Russia in Review

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda.

Nuclear security agenda:

Russia and the United States signed a bilateral agreement on cooperative threat reduction to replace a 1992 act that expired on June 17^th. Russia and the United States will form an ad hoc committee to generate joint projects for nuclear threat reduction and monitor their fulfillment in line with the new deal. The signatories agreed to limit the scope of the program in Russia, but expand it to try to eliminate similar weapons elsewhere. Chemical and biological weapons will no longer be in the program, U.S. officials said. Most projects led by the U.S. Energy Department in Russia state will continue largely unfettered, but the Defense Department presence in Russia will largely cease to exist. While previously the Pentagon had the right to inspect classified nuclear sites in Russia, the new agreement says that the sides ill devise new procedures, which do not require access of U.S. representatives. The clause that exempted U.S. contractors from liability has also been amended. From now on, the Americans will bear financial and legal liability if the intent is proven. (White House, 06.17.13, The Republic, 06.18.13, Moscow Times, New York Times, 06.19.13, GSN, 06.20.13).
U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that the White House will host another international Nuclear Security Summit in 2016. (New York Times, 06.19.13).
President Putin said of North Korea’s nuclear program after meeting President Obama on Monday: “We also spoke about the problem of North Korea and agreed to emphasize our interaction on all the directions.” (AP, 06.17.13).

Iran nuclear issues:

At their Monday meeting on sidelines of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism that the election in Iran may open a new avenue for ending the standoff over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program. (Bloomberg, 06.17.13).
Iran has expressed readiness to stop uranium enrichment to a fissile concentration of 20 percent in exchange for the easing of sanctions imposed by the P5+1 countries on the Islamic Republic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said."The international community should react to Iran's constructive steps by similar measures [such as the] gradual halt of sanctions and scrapping them," Lavrov said. (Jerusalem Post, 06.18.13).

NATO-Russia cooperation, including transit to and from Afghanistan:

Russia and the United States have signed a contract for the delivery of Russian Mi-17 helicopters for the Afghan army, a Russian government agency said Monday. ( RIA Novosti, 06.17.13).
"We have a strong impression that in their bid to return the bulk of their own forces as soon as possible, Americans and their allies unreasonably facilitate the process of delegating responsibility to Afghans, without looking back at the concrete situation in those regions where this delegation proceeds," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. (Itar-Tass, 06.18.13).

Missile defense:

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday: “We are well aware that the United States continues to deploy its strategic missile defense system. Yes, there is some reconfiguration of the time the geography of this project. We see and positively appreciate these steps of our American partners. However, no one is giving up the program as a whole, it continues to implement. It is only the matter of time: when and where elements of this missile defense system will be implemented.” (Kremlin.ru, 06.19.13).
Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, said of the discussion of the missile defense issue by Obama and Putin at the G8 summit: “This is an area where they agree that we need to continue to have the type of technical exchanges and exchanges of experts so that we can forge a basis for cooperation going forward.” (White House, 06.18.13).
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the U.S.review of its missile defense program for Europe does not address Russia’s concerns because “the system remains global” and its components “are being deployed along the perimeter of our borders.”(RIA Novosti, 06.20.13).

Nuclear arms control:

