Russia negotiates ceasefire with Libyan PM; Libya seeks Moscow’s role in peaceful settlement of the conflict; UN Secretary General and Russian leaders discuss Libya; Russia calls on Libya to comply with UN resolution;
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    • According to reports, Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi has held telephonic conversation with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov about the possible ceasefire in his turbulent country. The telephone conversation between Al-Mahmoudi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came after Muammar Gaddafi's troops pulled out of the insurgents-held city of Misrata. Lavrov, on his part proposed sending observers to Libya and stepping up the peaceful solution of the conflict.1

    Russia believes that Libya is ready for a political settlement of the armed conflict in the country and wants Moscow to take part in the search for ways to end the conflict peacefully. A statement from Russia’s foreign ministry read the head of the Libyan government expressed his assessments of the situation in Libya, He stressed the desire of the authorities in Tripoli to find a political solution to the conflict and said he wanted Russia to contribute to the search for a peaceful settlement”. Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov has said that the most important thing now was to stop the bloodshed and the sufferings of civilians. He was quoted as saying “for this purpose, it is necessary to unconditionally comply with the respective decisions by the UN Security Council and ensure an immediate seizure of fire, first of all, strikes against Misrata and other populated area”2.

    However, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to Moscow, met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev amid mounting Russian concern that Western actions in the Libya conflict were exceeded a UN mandate. Russia abstained on a UN Security Council resolution which sanctioned air campaign in Libya, refraining from using its veto. But Medvedev last week warned against a "loose interpretation" of the UN resolution, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has expressed regret that the West was being increasingly drawn into the conflict. Ban, speaking at the start of his talks with Medvedev said Russia could play an important role in settling regional conflicts and dealing with global challenges.3

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi to implement United Nations resolutions and end attacks on civilians. He said that Libya must abide by the UN Security Council resolution and ensure an immediate ceasefire, above all in Misrata and other population centers. Hundreds have been killed in the western city of Misrata, which a rebel spokesman said was again under heavy bombardment on Sunday by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, a day after rebels celebrated a government pullback. The Libyan government has repeatedly made calls for ceasefires, which have been rejected by rebels who say they are not matched by its actions. Russia has also called on Libya to work with international organizations to ease the humanitarian crisis in the North African nation.4

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has begun his appearance before the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, to present an annual report on Russia's economic performance. The address is the last such report that Putin will deliver to the current State Duma before parliamentary elections in December and the 2012 Russian presidential election. Putin suggested that Russia had successfully navigated a treacherous global financial period without "serious shocks and risks." Putin outlined government spending plans in light of billions of dollars of revenues from sales of oil, Russia's main export commodity5.

    Reports noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit South Ossetia and Abkhazia on April 25-26, where he will sign a number of intergovernmental agreements including on setting up information and cultural centres in the former Georgian republics. Lavrov will also discuss with the republics' leaders the problems and prospects of bilateral cooperation, in particular, protection of Russians' property rights in Abkhazia and transport problems in South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Georgian forces attempted to bring South Ossetia back under central control in August 2008, but were repelled by the Russian military. Russia subsequently recognized both republics, a move heavily criticized by the West.6

    Reports noted that amid global scare sparked by Japan's nuclear meltdown, Russia, in contrast, is aggressively moving ahead with its vast nuclear ambitions. Its state atomic agency, Rosatom, aims to double the country's nuclear capacity over the next two decades. It is also building nuclear power plants in India, China, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and elsewhere. The first floating plant, scheduled to be operational by the end of next year, will be anchored in a closed military bay off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. Rosatom has plans to build 12 seaborne plants and hopes to sell some of them for export. The plants' main purpose will be to provide energy to far-flung regions or isolated facilities such as military bases without the need for expensive energy grids. However, Greenpeace has warned that most countries on Rosatom's list of potential clients are currently seeking access to nuclear submarine technology and could misuse the reactors to pursue military goals.7

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will on April 25 preside over a meeting of the economic modernization commission and the board of trustees of the Skolkovo high-tech hub. The meeting will focus on the preliminary results of work to create the research hub in the Moscow Region and prospects of its development.8

    Reports noted that the Indonesian Navy has successfully tested a Russian-made anti-ship missile for the first time. The Yakhont anti-ship missile was launched from the Van Speijk class frigate, Oswald Siahaan, during naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. Russian observers oversaw the drills, which involved 12 ships and over 1,000 personnel. It took six minutes for the missile to cover 250 kilometres and destroy a designated target.9

    In other developments, according to reports, Russia will continue deliveries of S-300 air defence systems to Belarus. Belarus has several battalions equipped with Russian-made S-300 air defence systems on combat duty as part of the Russian-Belarusian integrated air defence network. Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement in February 2009 on the joint protection of the Russia-Belarus Union State's airspace and the creation of an integrated regional air defence network. Modernized versions of S-300 have a maximum engagement range of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles).10

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