RUSSIA

* The presidential election campaign formally kicked off in Russia as a government newspaper published an upper house resolution announcing the date of next year's polls

* President Vladimir Putin said Russia would not allow foreign countries to alter its current development course

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said:

- The next Mideast peace conference would be hosted by Moscow

- The START-I treaty must set lower ceilings for nuclear arsenals and limit the development of new nuclear weapons

- Russia is disappointed with Washington's written proposals on missile defense cooperation, but is ready to continue constructive talks on the issue

- his country has highly professional experts capable of responding to potential threats posed by a European missile shield the United States is planning to deploy

- The refusal to acknowledge Iran's cooperation with the UN over its controversial nuclear program reduces the possibility of an eventual solution to the dispute

* Shareholders of Russia's largest savings bank Sberbank elected former economics minister German Gref as chief executive officer

* A missile brigade from the Siberian Military District test fired two SS-21 Scarab short-range ballistic missiles during a tactical exercise at a test site in south Russia, a military spokesman said

* Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said:

- The arrest of Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak has had a negative impact on the ministry's international negotiations

- The Stabilization Fund is expected to reach 3.836 trillion rubles ($158 billion) as of January 1

* Russia received permission from the Ozone Secretariat to produce 140 metric tons of ozone-depleting Freon-113 used in space technology, the natural resource ministry said 

WORLD

* Kosovo Albanian and Serb leaders failed to reach an agreement on Kosovo's status during three days of tense negotiations in an Austrian spa town, but pledged to refrain from violence

* Iran's Navy commissioned a domestically designed and produced light submarine featuring extended stealth capability and strong firepower, state television reported

* President General Pervez Musharraf stepped down as Pakistan's army chief, fulfilling his pledge a day before he is to be sworn in as civilian leader for a new term

* Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmainejad said the Middle East peace conference held in Annapolis was doomed to failure, and produced no substantial results

* Lebanon's pro-government parliamentary bloc said it would accept constitutional changes allowing the country's army chief to become president, the Beirut-based Naharnet online publication said

* Poland is ready for talks on ending Russia's two-year meat ban at any time and without any prior conditions, the agriculture minister said

* Georgian former defense minister and opposition leader Irakly Okruashvili was arrested in Berlin, Georgian authorities said

* Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev accepted the resignation of acting Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, the presidential press service said

* Saudi authorities arrested 208 people suspected of planning attacks on oil facilities, the Al Arabiya television channel said 

BUSINESS

* Ukraine's acting fuel and energy minister said talks with Russia on natural gas deliveries would resume shortly following a price hike for Turkmen gas

* Russia's Unified Energy System (UES, RTS: EESR] may postpone sales of OGK-4 until January at the request of potential buyers, board member Alexander Chikunov said