Vremya Novostei

Russia, U.S. see the 'reset' differently

Russian-U.S. relations could not be "reset" during the Medvedev-Obama summit in Moscow early this week, a Russian analyst writes. Both sides know that it cannot happen overnight, but the summit has given an impetus to joint efforts towards this objective.

Tatyana Stanovaya, chief analyst at the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies, said the real discussions are still to come. The Kremlin expects the summit to eventually produce results, because Russia's main concern is the U.S. plans for anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. There is as yet no significant movement on the substance of the plan.

Is Russia as a great power ready to assume responsibility for the situation in the world? The answer depends on how the question is interpreted.

As a nuclear power, Russia has to take responsibility for Iran, nuclear disarmament and weapons cuts, whether it wants to or not. However, Russia's nuclear potential is now much weaker that it would like it to be.

Admittedly, Russia and the United States are not equals as negotiating partners, the analyst writes. Even though the U.S. says it is ready to see Russia as an equal member of the international community, this does not mean that Russia is indeed a fully equal member.

For Russia, everything rests on the European ABM issue, while Georgia, NATO's eastward expansion and competition for post-Soviet territories are elements of the changed Russian-U.S. balance in the sphere of offensive and defensive arsenals, Stanovaya writes.

The resetting of bilateral relations will be a success for Russia only if its ABM concerns are resolved. For the United States, success implies a new START treaty, an agreement on Iran, and practical cooperation with Russia in the transit of military cargo to Afghanistan.

That Russia and the United States view the resetting of bilateral relations differently is another potential problem, which could hamper progress and mutual understanding, the analyst concludes.

Tribuna

 
Japan views Russian desire to mend relations as sign of weakness

On July 3, the Japanese parliament passed a law calling the four disputed South Kuril Islands an "integral part" of Japan. In effect, this is an act of information aggression against Russia.

The Japanese lawmakers want to revise the results of World War II. Tokyo's motives are understandable because the Japanese establishment had expected its share of the dividends after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the dividends have long been handed out. Moreover, Tokyo made a strategic blunder when it turned down Moscow's offer to cede two out of the four islands.

The Japanese parliament's move is an unambiguous signal that Russia should stop all discussions about the islands as the subject of a territorial dispute. Moscow should also tell Tokyo that Russian society views this step as an attempt to revise the results of World War II, international agreements and the fundamental principle of international politics - the status quo.

Although Russia and Japan were trying to negotiate a bilateral peace treaty, there is no need to sign this document. In 1945, Japanese leaders signed an unconditional surrender in order to save their country from utter and complete destruction and thus accepted their military defeat after waging an aggressive, rather than defensive, war.

The document ended a state of war and brought in the peace. Any attempts to revise the agreements of that time demonstrate a desire for revenge. Incidentally, World War II and its tens of millions of victims was caused by a revision of the post World War I status quo by some states' wish for revenge.

The negotiations conducted by the Russian side were motivated by goodwill and a desire to improve bilateral relations. Therefore, Moscow did not make any counterclaims, but now it has the right to do so.

For instance, Japanese banks still keep at least $80 billion worth of Russian gold received by the country during World War I and taken out by Japanese occupation forces during the 1918-1922 Russian Civil War. This is confirmed by bank records and Japanese officials.

Kommersant, Gazeta.ru

Moscow patriarchy to participate in lawmaking

Lawmakers from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party in the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, have decided that they should consult the Moscow Patriarchy, but not other confessions, before adopting laws.

At present, the house does not even consult the Public Chamber, which has the right to inspect draft laws.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who met with United Russia deputies led by vice speaker Vyacheslav Volodin yesterday, said he was worried that the European Social Charter, which the State Duma ratified on May 20, would be used to introduce sexual education at schools and also juvenile justice (the area of criminal law applicable to persons not old enough to be held responsible for criminal acts).

"In fact, the Social Charter does not imply such responsibilities," said Andrei Isayev, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policies.

To preclude future misunderstanding, it has been agreed that United Russia will "regularly inform the Patriarchy" of the bills to be heard in the State Duma.

Viktor Sheinis, a member of the liberal Yabloko party and a co-author of the Russian Constitution and election legislation, said: "Every party is free to choose its consultants, but the Russian Orthodox Church has clearly been interfering in state governance in the past few years."

Dmitry Badovsky, a member of the Public Chamber, said United Russia should also consult other confessions to ensure the secular nature of power.

But other confessions are not eager to contribute.

Igor Kovalevsky, general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference, said Catholics were working energetically in various commissions of state bodies, and there was no need for them to take part in lawmaking.

Nafigullah Ashirov, Chairman of the Muslim Board of the Asian part of Russia, said that Muslims would remind the authorities about "the constitutional equality of confessions" and demand equal powers with their Christian Orthodox colleagues only if "the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the examination of laws results in the adoption of laws in the interests of only one of the confessions."

Gazeta/Vedomosti

Duties on GPS devices may increase 10 times

Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed raising import duties on GPS receivers from 5% to 50%. The aim is to stimulate their production in Russia. So far, Russian models are 10 times more expensive.

 
In that way, the government shows concern for the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) - a Russian equivalent of the international system. "In the current context, we need an aggressive but a substantiated customs policy to enable Russian manufacturers, including the defense industry sector, to produce competitive civilian products," Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Yury Borisov said on Wednesday. Raising the duties is the right step, believes Alexei Voskoboinikov, deputy general director of the Navis Design Bureau, which manufactures Glonass/GPS navigation equipment.

 
GPS market participants believe the coming blow will be crushing, but even such measures will not help GLONASS development, they say. "The government wants our makers to become effective, but it is not clear how the protective duties can improve the effectiveness of GLONASS," says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst with the Mobile Research Group. As he sees it, implementation of the official initiative will cut by one-third the sales of GPS devices, of which 175,000 were imported during the first six months of the year.

 
Anton Guskov, a spokesman for the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Consumer Electronic and Computer Equipment (RATEK), believes that navigators will be "spirited in, in suitcases." Alexander Malis, head of Evroset, expects one more effect of this protection of Russian products by means of customs barriers to be a surge in the sale of counterfeited GPS devices. "Official dealers will refuse to sell such devices, because these will not be able to compete with counterfeits in price," he said.

 
It is wrong to set the market of Glonass/GPS devices against that of GPS devices, believes Mikhail Fadeyev, the former head of the Russian representative office of E-Ten (manufacturer of Glofish communicators). A receiver for a Glonass/GPS navigator now costs $80 to $100, while one for a GPS device, $7 to $10. Russian devices will not go down in price with the introduction of new duties, while imported ones will become higher-priced, he said.

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