President Obama said after meeting President Putin on Monday: “We had a discussion about the fact as the two nuclear superpowers, we have a special obligation to try to continue to reduce tensions, to build on the work that we did with New START, and to lead the world in both nuclear security issues and proliferation issues.” (Whitehouse.gov, 06.17.13).
President Barack Obama declared in Berlin on Wednesday that he wants to cut the number of U.S. nuclear arms by another one-third, which would shrink the total to between 1,000 and 1,100 weapons for bombers and land- and sea-based missiles. He did not explicitly rule out doing this unilaterally, but he said he intends to “seek negotiated cuts” with Russia. Obama also pledged to "work with our NATO allies to seek bold reductions in U.S. and Russian tactical weapons in Europe." (AP, Foreign Policy, 06.19.13).
Fact sheet on Nuclear Weapons Employment Strategy of the United States said: “The U.S. intent is to seek negotiated cuts with Russia so that we can continue to move beyond Cold War nuclear postures.” (White House, 06.19.13).
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel came to his boss' support Wednesday, getting behind President Barack Obama's call to reduce the nation's nuclear stockpile. (World-Herald News Service, 06.19.14).
President Putin, speaking to arms industry officials in St. Petersburg at about the same time Mr. Obama spoke in Berlin, didn't directly mention Mr. Obama's initiative, but warned that Russia needs to preserve its deterrent and strategic stability in the face of threats from U.S. missile-defense plans as well as from increasingly powerful nonnuclear weapons that he said "are approaching the level of strategic nuclear arms in their strike capability." (WSJ, 06.19.13).
Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said Moscow believes that talks on any further cuts in strategic-nuclear forces should include all major nuclear powers.” (WSJ, 06.19.13).
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia-US strategic nuclear arms cuts cannot be pursued without also addressing missile defense systems and that further cuts in nuclear weapons can only be discussed in a multilateral, not bilateral format. (RIA Novosti, 06.20.13).
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Russia will thoroughly examine U.S. President Barack Obama's proposals on more radical cuts of nuclear weapons.“Alongside the role of nuclear arms and issues related to setting caps on nuclear armaments” the Russian authorities would bear in mind the following factors - the missile defense situation; creation of smart conventional weapons under the instant global strike concept; the possibility of weapons being put in space, which Moscow is strongly against; and non-participation of countries in key arms control agreements. (Itar-Tass, 09.20.13).
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow cannot accept a proposal by U.S. President Barack Obama to further cut their nuclear arsenals because accepting it would mean deals similar to "extremely base treaties" signed by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. (Interfax, 06.19.13).
Chairman of Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov said: "In the modern situation, Barack Obama's proposal … is not a matter of near future.” (Itar-Tass, 06.20.13).
Top U.S. military planners on Wednesday reaffirmed the Pentagon's commitment to maintaining a viable nuclear arsenal to take out potential threats from land, at sea and in the air. (The Hill, 06.19.13).
Despite a veto threat from the White House, the House on Friday added additional language to its version of the fiscal 2014 defense authorization bill that could limit the Obama administration’s arms control efforts. (GSN, 06.14.13).

Counter-terrorism cooperation:

At their Monday meeting Presidents Obama and Putin signed a statement on cooperation in counter-terrorism, which provides for exchange of pertinent operational information between intelligence services and the conduct of coordinated operations. Obama said: “We have a shared interest in countering terrorist violence, and we are continuing to strengthen our cooperation on this issue, including as we welcome Russia hosting the Winter Olympics in Sochi.” (Washington Post, White House, 06.17.13).
CIA Director John Brennan paid an unannounced visit to Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday. Senior Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters in mid-May that "a contact with the director of CIA is being planned." (Interfax, 06.21.13).

Cyber security:

At their Monday meeting Presidents Obama and Putin announced creation of a new working group, under the auspices of the Bilateral Presidential Commission, “dedicated to assessing emerging ICT threats and proposing concrete joint measures to address them.” They have also signed a landmark agreement to reduce the risk of conflict in cyberspace through real-time communications about incidents of national security concern. (Washington Post, White House, 06.17.13).
The Kremlin has so far maintained a discreet silence, but Russian security experts say there are few surprises for them in revelations showing that the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart were actively trying to crack the encryption on then-President Dmitry Medvedev's phone calls home during a 2009 G-20 summit in London. (CSM, 06.17.13).
The scandal over illegal data interception by US security services questions the correlation between the US and international law, and senior Russian officials are calling for an urgent update in Russian legislation in response. (Russia Today, 06.19.13).

Energy exports from CIS:

No significant developments.

Bilateral economic ties:

See Other bilateral issues.

Other bilateral issues:

