Digest of headline news from March 30 to 11:30 a. m. Moscow time on March 31:
BUSINESS & FINANCE
*** MIXED START FOR RUSSIAN STOCKS
The Russian stock market got off to a mixed start on Tuesday due to external factors and a weaker ruble.
The MICEX stock index rose 0.03% to 1613.37 after the first minute of trading and the RTS was off 0.1% to 878.28.
*** RUBLE DOWN SLIGHTLY AGAINST DOLLAR, EURO
The ruble is falling slightly against the dollar and euro in early trading on the Moscow Exchange on Tuesday as oil prices slide, offsetting some of yesterday's gains.
The dollar traded at 57.92 rubles/$1 after the first few minutes, 31 kopecks above yesterday's closing but 54 kopecks below the official rate for today.
The euro began the day at 62.44 rubles/EUR1, 15.5 kopecks above yesterday's closing and 93 below the official rate.
*** SHUVALOV: RUSSIAN ECONOMY IN Q1 2015 SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN FORECAST; TOO EARLY TO RELAX
Russia's economic situation in the first quarter of 2015 was better than expected, but it is too early to relax, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.
"It is shaping up pretty well. At the end of 2014, our expectations for the first half of 2015 were harsher. We expected more negatives. [The improvement] wasn't because the stars aligned. It was intensive work by the Central Bank, the government and the president, who were constantly engaged with the economic agenda," Shuvalov said on Rossiya 24 television.
*** EEC MINISTER: FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM MAY BE SIGNED IN NEXT 2 MTHS
The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) expects to conclude an agreement on a free trade zone with Vietnam in the next two months.
"We hope that the first such pilot project will be launched in the next couple of months, namely, the signing of an agreement on a free trade zone with Vietnam," EEC Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev told journalists on Monday.
The EEC hopes the deal will give it access not only to Vietnam but to the entire ASEAN market.
*** RUSSIAN, CHINESE LEADERS TO DISCUSS EEU, NEW SILK ROAD UNION
The Russian and Chinese governments will discuss the union of the ambitions project of the Chinese leadership, "New Silk Road," with the Eurasian Economic Union at a meeting in May, the trade minister of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Andrei Slepnev, said.
"Now we are preparing quite serious statements, which, I hope, the leaders can make in May," Slepnev said.
*** RUSSIA AIMS TO PARTICIPATE IN CREATION OF ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK
Russia has announced its desire to become one of the founders of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the director of international relations at the Russian Finance Ministry, Andrei Bokarev told Interfax.
"At the Asian Economic Forum in China [First Deputy Prime Minister] Igor Shuvalov stated Russia's intentions to join the countries participating in the negotiating process on the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank," Bokarev said, adding that the bank has not been created yet and countries have until March 31 to state their interest in participating in negotiations on the establishment of the new institution and become one of its founding fathers.
*** GREEK ENERGY MINISTER MEETS WITH RUSSIAN COUNTERPART AHEAD OF PM'S VISIT TO RUSSIA
Greek Minister for Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis has held consultations with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
Miller and Lafazanis discussed "supplies of Russian gas to Greece and other issues of cooperation in the field of gas," Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) said. "It was stressed that the diversification of export routes plays an important role in increasing the reliability of supplies to European consumers."
The ministers discussed prospects for the "development of Russian-Greek relations in the area of energy" within the context of preparations for an upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Alexios Tsipras and President Vladimir Putin.
*** GAZPROM PAYS EUROPEAN COS $1 BLN FOR 50% OF SOUTH STREAM TRANSPORT
Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) paid its European partners - Eni, EDF and Wintershall - $1 billion for their stakes in South Stream Transport B.V.
The Russian gas giant reported in a statement that deals to buy out four stakes totaled 56.12 billion rubles (about $1 billion at the exchange for December 2014).
Gazprom was not obligated to buy out the stakes, as the partners share project risks. Gazprom is very interested in preserving South Stream Transport's pipeline construction contract with Italy's Saipem, particularly given European Union sanctions against Russia's oil and gas sector, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax.
*** RUSSIAN GOVT TO CONSIDER GAS DISCOUNTS FOR UKRAINE SHORTLY - ENERGY MINISTER
The government will consider the possibility of providing discounts on Russian gas to Ukraine shortly, said Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
"The Energy Ministry has received the European Commission's letter urging it to consider discounts on Russia gas for Ukraine within the limits of the duty," Novak told reporters.
"The Russian government will prepare a decision shortly and this issue will be considered," Novak said.
*** GAZPROM ITSELF ASKED RUSSIAN GOVT TO GIVE UKRAINE 3-MTH GAS DISCOUNT
Because Ukraine has been slow to submit a formal request to the Russian government for a discount on the price of Russian gas, despite having the terms laid out at three-party talks in Brussels, Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) has itself requested a discount for Ukraine.
The discount would be in effect for the following three months, Gazprom (MOEX: GAZP) CEO Alexei Miller said on Rossiya 24 television.
*** TATNEFT ANNOUNCES FORCE-MAJEURE IN LIBYA FOLLOWING TALKS WITH NOC
Tatneft has declared force-majeure circumstances in Russia in Libya after a team of company specialists visited Tripoli and determined that the political situation made it possible to continue operations in the North African country.
"Tatneft was compelled to declare the onset of force-majeure circumstances, which were confirmed by the Libyan side," Tatneft reported.
*** DEADLINE FOR EDC, SCHLUMBERGER DEAL EXTENDED TO APRIL 30
The deadline for Schlumberger to acquire 46% of Russia's Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC) has been put back from the end of the first quarter until April 30, 2015.
EDC said the deadline was extended because the Russian government's foreign investment commission was reviewing the deal.
