Ukraine Leader Threatens To "Tear Off" Heads Of Ministers

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich told government ministers he would "tear off" their heads if they did not stop political intriguing before October 28 parliamentary elections, Ukrainian media reported on Friday. Yanukovich, who is known for his rough language, made his outburst last Wednesday after Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko appealed to him for more active support in imposing a recycling fee on cars and machinery from Russia. "A bad dancer is always impeded by something," Yanukovich replied, a slightly softer version of a crude Russian expression that says a poor dancer always blames his testicles. Clearly seeing Poroshenko's request as a stalling tactic, he said: "I'll tear off your heads very soon. Straight after the elections if you go on talking without doing anything." Yanukovich, who was presiding over an economics strategy meeting in the town of Dnipropetrovsk, went on: "I told the prime minister this and today I am telling all of you sitting in the front row the same thing. "We have a month and a half left (before the election). If you want to play at politics - go on play at politics (at your own risk)." Yanukovich's caustic remarks appeared to reflect some unease over how his Party of Regions may perform in the October election given his government's unpopularity over tax and pension reform. Despite a united opposition bringing together the main opposition parties, including Batkivshchyna of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, experts predict Yanukovich's allies will hold on to their majority in the 450-seat parliament. Poroshenko, a billionaire businessman whose assets include chocolate factories and a major television station and who was named economy minister in March, was reported by Interfax news agency as replying to Yanukovich: "Alright then, thank you. We'll do it without your help." The online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda quoted Poroshenko as telling journalists in the Black Sea resort of Yalta on Friday that the comment had not been personally directed at him alone. "It was addressed to everyone who was on the front row. I was standing at the tribune at the time ...," he said.

NBU Urges Government Compromise With IMF

KIEV, Ukraine -- The National Bank of Ukraine urged the government Thursday to reach a compromise with the International Monetary Fund to unblock access to a $15.2 billion loan that may be needed if the economy continues to deteriorate. “We call on the government to resume negotiations with the IMF,” Ihor Prasolov, the head of the NBU Council, the central bank’s strategic policy body, said at a press conference. “The government has to find certain compromises.” “This is very important for our country,” he said. “This is the cheapest money we can get.” The comment resonates with recent concerns by former President Viktor Yushchenko, who said the failure to resume cooperation with the IMF may lead to Ukraine defaulting on foreign debts early next year. The comments also underscore a continued clash between the government and the NBU over the future cooperation with the IMF with the government being more reluctant to implement suggested reforms. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov repeatedly said Ukraine will not agree to hike natural gas prices or take other unpopular measures recommended by the IMF that may have negative impact on the economy. He said Ukraine can handle without the IMF lending. Prasolov said access to the loan may be needed if the world economy continues to deteriorate. “We cannot predict how the situation develops on world markets,” Prasolov said. “Just in case, we have to have a possibility to ask the IMF for the money.” Meanwhile, there were growing concerns over the world economy after demand for steel, Ukraine’s main exports, had continued to weaken, reducing hard currency earnings by Ukrainian companies. Azarov, concerned with the weakening steel exports, said the government will restrict imports of the commodity and boost demand for domestically produced steel. These concerns over the state of the world economy were shared by President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday. He said the government must pay greater attention to fending off any external shocks. “During this difficult times, when economic crisis is raging in the world, it cannot avoid touching upon our country,” Yanukovych said. “Every time we look into these issues, we see that one cannot take a nap,” Yanukovych said. “We have to look and watch every day, what should we do.”

Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Yanukovych

KIEV, Ukraine -- A class-action lawsuit filed by an opposition leader and backed by 500,000 people seeking to remove President Viktor Yanukovych from office was rejected by the High Administrative Court on Friday. The lawsuit, filed by Arseniy Yatseniuk, sought to punish Yanukovych for “usurpation of power” following controversial changes to the constitution in October 2010 that granted the president massive powers he had never had when he was elected in February 2010. “Judge M. M. Oleksiyenko approved the ruling on Sept. 7 to return the lawsuit back to the plaintiff,” the court said in a statement on Friday. The judge argued the lawsuit lacked reasoning to prove there were violations in the first place. The ruling is a setback for Yatseniuk, who leads Batkivshchyna, the largest opposition group, for parliamentary elections on October 28. But the developments now open way for the opposition group to file the lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights. It may also be used by the opposition group to call on their supporters to take to the streets for anti-Yanukovych protests. Yatseniuk filed the lawsuit on August 20, but the High Administrative Court had asked the plaintiff to submit additional evidence indicating the case must be heard. Yatseniuk submitted the additional papers on Thursday, along with a petition signed by 500,000 people across Ukraine seeking to join the lawsuit. The lawsuit attacked the constitutional amendments that had reshaped political system in Ukraine overnight by dramatically increasing presidential powers, allowing the power to dismiss the prime minister, to appoint and to dismiss ministers of the Cabinet. Supporting the lawsuit was evidence submitted by a former judge of the Constitutional Court that had claimed the presidential administration has put pressure on judges at the court to force the amendments through. The amendments made Yanukovych the dominant political authority in Ukraine. A separate judicial reform, drafted and launched by the presidential administration in 2010, had also allowed Yanukovych to de-facto increase his influence over courts and the country’s legal system. Yanukovych loyalists dismissed merits of the lawsuit as purely political and probably aimed at energizing opposition supporters ahead of the October 28 parliamentary elections. After the ruling was approved on Friday, the High Administrative Court told the opposition group Batkivshchyna to remove more than 200 boxes with names of people that had signed the petition to join the lawsuit. The boxes, which were unloaded in front of the court on Thursday, and the court said it “could not assume responsibility for keeping” them because they were not properly registered with the court.

