive signals. It’s hard to say what that is but most probably it will be a sort of compliment to these countries,” Rogozin said.

 

Russia Today