2007 Review: February

RIA Novosti looks back at the main events of the outgoing year; below the month-by-month review of 2006 continues, with February

February 1

* Russian President Vladimir Putin holds an annual televised news conference in the Kremlin

February 2

* The U.S. convenes a meeting of the Quartet of Middle East mediators in Washington

February 8

* Warring Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas reach an agreement in principle on the structure of a new power-sharing Cabinet at Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca

* Iran successfully tests Soviet-designed SSN-4 Sark anti-ship missiles, Iranian television reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps responsible for the country's missile forces

February 10

* Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy saying that that the reasons the U.S. cited in favor of deploying a missile defense system in Europe are not convincing enough

* The participants of six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear problem in Beijing agree that the nuclear reactor at which the DPRK produces weapons-grade plutonium will be shut down and sealed in two months' time, but fail to coordinate the volumes of energy assistance Pyongyang will receive in exchange

February 11

* Russian President Vladimir Putin begins his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first trip by a Russian leader to the kingdom, to discuss energy projects and the situation in the Middle East

* Turkmenistan holds its first alternative presidential elections to replace the late authoritarian ruler Saparmurat Niyazov, with six candidates on the ballot; Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is elected president

February 13

* Russia and Jordan conclude an agreement on the sale of Russian Ka-226 light multi-purpose helicopters among other intergovernmental and commercial agreements reached during President Vladimir Putin's official visit to the Middle East country

* North Korea agrees to close its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon in return for international aid, while the U.S. pledges to strike it off its list of countries sponsoring terrorism

February 14

* The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, ratifies agreements between Russia and the European Union on eased visa regulations and readmission

February 15

* President Vladimir Putin appoints Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov acting president of the North Caucasus republic and Sergei Ivanov first deputy prime minister

* The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs approves a draft document promoting future NATO expansion eastward

February 16

* The Russian Prosecutor General's Office completes its investigation in a new case against jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev

February 22

* Bolivia's state-controlled oil and gas company and Russia's energy giant Gazprom sign a protocol on cooperation in prospecting and exploration of natural gas resources in the Latin American country

* The Quartet of Mideast mediators fails to agree on a coordinated approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and puts off any decision regarding aid to the Palestinian Authority until its next meeting

February 23

* Russia's Techsnabexport, Renova and Vneshtorgbank establish a joint venture to produce uranium in Namibia

February 26

* Gazprom and Brazilian oil company Petrobras sign an agreement on hydrocarbon cooperation, the Russian energy giant said

February 27

* Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with Palestinian Hamas movement leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Moscow

February 28

* Gazprom's board of directors approves the purchase of a majority stake in Sakhalin II, a major oil and gas project in Russia's Far East