Press Release

Russia in Review

Published: Apr. 22, 2016

Abstract

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

Nuclear security:

· The United States will eventually discuss Russian concerns over the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement regarding changes in the means of plutonium disposal, US Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman told Sputnik. The United States has not violated the agreement, he said. (Sputnik, 04.21.16).

· “The Mark prohibits the Department of Energy from sending U.S. taxpayer money to Russia until the Secretary of Energy certifies there is no backlog of deferred physical security infrastructure projects in the U.S. nuclear enterprise,” Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Rep. Mike Rogers said of Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Mark H.R.4909 - FY17 NDAA. (CONGDP, 04.21.16).

· Georgian authorities have detained three Georgian and three Armenian citizens suspected of trying to sell uranium-238. Savle Motiashvili, an investigator with Georgia's State Security Service, said on April 18 that the group intended to sell the radioactive material for $200 million. Uranium-238 is not fissile material, but can be theoretically used in a dirty bomb. (RFE/RL, Belfer Center, 04.18.16).

· Ukraine’s Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant hosted counter-terrorism and nuclear safety exercises on April 11-14, according to Energoatom, which operates this country’s NPPs. In addition to Energoatom, Ukraine’s National Guard, energy ministry and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency participated in the exercise. (Belfer Center, 04.19.16).

· NATO security chiefs say there is 'justified concern' that Islamic State militants are actively working to obtain nuclear, radiological and biological materials. (Jerusalem Post, 04.21.16).

· “Yes, nuclear security is the very field where we can create problems for the United States, but eventually our reluctance to participate in the summit could backfire. If the nonproliferation regime will collapse, Russia will be among the first victims,” according to Alexey Arbatov, the head of the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Nonproliferation Program. (Russia Direct, 04.18.16).

Iran’s nuclear program and related issues:

· Construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant remain valid, the project’s implementation is monitored by the Iranian side, chairman of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) Ali Larijani told a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday. While in the Russian capital, the Iranian official also said use of sanctions by Western countries, including against Russia, does not help resolve existing international problems. (Tass, 04.20.16, Tass, 04.18.16).

· Iran has showcased parts of S-300 air-defense missile systems ordered from Russia during its annual National Army Day parade in Tehran. (RFE/RL, 04.17.16).

Military issues, including NATO-Russia relations:

· Talks were resumed on three separate topics during the meeting of the past NATO-Russia Council. The first is the process of settlement of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The second topic is the strengthening of the coordination of actions to prevent hazardous incidents. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stressed twice that NATO was going to revise the Vienna Document by which NATO and Russia had cooperated on security matters since the 1990s. The secretary general did not explain what specific changes might be made to the document. The third issue is Afghanistan. "We have gone through all the main issues related to the security situation in Europe," Alexander Grushko, the Russian envoy to NATO, said. "This in itself is not bad." (Gazeta.ru, 04.21.16).

· Speaking after the April 20 meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said “it was reconfirmed that we disagree on the facts, on the narrative, and the responsibilities in and around Ukraine." (RFE/RL, 04.20.16).

· During April 20 meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, NATO diplomats expressed concern over two incidents last week in which Russian warplanes buzzed a U.S. warship and performed what Washington called "erratic and aggressive maneuvers" near an American plane during a flight in international airspace. U.S. Ambassador Doug Lute pressed the Russians about the potential for a dangerous accident to occur. Alexander Grushko, the Russian envoy to NATO, questioned why U.S. forces were operating so closely to Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave that is home to military bases. He said the U.S. has rebuffed overtures from Moscow to modernize agreements on safe interactions between the militaries. Alliance officials reported little progress in getting Russia to communicate in real time over its military drills and what Stoltenberg called “dangerous” fly-bys on NATO’s flanks (Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, 04.21.16, RFE/RL, 04.20.16).

· The US military would have been within its rights to shoot down Russian aircraft that flew close to one of its warships in the Baltic Sea, Secretary of State John Kerry says. Two Russian jets flew within meters of the ship on Monday, US officials said. Russia's defense ministry said the Su-24 fighter jets "turned away in observance of all safety measures" after observing the USS Donald Cook. Igor Morozov, a member of the Russian Federation Council’s international affairs committee, noted that having “approached the Russian border,” the American destroyer could have "remained there." (BBC, 04.14.16, Interfax, 04.18.16).

