President Putin expresses confidence that the South Stream project will be implemented; Russia to become a WTO member on August 22, 2012; Russia is ready to send 30 military observers to U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS); Russia to retain its Tar
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    • According to reports, in a news conference with the Italian Prime Minister, President Putin has expressed confidence that the South Stream project will be implemented despite the prevalent Eurozone financial crisis in Europe. The construction is expected to start in December 2012 and should be implemented by 2015. 1

    In a significant development, reports noted that Russia will join the World Trade Organization (WTO) on August 22, 2012. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has said that Russia will ‘pursue a policy towards constructive cooperation with all member states in order to observe the current rules of international trade and to work out its new principles that would meet the present-day challenges of global development.’ 2

    In another development, Russia has informed the United Nations about its readiness to send 30 military observers to the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria and give a platform for talks in Moscow to the Syrian authorities and the opposition. 3

    Meanwhile, Russian Navy chief Vice-Admiral Viktor Chirkov has said that Russia will retain its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus. At present the supply center provides maintenance and technical support to Russian warships during anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. However, he also stressed that the Mediterranean coast was the Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet's strategic operational area. Currently, there are 10 Russian warships, including large landing ships, and 10 more auxiliary vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. The Western Syria port of Tartus is Russia’s only foreign naval base outside the former Soviet Union. 4

    Reports noted that the European Union and Ukraine have signed an additional agreement on simplifying the visa regime. The list of documents, which are to be presented for getting visas for representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations, journalists, relatives of citizens Ukraine and the European Union living abroad, as well as drivers professionally engaged in international transportations, has been reduced. Besides, a number of categories of office employees will get the right to get repeat five-year visas. 5

    In other developments, according to reports, Rosneft and Italy’s ENI have signed financial agreements on joint development of oil fields in the Black and Barents Seas, the exchange of technologies and personnel, as well as Rosneft’s participation in ENI’s international projects. 6

    On the eve of his official visit to Russia, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang has said that Russia and Vietnam have everything needed to bring their strategic partnership relations to an ever higher level. He highlighted the success of the Russian-Vietnamese joint venture Vietsovpetro, which develops oil fields on the Vietnamese shelf and stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in the nuclear energy sector with an eye of building Vietnam’s first-ever nuclear power plant. Construction of the plant is expected to start in the year 2014. 7

    According to reports, the Russian Defence Ministry has denied mass media reports quoting Navy commander-in-chief, Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov as saying that discussions are under way to create logistical assistance points in Cuba, the Seychelles Islands and Vietnam. 8

    Reports noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba will discuss cooperation in the Far East and Asia-Pacific Region and the peace treaty problems, in Sochi on July 28, 2012. Japan is among Russia’s 10 leading economic partners. In 2011 the bilateral trade turnover accounted for some 30 billion US dollars, and the total volume of accumulated Japanese investment in Russia exceeded 10 billion dollars. 9

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