Russia

09 August 2007 -- Iraq's oil minister says international companies that want to develop Iraqi oil fields will have to compete for bids in the open market.

Husayn al-Shahristani says no company will get special treatment from the government in Baghdad. He was speaking Thursday in Moscow after talks with executives from Russian oil giant, Lukoil.

Lukoil won a contract from Saddam Hussein's government to drill at West Qurna, one of Iraq's largest oil fields. Saddam's authorities later scrapped the deal, but Lukoil is hoping to revive it with Iraq's current elected leaders.    » read more »

09 August 2007 -- The U.S. military is disputing a Russian general's claim that American fighter planes intercepted Russian aircraft over the Pacific, near a U.S. military base.

A military spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii says Thursday U.S. forces were prepared to intercept two Russian TU-95 bombers flying toward the island of Guam this week, but that no such action took place.    » read more »

Georgia was calling for a high-level investigation by the United Nations Security Council of Monday’s violation of Georgia’s airspace by two Russian aircraft, and inviting the European Union and other partners to verify that unprovoked use of force, that country’s Charge d’Affairs, Irakli Chikovani, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- A French-led consortium has been selected to build a new protective encasement for Ukraine's leaking nuclear reactor at the site of the world's worst nuclear accident.

Ukraine officials say the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has chosen a bid from the consortium Novarka to build the encasement for the plant's number-four reactor. Novarka includes French, German and Ukrainian firms.

A concrete sarcophagus built immediately after the accident still holds 200 tons of dangerous radioactive fuel, and experts say the protective casing is deteriorating.    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- Georgia is urging the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting to address Russia's alleged missile firing and violation of Georgian airspace.

Georgia's deputy representative, Irakli Chikovani, says his nation has proof that two Russian fighter jets entered more than 75 kilometers into Georgian territory and launched a guided missile. Georgian officials say that weapon landed by a house near the rebel Georgian province of South Ossetia, but did not explode.    » read more »

07 August 2007 -- A Russian billionaire is reported to have bought a five percent stake in U.S. automaker General Motors (GM).

A report in a Russian newspaper Vedomosti says Oleg Deripaska bought about five percent of GM last year. The report is based on unidentified sources and says he does not plan to increase his stake.

Deripaska's holding company, Basic Element, declined to comment on the paper's report.

Deripaska owns Russia's biggest aluminum maker, United Company Rusal. Last year he bought a large stake in Canadian auto maker, Magna International.    » read more »

07 August 2007 -- A Moscow court has issued a new arrest warrant for a London-based Russian billionaire at the center of a diplomatic dispute between Russia and Britain.

The court issued the warrant for exile Boris Berezovsky Tuesday on charges that he embezzled $13 million from a Russian bank (SBS-Agro Bank) to buy a villa in southern France.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Berezovsky denied any involvement in the bank's operations and said he does not care how many arrest warrants Moscow issues.    » read more »

Manila, 01 August 2007 (By Nancy-Amelia Collins) -- Foreign ministers from around the world have begun discussions in Manila on establishing a nuclear safety watchdog for the Asian region. The discussions are taking place in advance of the annual ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, where VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins compiled this report.

The ASEAN Regional Forum groups the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with 17 others, including the European Union, the United States, China and Russia.    » read more »

July 3, 2007 -- HOUSTON - NASA has signed a $46 million fixed price basic contract with S. P. Korolev Rocket and Space Public Corporation, also known as RSC Energia, in Korolev, Russia, for various hardware items and their integration into the International Space Station.    » read more »

03 July 2007 -- The United States and Russia vowed Tuesday to pursue further cuts in their strategic nuclear arsenals and to take new steps to limit weapons proliferation. The announcement was a follow-on to the talks between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday and Monday in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Arms control advocates have been critical of the administrations of both Presidents Bush and Putin for allegedly neglecting arms control.    » read more »

01 July 2007 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the United States for talks with President George W. Bush aimed at easing tensions between their two countries. The meetings are taking place at an unusual venue - the Bush family summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

They are meeting in virtual seclusion on the rocky coast of Maine. All the talks are being held in the sprawling house overlooking the sea owned by former President George H.W. Bush.    » read more »

(Moscow, June 29, 2007) – US President George W. Bush should challenge his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Russia’s deteriorating human rights record when the two leaders meet in the United States on July 1 and 2, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch called on Bush to press Putin to restore freedom of expression and the media, repeal draconian restrictions imposed on nongovernmental organizations, put an end to continued torture and enforced disappearances in Chechnya, and step up the fight against growing racism and xenophobia in Russia.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approveda USD10 million loan to the Russian Federation for the Second State Statistical System Development Project (STASYS 2).The project will support the efforts of the national statistical agency – ROSSTAT – to produce in a timely fashionaccurate and reliable economic, financial and socio-demographic data for policy formulation and decision-making processes.    » read more »

28 June 2007 -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is in Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a possible arms deal and expanded economic ties between the two countries.    » read more »

28 June 2007 -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a possible arms deal and expanded economic ties between the two countries.    » read more »