· A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian fighter plane over the Baltic Sea last Thursday in what American officials said on Sunday was an unsafe and unprofessional manner. The Russian fighter came within 50 feet of the Air Force plane, executing a barrel roll over the plane from its left side to the right, said U.S. European Command officials, a maneuver the American officials said was unsafe. Russian officials disputed the account, saying they were responding to an unidentified target approaching their border at high speed. (Wall Street Journal, 04.18.16).

· Russia should receive a “strong, clear and consistent” message about consequences for doing something like the recent dramatic Russian flybys of the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, President Barack Obama’s nominee to take over the U.S. European Command, Gen. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said. He also said that U.S. military leaders “should keep everything on the table,” including a military response. He added a sobering note of caution, however: “once we make that known we have to enforce it,” Scaparrotti said. President Vladimir Putin “is deliberately trying to break up NATO,” the general said. (Foreign Policy, 04.22.16).

· At NATO’s upcoming Warsaw Summit NATO intends to upgrade the standing of Georgia and Ukraine. Both will enjoy the privilege of being termed "associate partners." Moreover, there will be enhanced cooperation in the Black Sea based on the "28+2" formula, which will be similar to the one applied in the Baltic Sea, where Sweden and Finland link up with NATO naval forces. At the summit Tbilisi plans to drop its requests for a MAP and demand the outright removal of any intermediary steps to NATO membership. (RBTH, 04.22.16, Foreign Affairs, 04.12.16).

· During his visit to Bucharest on Thursday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria were considering the possibility of establishing a joint military brigade similar to the already formed Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian LitPolUkrbrig. He also said Ukraine and Romania were considering the possibility of establishing a Black Sea fleet under NATO’s management to strengthen security in the Black Sea. (Focus, 04.21.16).

· Following the stunning success of Russia’s quasi-secret incursion into Ukraine, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster is quietly overseeing a high-level government panel intended to figure out how the U.S. Army should adapt to this Russian wake-up call. U.S. military and intelligence officials worry that Moscow now has the advantage in key areas. (Politico, 04.14.16).

· Russian attack submarines, the most in two decades, are prowling the coastlines of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic in what Western military officials say is a significantly increased presence aimed at contesting American and NATO undersea dominance. American naval officials say that in the short term, the growing number of Russian submarines, with their ability to shadow Western vessels and European coastlines, will require more ships, planes and subs to monitor them. ''We're back to the great powers competition,'' Adm. John M. Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said in an interview. The Pentagon is also developing sophisticated technology to monitor encrypted communications from Russian submarines and new kinds of remotely controlled or autonomous vessels. (New York Times, 04.21.16).

· The U.S. is seeking to step up military exercises with the air forces of critical European allies to strengthen deterrence against increasingly provocative behavior by Russian military aircraft, U.S. officials said. A Russian official said Thursday that Moscow was open to bilateral discussions to reduce the danger of a military incident. But the official said Russia wouldn't ignore more military activity on its borders. (Wall Street Journal, 04.22.16).

· Warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet were taking part in the Komodo 2016 international naval drills off Padang, Indonesia last Friday. 35 countries including the U.S., China, Japan, India and Australia were taking part in the exercises.(Interfax, 04.15.16).

· European defense ministers on Tuesday backed the creation of a new group to help synthesize information and identify threats from so-called hybrid warfare, an initiative some officials believe could eventually lead to stepped-up cooperation on terrorism. (Wall Street Journal, 04.19.16).

· “I don’t think many people understand the visceral way Russia views NATO and the European Union as an existential threat,” Adm. Mark Ferguson, the U.S. Navy’s commander in Europe, told the New York Times. (New York Times, 04.21.16).

· Poland's foreign minister has said that Russia is an "existential threat" to European countries and is more dangerous than the Islamic State (IS) militant group. (RFE/RL, 04.16.16).

· “NATO does not seek a new Cold War," Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary-general, said. “NATO does not want a new arms race. What NATO has done when it comes to reinforcement of our collective defense is defensive and is proportionate."(Wall Street Journal, 04.19.16).

· James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence has told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his annual global threat assessment earlier this year, ‘‘We could be into another Cold War-like spiral.’’ (New York Times, 04.18.16).

