Russia supports Kabul’s position that peace efforts in the war-torn country should be led by the government of Afghanistan; Russian and American Presidents have expressed optimism on Iran after the recent elections in the country; Russia and the US sign a
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    • According to reports, Russia supports Kabul’s position that peace efforts in the war-torn country should be led by the government of Afghanistan, instead of the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on June 19.

    Russia has supported Afghanistan’s position that peace efforts in the war-torn country should be led by the government of Afghanistan instead of the United States and on condition that the Taliban severed ties with al-Qaida, ended the violence and accepted Afghanistan’s constitution, including its protections of women and minorities. 1

    Reports noted that Russian President Putin and American President Obama have expressed cautious optimism that the election of a moderate cleric in Iran's presidential poll would open up dialogue with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. 2

    According to reports, Russia and the United States have a signed a bilateral agreement on June 17, 2013, for protecting, controlling, and accounting for nuclear materials. The new framework will replace what is known as the Nunn-Lugar Program, launched in 1992, under which the U.S. Defense Department helped pay for securing and dismantling weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. 3

    Reports noted that as part of their bilateral meeting during the G8 summit, President Putin and President Obama have admitted that there exist differences between them on their approach to Syria but expressed their commitment to end violence in the country. 4

    Russia and the United States have signed a contract, on June 17, 2013, for the delivery of 30 Russian Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan army. 5

    Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin has said that the American proposal to cut strategic offensive potentials cannot be taken seriously as long as a missile defence system is developed. 6

    Foreign Ministry’s commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law Konstantin Dolgov has said that Russia will respond to any plausible US sanctions over human trafficking as alleged in the State Department’s report on the human trafficking situation around the world. 7

    President Putin has said that G 20 as a forum is much more suited to meet the challenges of today’s world than the G8. 8

    Japan’s Hitachi Corporation has signed an agreement, on June 21, 2013, on scientific and technical cooperation in electric power engineering with Russia’s electricity grid system Russian Grids JSC. Under the agreement, Hitachi and Russian Grids JSC plan to cooperate in upgrading electrical engineering infrastructure in the Republic of Buryatia. 9

    Russia and Abu Dhabi have signed an agreement on June 21, 2013, to set up a US$ 2 billion investment fund. As per the agreement, Mubadala Development Co which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s government has agreed to contribute half of US$ 2 billion investment fund it’s setting up with the Russian Direct Investment Fund. The fund will focus on a “range of industry sectors” including road building, railways and telecommunications and “is aligned with Mubadala’s plans to establish a strong presence in key international markets. 10

    In other developments, according to reports, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak has said that despite differences between the member states, a BRICS bank will be established by 2015. 11

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said that Russia will not allow a no-fly zone to be created over Syria. 12

    President Putin has called on Europe to ‘think twice’ before selling weapons to the Syrian opposition, since these weapons may be brought to Europe in the long run. 13

    Russia has welcomed North Korea’s decision to de-freeze the six-party talks on the country’s contentious nuclear programme. 14

    President Putin has declared that Russia will develop a national plan to deal with offshore tax havens. Russia will also use its G8 rotating presidency in 2014 to push for international regulation of offshore tax havens. 15

    Russia will supply a series of new multirole Su-35 fighter jets to China in compliance with a contract, which should be prepared by the end of 2013. 16

    Russia’s Rosneft and China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have signed a 25-year agreement on Russian oil exports to China. Under the terms of the contract, Rosneft will export 360.3 million tonnes of crude to China in a deal woth more than US$ 67 billion. 17

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