Ukraine Made No Guarantees For UESU's Obligations To Russia's Defense Ministry, Says Tymoshenko's Defense Lawyer

KIEV, Ukraine -- There are no state guarantees on the obligations of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine Corporation to the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation, according to the defense lawyer of former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhiy Vlasenko. "There are no guarantees of the Ukrainian state for the UESU's obligations to the Defense Ministry. If the Justice Ministry does not know this, I have to inform them that government guarantees are included by finance ministries in the state budget," Vlasenko told reporters on Monday near Central Clinical Hospital No. 5 in Kharkiv, where his client is undergoing treatment. According to him, should there be such guarantees, then all these 16 years, these guarantees would be taken into account in the state budgets of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. "These budgets are approved by parliaments and fulfilled by finance ministries. If these guarantees existed, then for sure, Russia would have already made such claims to Ukraine, and would not silently wait for 16 years," the lawyer said. As reported, the Russian Defense Ministry filed at Kiev Economic Court a lawsuit against the Ukrainian government for the non-payment of UAH 3.239 billion ($400 million) under a criminal case on the activities of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation. Russia demanded the summoning of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the State Treasury Service of Ukraine as defendants in the case. The UESU is the third party on the side of the defendant in the case. Meanwhile, a district court in Kharkiv is hearing the criminal case against former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko on the activities of the UESU. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) has filed a lawsuit against Tymoshenko with the demand that she pay UAH 19.5 million ($2.4 million) under the UESU case. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said that the UESU case against Tymoshenko was illegally closed in 2005 under pressure from former Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, following the appointment of Tymoshenko as prime minister. Ukraine's United Opposition said it believes that the reports about the UESU's debt to the Russian Defense Ministry are the attempt by the authorities to discredit Tymoshenko on the eve of the parliamentary elections.

Russian tanks on top of the world again?

he first prototype based on the unified fighting module "Armata" will be released next year. Starting in 2015, it will enter into service. This was announced by the Commander of the Russian Land Forces Vladimir Chirkin. According to him, a tank on the basis of "Armata" is being created at an accelerated speed. The military are optimistic. The project is financed in full, and specialists of "Uralvagonzavod" are working on the creation of the new prototypes. The director of the establishment Oleg Sienko said that the plant, along with the military, was already testing units and sets for the new tank, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. A year ago, Russian generals were skeptical of the national armor. The former Commander of the Land Forces (now deputy chief of the General Staff) Alexander Postnikov stated once that the money spent on the construction of a T-90 would be better used for a purchase of three units of the German "Leopard." Naturally, the colonel-general was criticized by everyone. The criticism was justified, since Postnikov's statement about the price of "Leopard" was not very consistent with the reality. The disputes between the Ministry of Defense and the defense industry on the prices and characteristics of the samples of weapons for several years ended in frustrating defense contracts. That is, on the one hand there was no desire to spend money on God knows what. Think back to the epic five-billion expenditure on the development of domestic drones with zero result. On the other hand, the "defense" companies cannot produce vehicles without set expectation, in the hope that it will be purchased one day. The country's leadership has repeatedly intervened in the disagreements between the military and the directors of defense enterprises. Some resignations took place. Only after the intervention the situation is beginning to change for the better. Relapses still occur. In May, for example, it was reported that Russia may purchase a license for the production of the Italian wheeled tanks Centauro. It was reported that these machines were tested in the Moscow suburbs. Since then, however, there has been no news on thiss project. According to the chief editor of "National Defense" Igor Korotchenko, in terms of armored vehicles, the bet will not be made solely on the Russian development. He stressed that the development of the platform of main battle tank "Armata" is key. If successful, mass production of the fifth generation will be implemented. At the same time, said Igor Korotchenko, there are technologies that Russian defense enterprises do not possess. "It concerns optoelectronics, night vision devices, perhaps some elements of personnel equipment, etc." said the expert. "The main task is to give the Russian soldiers and officers a complete set for the armed struggle in order to be able to solve problems more successfully than the enemy on the battlefield, fighting with comfort and, most importantly, to ensure the safety and lives of personnel, protecting them to the maximum," said Igor Korotchenko. The "Armata" replaced two other projects for tanks building, "Black Eagle" and "Object 195". The military were not happy with the high cost and technical complexity of the previous projects, as well as their non-universality. Judging by the statements of the Land Forces Commander, now these problems are irrelevant and the main bet was placed on "Armata."