· ''We are not quite back in a Cold War,'' said James G. Stavridis, a retired admiral and the former supreme allied commander of NATO, who is now dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. ''But I sure can see one from where we are standing.''(New York Times, 04.21.16).

Missile defense:

· “In light of Russia’s INF Treaty violation … we are developing and implementing a strategy to address Russian military actions that includes modifying and expanding air defense systems to deny Russia offensive capabilities,” said U.S. Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Brian P. McKeon, addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 13. ( RBTH, 04.19.16).

Nuclear arms control:

· Russia is expected to meet the limit set by the New START treaty by 2018. The Russian nuclear arsenal will likely continue to decline over the next decade, but the trend is that the rate of decline is slowing and Russian strategic nuclear forces may be leveling out around 500 launchers with some 2,400 warheads. Before 2010, no Russian mobile launcher carried multiple warheads; by 2022, nearly all will.(FAS Nuclear Notebook, 04.18.16).

· The United States, Russia and China are now aggressively pursuing a new generation of smaller, less destructive nuclear weapons. The buildups threaten to revive a Cold War-era arms race and unsettle the balance of destructive force among nations that has kept the nuclear peace for more than a half-century. (New York Times, 04.18.16).

Counter-terrorism:

· About 1,500 troops from Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia took part in a four-day military training exercise near Dushanbe. Collective Security Treaty Organization forces drilled against possible threats by Islamic State militants. (RFE/RL, 04.22.16).

· The Tawhid wal Jihad battalion, a predominately Uzbek and Central Asian group within the Al Nusrah Front, has released a video showing its forces training what it calls ‘commandos’ in Aleppo. (Long War Journal, 04.20.16).

Cyber security:

· Russian-U.S. cyber security consultations will be held in Geneva on April 21-22, a source from the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax. (Interfax, 04.18.16).

· Cyberattacks cost the Russian economy more than $3.3 billion – according to the year's average exchange rate – in 2015, according to a joint study by Group-IB, the Internet Initiatives Development Fund and Microsoft. The total lost due to cyberattacks is comparable to half of the funds allocated from the state budget for health support in 2015.(RBTH, 04.14.16).

· A U.S. court has sentenced Russian man Aleksandr Panin accused of creating a computer virus that infected more than 1.4 million computers in order to steal bank account data to 9 ½ years in prison. (RFE/RL, 04.21.16).

Energy exports from CIS:

· Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told news agencies Wednesday that he wasn't sure oil-producing countries would be able to reach a deal to freeze production, but that the need to do so might decrease in the coming months. The price of oil tumbled on April 18 after a meeting of oil producers failed to agree a cap on output to shore up prices. (Wall Street Journal, 04.20.16,RFE/RL, 04.18.16).

Bilateral economic ties:

· Russia's trade turnover with the United States dropped by 27.9 percent last year compared to 2014. And in comparison to the maximum figures from 2011 ($42 billion), turnover has fallen by 50 percent. (Moscow Times, 04.15.16, RBTH, 04.20.16).

Other bilateral issues:

· The head of Russia's Investigative Committee has called for sweeping new rights restrictions, citing the need to counteract the "destructive" influence of the United States. In a comment piece published on April 18, Aleksandr Bastrykin wrote that Russia is struggling with a "hybrid war unleashed by the U.S. and its allies" and has entered a phase of "open confrontation." Russia must “stop playing false democracy” and abandon “pseudo-liberal values,” he said. Bastrykin also accused the United States of funding opposition parties, stirring up the recent fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, and destabilizing the Middle East. (RFE/RL, Bloomberg, 04.18.16).

· Russia has denounced the U.S. State Department's latest human rights report, which harshly criticizes the Kremlin's expansionism in Ukraine and record on civil liberties (RFE/RL, 04.15.16).

· The Kremlin says it has apologized to a U.S. investment bank and a German newspaper over erroneous remarks by President Vladimir Putin. In a televised call-in show on April 14, Putin stated incorrectly that the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper was owned by Goldman Sachs in remarks about who he thought was behind the Panama Papers leak. (RFE/RL, 04.15.16).

· The United States has called on Russia to reverse its decision to suspend the Crimean Tatar Mejlis as an "extremist" organization. (RFE/RL, 04.22.16).