Presidents Putin and Obama issued a joint statement during their Monday meeting on enhancing bilateral cooperation. The statement said the two leaders agreed to hold a U.S.-Russia summit in Moscow on September 3-4, 2013. They also agreed to expand the dialogue between the U.S. Vice President and the Russian Prime Minister to address their joint agenda, including discussion of the development and diversification of trade and investment links. An understanding was reached on launching a regular dialogue in the “two plus two” format between foreign and defense ministers to address issues of strategic stability, international security, and shared threats to our countries, according to the statement. (White House, Kremlin, 06.17.13).
President Putin said after his meeting with President Obama on Monday: “Our opinions do not coincide, but all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria, to stop the growth of victims, and to solve the situation peacefully, including by bringing the parties to the negotiations table in Geneva.” (Kremlin.ru, 06.17.13).
President Obama said after meeting President Putin on Monday: “We do have differing perspectives on the problem, but we share an interest in reducing the violence; securing chemical weapons and ensuring that they're neither used nor are they subject to proliferation; and that we want to try to resolve the issue through political means, if possible. And so we have instructed our teams to continue to work on the potential of a Geneva follow-up to the first meeting..” (Whitehouse.gov, 06.17.13).
The State Department on Wednesday accused Russia, China and Uzbekistan of continuing to abet human trafficking and forced labor. All three countries fell to the lowest ranking in the State Department's annual report on trafficking. Moscow has expressed "indignation" about the possibility of being hit by U.S. sanctions after Washington gave Russia the lowest possible rating on the fight against human trafficking. (RFE/RL, 06.20.13, New York Times. 06.20.13).
Russia appears to have finally yielded to American pressure to adopt a tax dodgers' law known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). (RBTH, 06.17.13).
The body of the 27-year-old Chechen man killed during questioning in Florida about ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev has been buried in his native Chechnya nearly a month after his death. (RFE/RL, 06.20.13).
Asked to list the top five countries they regard as being "most unfriendly and hostile" to Russia in an annual survey on international relations by the respected Levada Centre, 38 per cent per cent of respondents gave the US as their first choice - a slight rise from 35 per cent in the last poll in 2012. Georgia came second on 33 per cent of respondents in 2013. (Interfax, 06.18.13).

II. Russia news.

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to amend the Russian Constitution to merge Russia's Supreme Court of Arbitration and Supreme Court into a single body. The president also announced 450 billion rubles ($15 billion) in infrastructure spending. (RBTH, 06.21.13).
President Vladimir Putin announced that a amnesty for businesspeople had been approved by his office and will be submitted to the State Duma. (RBTH, 06.21.13).
President Vladimir Putin says he would welcome "improving" a controversial law on non-governmental organizations that activists say is aimed at stamping out dissent. (Moscow Times, 06.17.13).
Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said on Tuesday he considered it possible to amend the legislation on non-governmental organizations for the term "foreign agent" not to evoke reactions "on the verge of hysterics." (Interfax, 06.19.13).
The birth rate in Russia grew 30 percent since 2007, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection said. (RIA Novosti, 06.20.13).
An Education Ministry official said that in 2012 there were 31.6 million people in the 15-29 age group – making up 22 percent of the country's total population. In comparison, were 32.4 million people in this age bracket in 2011, and 33.7 million in 2009: 23 percent and 24 percent respectively. (RIA Novosti, 06.18.13).
Some 11 million foreign citizens are staying in Russia, and about 3 million of them are working illegally, according to Federal Migration Service. (Interfax, 06.16.13).
Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said Thursday that the state corporation has expanded its number of foreign contracts by 60 percent over the two years since the Fukushima reactor meltdown. These contracts are now worth a total of $66.5 billion, up from $40 billion at the time of the accident, he said. (Moscow Times, 06.20.13).
The Russian government plans to hold back on the privatization of several major state enterprises and to retain control of the Rosneft oil company. (Russia Today, 06.17.13).

Defense:

"We cannot allow the strategic deterrence system to be upset or the effectiveness of our nuclear forces to be decreased," President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on procurement of aerospace defense systems. "The creation of the aerospace defence system will continue to be one of the key priorities in military development," he said. "There are more and more discussions among military analysts on that the first, so-called disarming or beheading strike, even against nuclear powers is possible. We too should take this into account in our planning of development of the armed forces,”
he said. (Kremlin.ru, Itar-Tass, 06.19.13).
Beginning next year Russia will start building a working model for its next-generation heavy ICBM. GSN, 06.19.13).
By 2020, all units of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces will be equipped with an advanced targeting system capable of guiding ballistic missiles through US missile defenses. (RIA Novosti, 06.18.13).
Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov has announced that the Ministry of Defense has formed special operations forces – military units trained to perform combat missions both in Russia and abroad. (RBTH, 06.20.13).

Security and law-enforcement:

At least 600 Russians and Europeans are fighting alongside the rebels battling the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (Russia Today, 06.21.13).
Foreign special services are trying to recruit young people from Chechnya to fight with the Syrian opposition, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov said. (Interfax, 06.15.13).
A total of 6,014 people were convicted for corruption in 2012. The majority of these people were sentenced to punishment that did not involve imprisonment and only one out of every 12 people convicted for corruption were given prison sentences. (Interfax, 06.19.13).
Shell companies have illegally funneled 760 billion rubles ($25 billion) from Russia in the past three years, outgoing Central Bank chief Sergei Ignatiev said. (RIA Novosti, 06.19.13).
Russian prosecutors have charged opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev with plotting mass riots during a demonstration in Moscow last May. Investigators say the clashes were also organized by opposition figures Sergei Udaltsov and another Left Front activist, Konstantin Lebedev. (RIA Novosti, 06.19.13).