*** NLMK NOT RULING OUT M&A DEALS, BUT HAS NO CONCRETE PLANS - CEO
Russian steel company Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) is not ruling out mergers and acquisitions to add to existing production facilities, the company's CEO, Oleg Bagrin, told reporters.
"We are going to look at the assets that could add to existing capacities, but there are no concrete plans on the agenda," he said.
NLMK will focus on strategic goals, Bagrin said.
*** CANPOTEX SIGNS CONTRACT TO SHIP POTASH TO CHINA
Canpotex, which is the trader of the North American fertilizer producers Potash Corp., Agrium and Mosaic, has signed a contract with Chinese consumers, including Sinofert, for potash supplies, the company said in a statement.
The value of the contract corresponds to current market levels. Belarusian Potash Company, a trader for potash producer OJSC Belaruskali, previously signed a contract to ship potash to China in 2015 at $315 per tonne.
POLITICS & SOCIETY
*** PUTIN MAY ADDRESS OPENING OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION IN 2015 - NEWSPAPER
Russian President Vladimir Putin may speak at the opening of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2015, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Two sources close to the Kremlin told Kommersant that Putin's "trip is being arranged" to New York at the end of September. A source close to the UN Secretariat confirmed this information to the newspaper.
"The Russian president is expected to address the session of the UN General Assembly, which will mark its 70th anniversary this year," Kommersant said.
*** KREMLIN SEES NO PROBLEM IN DISCLOSURE OF FOREIGN LEADERS' PERSONAL DATA BY AUSTRALIA
The Kremlin is not making any problem out of the situation connected with the disclosure by Australian authorities of personal data of the foreign leaders who participated in the Brisbane summit in the autumn of 2014, including President Vladimir Putin.
"I know that these data have not been published. So claiming that Australia has declassified them would be an exaggeration, because ultimately, they did not become accessible to the broad public," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press.
*** PUTIN CONGRATULATES UZBEK LEADER ON ELECTION VICTORY IN PHONE CALL
In a phone call on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Islam Karimov on his re-election as president of Uzbekistan in the March 29 polls, the Kremlin press service has reported.
"During their telephone conversation today, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin warmly congratulated President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov on his landslide victory in the presidential elections on March 29 and wished him every success," the press service said.
*** SARGSIAN, NARYSHKIN DISCUSS ARMENIA-RUSSIA TRADE, ECONOMY TIES IN CONTEXT OF NEW INTEGRATION
Armenian President Serzh Sargsian on Monday received State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin in Yerevan, where Naryshkin had arrived on an official visit.
"The parties discussed a wide spectrum of issues related to strategic Armenian-Russian partnership, based on allied relations and embracing all aspects of bilateral cooperation," the Armenian president's press service reported.
Among the issues being discussed is trade and economic relations in the context of new integration processes, the press service said. Also, there was an exchange of views on the most pressing international and regional problems and challenges to stability and security in the Southern Caucasus, it said.
*** RUSSIA AND U.S. NOT PLANNING TO JOINTLY BUILD NEW NEAR-EARTH SPACE STATION AFTER 2024 - SOURCE
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and NASA do not intend to build another joint space station in a near-Earth orbit after 2024, a source familiar with the situation told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday.
"Following the completion of the International Space Station (ISS) program in 2024, the space agencies of the two countries are not going to build a new station in a near-Earth orbit. However, they are discussing the possibility of cooperation in implementing a project to create a new space station orbiting the Moon,' he said.
*** NINETY-FIVE ETHNIC CLASHES PREVENTED IN RUSSIA IN 2014 - INTERIOR MINISTRY
Almost 100 clashes between different ethnic groups were prevented in Russia in 2014, the deputy director of the Russian Interior Ministry's central department for the fight against extremism, Vladimir Makarov, told a session of the presidential Human Rights Council on Monday.
"Our conflict prevention system helped prevent 95 inter-ethnic clashes provoked by domestic disputes and high-profile crimes," he said.
*** POROSHENKO SIGNS LAW AND DECREE ALLOWING FOREIGN TROOPS TO ENTER UKRAINE FOR INTL DRILLS
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law and a decree allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to join multinational drills to be held both in Ukraine and abroad this year, as well as permitting foreign troops to take part in military exercises on Ukrainian territory.
Poroshenko announced this at a meeting with the heads of Ukrainian security services, the Defense Ministry and the General Staff, as well as representatives of volunteer organizations addressing the legal groundwork for Ukraine's Armed Forces and security services, the presidential press service said on Monday.
*** DPR AND LPR TO FORM COMMISSION FOR UKRAINE CONSTITUTION REFORM
The self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People's Republics have decided to establish an interdepartmental commission in charge of monitoring the reform of the Ukrainian constitution, the self-proclaimed republics' envoys, Denis Pushilin and Vladislav Deinego, said in a joint statement.
"The republics are setting up an intergovernmental commission that will be responsible for fulfilling the points of the Set of Measures, including the reform of Ukraine's constitution and the further synchronization of constitutional laws in the people's republics," the Donetsk news agency reported, citing the statement.
*** FIVE INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS MAKE UP CORE OF KAZAKH LEADER'S ELECTION PROGRAM
Incumbent Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who will again seek reelection in the April 26 polls, has presented his election program, which reaffirmed Nazarbayev's policy aimed at effectively responding to modern-day challenges and maintaining the country's successful development in the future.
The text of Nazarbayev's election program, which proposes five institutional reforms, was published in Kazakhstan's official media on Tuesday.
The Kazakh leader announced the principles of his policy at the 16th congress of the country's ruling Nur Otan party.
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