Russia and South Korea hold consultations on Arctic cooperation; Russia and US discuss the Syrian situation ahead of the 2nd round of Geneva talks, Foreign Minister Lavrov meets with the chief of Syrian National Coalition; President Putin meets with his C
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    • (FEBRUARY 3-9)

    According to reports, the Foreign Ministries of Russia and South Korea have held their first consultations, in Seoul on February 9, to discuss the possibility and ways of promoting cooperation in the Arctic. 1

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on February 8 to discuss the situation in Syria in the context of the 2nd round of inter-Syrian talks due to be held in Geneva on February 10. 2

    Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met with the head of the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group in exile (Syrian National Coalition) Ahmad Jarba, in Moscow on February 4. They discussed the recently concluded first round of reconciliation talks held in Geneva and the forthcoming second round of international talks in Geneva due from February 10. 3

    President Putin has held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in Sochi on February 7. The two leaders discussed guidelines for interaction in 2014, both in bilateral relations and on the international scene. 4

    President Putin will visit China twice in 2014, with a visit scheduled in spring to Shanghai and a visit to Beijing later in the year for a G20 summit. 5

    According to reports, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that Russia has started deliveries of modern Russian weapons to Kyrgyzstan from December 2013. This should help Kyrgyzstan to tackle the situation arising out of withdrawal of Western security forces from Afghanistan. 6

    President Putin has signed a law to ratify a deal with Kyrgyzstan to buy its debt-ridden natural gas monopoly for US$ 1. Kyrgyzstan’s parliament had approved the deal in December to hand over the company to Moscow in exchange for a guaranteed supply of natural gas. Under the agreement, Gazprom will gain control of pipelines, gas distribution stations and underground storage facilities owned by Kyrgyzgaz. Kyrgyzstan will also have a right to buy back Kyrgyzgaz assets in 25 years. 7

    Presidents of Russia and Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin and Almazbek Atambayev, have met in Sochi on February 8, wherein they discussed prospects of Kyrgyzstan’s involvement in Eurasian integration projects. 8

    According to a study by HIS Jane’s, Russia is the world’s third-largest military spender after the United States and China. According to the report, Russia is due to increase its defense spending by more than 44 per cent in the next three years, from US$ 68 billion in 2013 to US$ 98 billion in 2016. Its defence budget in 2013 was US$ 68 billion. 9

    According to reports, Armenia has published a roadmap for accession to the Customs Union. The document contains 150 different conditions that must be fulfilled before Armenia can join the economic alliance of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. 10

    The Russian government has approved a protocol to Russian-Armenian agreement on places of deployment of a Russian military base in Armenia. According to the agreement, Russia will bring back a military township in village Atsik to Armenia previously handed over to the country while Armenia will pass two military townships in Yerevan and Gyumri to Russia. As a result, the number of places of deployment of Russian military bases in Armenia will reach 21. 11

    President Putin has met with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich in Sochi on February 8, in the backdrop of the opening ceremony of winter Olympics. 12

    EU’s Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule has said that the Union is ready to boost aid to Ukraine if Kiev pursues economic and political reforms. 13

    According to reports, the lower house of Hungarian parliament, on February 6, endorsed the terms of an intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the construction of two reactors at Paks nuclear power plant. Under the agreement signed in January, two power generating sets with the capacity of 440 megawatt each will be built with the possible financing by Russia. Russia may grant Hungary a loan of 9-10 billion Euros to be repaid in 21 years. The power plant is the only such power plant operating in Hungary and was built under a Soviet project. It now accounts for over 40 per cent of energy generated in Hungary. 14

    Russia and Tajikistan, on February 6, signed a protocol on exchanging instruments of ratification for an agreement on the presence of the Russian military base in Tajikistan. The 201st military base quartered in Tajikistan is Russia’s biggest foreign military base. The new agreement will prolong the Russian military base presence for 49 years since the moment the first agreement came in force on May 25, 1993, until 2042. 15

    Russia has provided Tajikistan with material and technical aid worth US$ 862,000 in January 2014 under a Russian program aimed at helping Tajikistan in its fight against drug trafficking. In 2013, the Russian assistance amounted to US$ 2 million. 16

    In other developments, according to reports, Russian Vice-Premier Arkady Dvorkovich and Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria Lopez, on February 8 in Moscow, discussed energy cooperation and the development of projects in renewable energy sources in Russia. They also discussed the participation of Spanish companies in Russian infrastructural projects, cooperation in developing LTE networks in both countries and programmes of international exchange of students. 17

    Russia and Georgia have resumed direct passenger flights between the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the Olympic capital of Sochi,. The flights were suspended since 2008 Russia-Georgia war. 18

    Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a government resolution creating a United Aerospace Corporation. The Corporation will receive assets of ten integrated structures, including 48 different organizations and 14 companies. 19

    Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach has said that net capital outflow from Russia estimated to be US$ 17 billion in January 2014, and may reach US$ 35 billion in January-March 2014. 20

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