Foreign affairs and trade:

After two days of talks the G8 summit has drawn to a close in Northern Ireland, with world leaders signing up to a broad agreement on Syria. They have promised to step up humanitarian aid, and increase diplomatic pressure for peace talks. But there is no mention of removing President Assad, following Russian opposition. (BBC, 06.18.13).
Leaders of the Group of Eight nations issued a concerned assessment of the worldwide economy Tuesday and indicated that a larger government role in promoting growth is necessary to prevent another global downturn. (Washington Post, 06.18.13).
Russian President Vladimir Putin bristled over claims that he alone was opposing seven world leaders over how to deal with the Syria conflict during the G8 Summit this week in Northern Ireland. “I don’t think we should fool ourselves,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has earlier said, using what may be his toughest language ever on the international stage. “This is the G7 plus one. Let’s be blunt, that’s what this is: the G7 plus one.” (The Star, 06.16.13, Moscow News, 06.18.13).
David Cameron and Vladimir Putin clashed Sunday after the Russian president accused Britain of having blood on its hands for backing the Syrian rebels. (Daily Express, 06.18.13).
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday defended Russia’s weapons supplies to Syria saying they are in the framework of the international law. (RIA Novosti, 06.16.13).
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday Russia will honor its contract to deliver S-300 air defense missile systems to Syria. (AP, 06.20.13).
Russia has manufactured several Yak-130 combat trainer jets for Syria as part of a deal signed in 2011, but no final decision on delivery has yet been made, an official source said Thursday. (RIA Novosti, 06.20.13).
Russia, a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council, will not permit no-fly zones to be imposed over Syria, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Monday. (Reuters, 06.17.13).
The next G8 summit will take place in the southern Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi in June 2014. (RIA Novosti, 06.19.13).
The International Monetary Fund needs “thorough reform” and Russia will push for deals giving developing countries more clout in time for a Group of 20 summit that it is hosting in September, President Vladimir Putin said. (RIA Novosti, 06.17.13).
President Vladimir Putin reached out to congratulate Hassan Rouhani on his victory in Iran’s presidential election on Sunday, voicing his readiness for bilateral cooperation in various spheres to “ensure international stability.” (Moscow Times, 06.17.13).
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying: “They [Russia and the U.S.] should continue reduce nuclear arsenals. Thus, one can create necessary conditions for full nuclear disarmament.” (Itar-Tass, 06.20.13).
Gazprom expects to sign an agreement in September on the basic terms of a deal to provide gas supplies to China and aims to conclude the deal by the end of this year, the company said. (Reuters, 06.20.13).
Russia will increase oil supplies to China by 13 percent in July-September from the previous three months. The speed of changes in export patterns has aroused widespread surprise as it took Russia only five years to re-route huge volumes, previously destined for European markets. (Reuters, 06.18.13).
Russia has rounded on the British government and demanded an explanation following revelations that their politicians and senior officials were spied on and bugged during the 2009 G20 summit in London. (Guardian, 06.18.13).

Russia's neighbors:

The Kyrgyz parliament has set a date for the closure of the NATO Transit Center at Manas International Airport near Bishkek. Lawmakers voted on June 20 to end the U.S.-Kyrgyz agreement on the center as of July 11, 2014. (RFE/RL, 06.20.13).
Ukraine's government has concluded negotiations with U.S. energy major Chevron on a second shale gas project and is lining up another energy deal with an ExxonMobil-led consortium. (Moscow Times, 06.17.13).
Georgian police on Wednesday arrested nine serving and former police and military officers on suspicion of torture, which the interior minister said was a "systemic problem" under the previous government of President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Reuters, 06.20.13).
Georgian investigators say they have found several caches filled with weapons, explosives, drugs, and documents targeting opponents of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's party. (RFE/RL, 06.17.13).
A court in Kazakhstan's western city of Atyrau imposed a seven-year prison term on a young woman for preparing her 12-year-old stepson to become a suicide bomber. (RFE/RL, 06.18.13).

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