MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) Russian companies set to close major deals at Le Bourget air show /The danger of a split in the Palestinian territories/Mounting a gas attack against Europe /Political outlook on post-election Russia/Russian big business to take up nanotechnologies
Vedomosti
Russian companies set to close major deals at Le Bourget air show
Sibir Airlines, the Russia's second-largest national air carrier after Aeroflot, plans to sign a $1.2 billion contract (minus discounts) for the purchase of 20 Airbus A-320 planes at the Le Bourget aerospace show and to receive an option for 10 more A-320s.
A spokesperson for Sibir Airlines declined to comment.
Aeroflot general director Valery Okulov recently said his company could sign a contract for the delivery of 22 A-350 XWB airliners, worth over $3.5 billion, at the upcoming MAKS-2007 aerospace show in the town of Zhukovsky outside Moscow.
Aeroflot deputy general director Lev Koshlyakov said the company and Rolls Royce would sign a memorandum of understanding on the delivery of 20 engines for A-330 planes in Le Bourget.
The A-330s and the engines, worth $2-$4 million each, will be acquired for a period of eight to 12 years from the Dutch leasing company AercapAC.
Moreover, Aeroflot and the Russian leasing company Ilyushin Finance could sign a contract for the delivery of six Il-96-400 cargo planes worth $70 million each, a spokesperson for Ilyushin Finance told the paper.
The spokesperson said Atlant-Soyuz, an airline of the Moscow municipal government, could also buy the same number of cargo jets.
Under another contract, Italy's Alenia Aeronautica will buy a 25% (plus one share) stake in Russian plane manufacturer Sukhoi Civil Aircraft. Both companies, which have agreed on the terms of the deal, will announce the purchase in Le Bourget, a source close to Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said.
He said Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a subsidiary of the United Aircraft Corporation, which consolidates civil and military aviation production assets, was worth over $1 billion.
However, the United Aircraft Corporation will not sign any major contracts before the MAKS-2007 show.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
The danger of a split in the Palestinian territories
Three separate countries may soon appear on the so-called historic territory of Palestine instead of the single Arab state envisaged by the United Nations 60 years ago.
One is Israel, a state long recognized by the international community; the other two will be the so-far unrecognized Palestinian territories, one controlled by the Fatah party, the other by the Islamist group Hamas.
The Gaza Strip will thus have an Islamic government, says Dr. Georgy Mirsky, senior researcher at the Institute of World Economics and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The split of Palestine may have another alarming consequence, as Israel may use it as a pretext to pull out of the peace process altogether.
Indeed, it may refuse to negotiate with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, because he only controls the West Bank, while Gaza is run by someone else. Such a course of events would certainly suit Israel's interests.
Hamas' complete victory in Gaza will lead to a dramatic boost of Tehran's influence.
Iran supports all irreconcilable opponents of Israel and United States. It is an open secret that Tehran backs Hamas as well as the Shiite Hezbollah group in Lebanon. Syria is unlikely to stand aside from the processes unwinding in the Palestinian territories.
A split in Palestine would promote certain tendencies in Israeli society - ones based on the idea that territorial concessions do no good.
Consequently, it is no use removing Jewish settlements from the West Bank and coming back to the boundaries that existed prior to the 1967 war.
Thus, the split will undermine the roadmap plan along with the UN resolutions, as well as the peace plan proposed by Saudi King Abdullah, which envisaged Israel's withdrawal from the invaded areas.
It follows that a split in Palestine is fraught with a series of adverse consequences. Primarily, it would destroy the chances of resuming the peace process and resolving the Middle East conflict, at least in the near future.
Gazeta
Mounting a gas attack against Europe
Gazprom's expansion in Europe has entered a new phase - one that involves infrastructure.
The Russian-German Wingas GmbH joint venture set up by Gazprom Export and Wintershall, a subsidiary of BASF concern, is planning to invest up to 3 billion euros into European gas facilities before 2015.
The investments will go mostly into Germany's gas transport structures, including new pipelines to link up with Nord Stream and several gas storage facilities in Europe.
In addition to Western Europe's largest underground gasometer, with a capacity of 2 billion cubic meters, in northern Germany, and the recently commissioned gasometer near Salzburg in Austria, new capacities will be built in the United Kingdom (Saltfleetby) and near the German-Dutch border.
That will increase overall volumes of stored gas further. Wingas Transport, a special joint venture, has been set up to handle the transportation of gas to European consumers.
"Together with partners, we are building in Europe capacities for storing 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas," Reiner Seele, chairman of Wingas GmbH, said at a joint news conference Thursday.
Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom deputy chairman and Gazprom Export general director, said at the same news conference that the share of Russian gas supplied to Europe would rise from the current 27% to 33% in 2010-2015, or would make up one third of all European gas deliveries.