Russia may attract billions of foreign investment at APEC summit

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation business summit opened in Vladivostok, the Far East of Russia, on Friday, September 7. Working sessions of the summit will take place on September 8 and 9. The business forum is held in conjunction with the meeting of the heads of APEC. Its main subjects include the economic integration, monetary policy, increasing the efficiency and reliability of logistics chains, food security, the problem of the shortage of infrastructure, etc. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Vladivostok the day before, made a keynote speech and also held bilateral meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. As a rule, no one expects any breakthroughs from APEC summits. The organization per se bears a consultative status, and the agendas of its forums can very often be too general. Russia's chairmanship at APEC takes place under the motto "Integration - for development, innovation and prosperity." On the other hand, Putin's talks with hundreds of business leaders about the development of the economic cooperation between Russia and its partners in the region can be very fruitful. According to a recent survey conducted among CEOs of APEC companies, Russia holds the leading position as an object of their investment strategy for the next three or five years. The research conducted by a subdivision of Pricewaterhouse Coopers showed that China, the U.S., South Korea and Singapore lag behind Russia at this point. At the summit, Russia has a chance to announce the plans of the new stage of development of the Far East and Siberia. However, the Russian administration has not developed a systematic approach to solving the problems of the Far East and Siberia. However, Viktor Ishayev, the minister for the development of the region, insists that the state has specific plans which will attract 3 trillion rubles of investments to the Far East in 2015, and 9 trillion by 2025. Within the scope of the forum, Russian business officials proposed to develop alternative routes of delivery of goods between Europe and Asia. This will give APEC countries and Russia an opportunity to save about $ 300 billion by 2020 in bilateral trade and about $ 370 billion in transit. In this case, each percent of trade between Europe and Asia that passes through Russia, will bring about $ 1 billion to the economy. However, Russia would needs to upgrade its railroad infrastructure across the nation. Above all, the country needs to increase the capacity of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Officials with Russian Railways evaluated the works at about 1 trillion rubles. In addition, in the struggle for the transit of goods from Asia, Russia is ready to cut a new window into Europe via the Arctic. The time to deliver goods by the Northern Sea Route from the Japanese port of Yokohama to the Dutch Rotterdam makes up 15 days, while deliveries via the Suez Canal take a month. The Suez Canal is dangerous in terms of piracy. However, the Northern Route has a huge disadvantage. It can be navigated for only two or four months a year. The lack of funding during the 1990s almost destroyed the system of meteorological services and closed the Arctic ports, where the towns of border guards are located. The business summit also holds discussions about the availability and efficient use of resources to ensure sustainable economic growth. The participants discuss the availability of energy resources and energy efficiency constraints in the supplies of metals and other raw materials. "The major resource projects focused on APR markets will become the centers of new economic clusters. Afterwards, there will be companies and services created. Combined with investments in infrastructure, this will turn the east of Russia into one of the key points of economic growth," says CEO of En+, Mr. Volynets. However, things may turn out to be worse in reality. A week before the APEC summit, Gazprom said that the project to develop the Shtokman deposit, which is being implemented in cooperation with France's Total, would be postponed. China, which is interested in regular deliveries of Russian hydrocarbons at estimated prices, will be forced to seek alternative sources of supplies. In this regard, Beijing can turn to Kazakhstan, which is also interested in extending its pipeline to the Chinese border, a study conducted by Valdai Club said. The Russian political elite believes that it is Europe and not Asia that should remain the main economic partner despite the crisis in the eurozone. Meanwhile, the center of gravity of the world economy gradually moves to Asia. Russia could use this to attract investment in infrastructure and the companies that make products of high processing. Nonobvious prospects of the already announced projects to upgrade the BAM, the Trans-Siberian Railway and uncertainty in the development of the Shtokman field confirm the conclusions of Valdai's study about the absence of a specific plan for a new development of Siberia and the Far East. All statements about the development of production in the region will be purely declarative, until the authorities make a decision to establish special industrial clusters in the Far East and Siberia, as it happens in China, experts of Valdai Club believe.

Siberian cranes bring extremely good luck to Russia's APEC summit

The 9th summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has ended in Russia's Vladivostok on September 9. The summit surprised many people with its effectiveness. Moreover, the forum proved to be unexpectedly successful for Russia. The APEC forum is a place for holding debate and outlining plans, rather than for making decisions. However, the most recent summit became an exception, although its agenda, which was defined six months ago, did not stipulate that it could turn into something really meaningful. Following the summit, it became clear that the "turn to the east" of the Russian economy is an issue to talk about, although experts and observers expressed concerns before that such a favorable turn for Russia was not going to happen. The forum, from which no one expected any decisions, has turned into the platform that gathered the leaders of major powers in the region (China, Russia, USA, Japan) and where a number of various arrangements was signed, The Izvestia newspaper said. After the summit, Russia has obviously gained weight among APEC member countries. The center of the world is shifting to Asia, leading scientists of politics say. Russia wants to keep up with the process and even become one of its leaders. Russia that joined the APEC in 1998 initially considered the summit in Vladivostok as a foreign policy event - largely contrary to the sense of this association, which officially positions itself not as an alliance of "states" or "countries", but rather as an "alliance of economies." But it is now clear that the APEC has worked precisely as an economic union. Perhaps it goes about the creation of an alternative to the WTO inside the APEC so that the members of the association could play on the contradictions in the WTO with the EU. Some agreements look broad in the final declaration of the forum. In particular, it is the intention to fight corruption, strengthen the financial system, reduce price fluctuations, etc. But there are a lot of specific details too, the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper said. Thus, the leaders agreed to refrain from imposing new export restrictions and creating barriers to trade and investment before the end of 2015. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who replaced President Obama in Vladivostok, and Russia's Putin were advocating the joint refusal from protectionism at the summit. The leaders also agreed to reduce the total energy intensity of the Asia-Pacific economies by 45% by 2035 from the level of 2005. Putin himself was satisfied with the agreement, which could not be achieved "within ten years of work on the WTO platform." Namely, it was decided to reduce customs duties on 54 "green" products to 5% (wind generators, water and air pollution sensors, etc). The issue of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was initiated by the United States in 2009, did not receive a development in Vladivostok, to Russia's great satisfaction. In 2009, the USA put forward an initiative to conclude an agreement on free trade between nine developed APEC economies. Russia and China would have had no chances to enter that agreement. The "Japanese" outcome of the summit was positive too, despite contradictions between Moscow and Tokyo on the Kuril Islands. Japan expressed its willingness to participate in the Russian project to export liquefied natural gas from the Russian Federation. A railway transportation agreement was signed between ICT Group and Mitsui, as well as several other smaller contracts. Surprisingly, the United States had no objections to Russia's Asia-Pacific plans. In general, there are a lot of reasons to talk about the success of the summit. But on the other hand, this was due to the extremely good luck. The realization of bonuses earned is more complicated than a good forum in Vladivostok. The APEC summit, according to various estimates, cost Russia 700 billion rubles. However, Vladimir Putin, commenting on the results of the forum, said that the unprecedented cost seemed reasonable to him. "No offense, but what you are talking about, which 700 billion?" he replied, when asked about the cost of the summit. He explained that the money was mostly spent on the development of the infrastructure in the region, rather than preparations for the summit. At the press conference, Putin spoke about many things, but it was a question from a correspondent of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper that received most attention. The journalist asked Putin about his flight with cranes. Journalist: Vladimir Vladimirovich, my question is not quite about the summit. May I ask you about the cranes? Putin: About the cranes? Journalist: Yes. About the cranes , whom you showed the way to warmer places. (Putin shrugs.) The fact is that on the Internet there are plenty of highly caustic remarks about it - people do joke a lot about it. Putin: Do they? They should try and take a flight themselves. Journalist: Well, your successive opponent Ksenia Sobchak [Russian it-girl, celebrity TV host] projected it all on the electoral statistics. She said that 63% of the cranes flew after Putin and the rest preferred to head south. Only a small part remained to nest on squares and boulevards. (Journalist laughs.) There is some truth in these words - not all birds flew after Putin. Here, Mr. Putin, answer! Putin: (applause heard in the hall) Indeed, not all cranes flew ... only the weak ones did not fly. (Applause in the hall again). It was with the first attempt - all of them flew with the second attempt (laughter and applause). It is true, I must admit and say it honestly, it is partially the pilot's guilt too that no all of them flew after him (silence in the hall). Because he was gathering speed and height too fast, so they simply couldn't catch up. But this is not the whole truth and not the whole situation. Just at some point - I mean, bad weather and strong crosswind - the pilot is forced to gather the height and speed quickly. Otherwise, the aircraft can turn over. (Putin thinks.) What else is there to add? Yes, there are, of course, birdies that do not fly in the pack, they prefer to nest somewhere separately. What to do? That's another problem. Even if they are not members of the pack, they are still members of our population. And they should be treated with care. (Putin pauses) If possible ... (a storm of applause).