Seele said today's proportion of Russian gas in Europe was just under 25%.
"We are not mere exporters, we are players on the European gas market, including gas infrastructure, where we already have a 15% stake," Medvedev said.
Unfortunately, not all consumers understand that "gas does not flow out of a wall outlet," he said.
To date Wingas, in addition to Germany, is also operating in France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and the U.K., although Gazprom Export is still facing regulator restrictions in Britain.
Medvedev, however, denies that Gazprom seeks to have British legislation changed in its favor.
"We are only voicing our opinion on regulatory matters," he said. Both Medvedev and Seele have strongly ruled out any cartel collusion, saying they must respect the interests of every player.
Gazprom is firming its position in Europe. Here are the facts: the Russian stake in the joint venture has leapt from 36% to 50% minus one share, while gas contracts have been concluded until 2036.
Moskovskiye Novosti
Political outlook on post-election Russia
Summer vacation breaks the important 2007-2008 political season in two, with the parliamentary election slated for December and the presidential election for March.
The main stake in the political gamble involving the new presidential candidate's name will most probably be made in August or September, and of course the Kremlin will be making it, said political commentator Vitaly Tretyakov, editor of Politichesky Klass magazine and Moskovskiye Novosti weekly.
Meanwhile, the situation is as clear as can be.
Russia's future president and Vladimir Putin's chosen successor is Sergei Ivanov, who already ranks among world-stage politicians, unlike Dmitry Medvedev, the other possible hopeful.
Other signs, too, suggest that Ivanov is the one, and no dark horse is likely to emerge because an obscure candidate's successful campaign in a stable Russia would require much more time than is left between now and March.
Consequently, Dmitry Medvedev stands a perfect chance of emerging as President Ivanov's government head.
As of now, Ivanov is not popular enough with the general public, while Putin said he would only name "his candidate" after the parliamentary elections.
Therefore, a simple, effective move will be used to boost his status -- he will be appointed prime minister. His appointment can be expected August 9 with high probability because Putin himself became prime minister on that day eight years ago.
The prime minister's post will provide Ivanov with a rostrum to publicly insist on firing the least popular ministers, which is sure to win him instant voter support.
As for Putin's own post-election status, he has very limited options. An ex-president, even as popular and influential as Putin will be, can only retain most of his former political clout if he takes a high Kremlin post.
As far as we know, the Kremlin offers only two offices high enough to match the new president's position, chief of staff of the Presidential Executive Office and head of the President's Security Council.
Putin's current status will prevent him from ever accepting the post of the Kremlin chief of staff.
True, today's Security Council, even chaired by the president, has far less clout than the government, parliament, and even certain ministries and federal services. But technically, it is quite possible to boost its political influence.
An analysis of the real lineup of forces among Russia's most important state bodies suggests that there is nothing more suitable for Vladimir Putin's post-presidency position than the Security Council with an improved status.
Kommersant
Russian big business to take up nanotechnologies
The Russian government has published a list of the members on the governmental council on nanotechnologies.
Set up June 9 at the instruction of Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, it will examine proposals on the sector's development. It is chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and includes several major businessmen.
The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs is represented by Alexander Abramov, co-owner of Evraz Group, a leading Russian steel and mining concern, and chairman of the board of Yuzhkuzbassugol, the country's largest underground coal mining company, and Alexei Mordashov, director general of major steelmaker Severstal.
There are three billionaires on the council - Vladimir Yevtushenkov, chairman of the board of AFK Sistema, one of Russia's largest diversified corporations, Mikhail Prokhorov, head of gold producer Polyus Gold, Sergei Bogdanchikov, head of Russia's largest state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, and Vladimir Yakunin, president of rail monopoly Russian Railways.
Only Prokhorov and Yevtushenkov have expressed an interest in nanotechnologies. Prokhorov co-owns U.S. energy products provider Plug Power and is involved in hydrogen power projects. Yevtushenkov's Sistema produces electronic components.
The managers of Evraz, Yuzhkuzbassugol, Severstal and Rosneft could not say how their commodities producing companies can contribute to nanotechnologies.
Rosneft refused to comment, while Severstal's Mordashov was in conference and Evraz co-owner Abramov could not be contacted.
Even Yevtushenkov could not explain his interest intelligibly: "Ask those who signed the regulations [on the nanotechnologies council]. I have simply accepted the invitation."
Mordashov became a council member in the same manner. According to the press service of Severstal, he "has received the invitation and accepted it."
Viktor Sadovnichy, rector of Moscow State University, who is also on the council, said: "There are two arguments. Bogdanchikov has been invited to sit on the council because the oil sector will benefit from the development of nanotechnologies, which can be used in oil production and refining.
"The same is true about the production of medicines and perfumes. On the other hand, the government has probably invited businessmen to the council in the hope that they will provide funds for the project."
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