· In the administration’s first high-level meeting on Russia in February 2009, aides to Barack Obama proposed that the United States make some symbolic concessions to Russia as a gesture of its good will in resetting the relationship. Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the last to speak, brusquely rejected the idea, saying, “I’m not giving up anything for nothing.” (New York Timesimes.com, 04.21.16).

· The majority of Russian citizens would like to see Donald Trump become the next president of the United States, according to a poll held by the Britain-based research firm YouGov. Thirty-one percent of Russians gave Trump their first preference. His opponent, Hillary Clinton, gained the support of a mere 10 percent of Russian voters, the poll showed. (Moscow Times, 04.19.16).

II. Russia news.

Domestic politics, economy and energy:

· Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that President Vladimir Putin has ordered research into the proposed reform of the system of state governance. A number of mass media outlets said earlier Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had proposed to reform the system of state administration and the president had agreed to that idea. (Tass, 04.22.16).

· Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says the government should not rush to implement rapid structural reforms, saying this may weigh heavily on Russia's recession-battered economy and population. (RFE/RL, 04.19.16).

· The Bank of Russia will bring inflation down to its target of 4% next year as its monetary policy has already reduced inflationary expectations, the central bank's first deputy governor said Tuesday. “ (Wall Street Journal, 04.19.16).

· The ruble headed for its fourth week of gains. The currency traded 1 percent stronger at 66.15 per dollar as of 5:41 p.m. on Friday in Moscow, taking its weekly appreciation to 0.5 percent. (Bloomberg, 04.22.16).

· In February 2016, for the first time in eight years, food and alcohol, along with tobacco products, were the main part (50.1 percent) of Russia's retail turnover. The number of poor Russians who had begun economizing on goods and services had increased to 89%. (Kommersant, 04.21.16).

· Russia’s unemployment rate rose by 138,000 people in March to reach a total of 4.5 million, according to a report by the Rosstat state statistics service. (Moscow Times, 04.19.16).

· The number of Russians who believe the state is failing in its duties to citizens has increased to 39 percent from 28 percent a year ago. (Moscow Times, 04.20.16).

· Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered state companies to spend 50 percent of their profits on dividend payouts in 2016, according to a document published on the government website. (Reuters, 04.19.16).

· Russia is shelving plans to issue Eurobonds this year in the face of U.S. and European Union sanctions and informal pressure on major banks not to participate, two senior officials said.(Bloomberg, 04.18.16).

· Ex-finance minister Alexei Kudrin will probably work on the economic reform in the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. (Tass, 04.20.16).

· The new chief of the Russian Election Commission has responded to allegations of fraud in an election in a Moscow suburb and called off the vote. Ella Pamfilova cited concern about widespread early voting in the legislative election in the village of Barvikha, although she stopped short of calling it fraud. (RFE/RL, 04.21.16).

· Russia's lower house of parliament has endorsed Tatyana Moskalkova, a retired senior police officer, as the country’s new presidential human rights ombudswoman. (RFE/RL, 04.22.16).

· More than half of Russians would like to see the restoration of the Soviet Union, according to a poll released Tuesday. The share of Russian citizens who positively assess the historical role of Vladimir Lenin has grown from 40 percent to 53 percent in the past ten years, the Levada Center said. (Interfax, 04.20.16, Moscow Times, 04.20.16).

· The Russian government approved the Paris Climate Agreement on April 19. (Kommersant, 04.20.16).

· Russia has been ranked 148 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday.(Moscow Times, 04.20.16).

Defense and Aerospace:

· The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive 30 Yak-130 combat aircraft trainers before the end of 2018. (Interfax, 04.17.16).

· The delivery of brand new S-500 air defense missile systems to the Russian Aerospace Forces will begin shortly, Aerospace Forces Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Viktor Gumenny has said.(Interfax, 04.15.16).

· One of the Russian newspapers, MK, quotes its unnamed sources as saying that Russia conducted a flight test of a "hypersonic warhead" earlier this week. The missile carrying the warhead was launched from the Dombarovsky site. The test is said to be successful. (Russianforces.org , 04.20.16).

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

· "The counter-intelligence has upset the activity of 80 career foreign secret service officers and exposed more than 350 their agents and persons suspected of illegal activities. Competent and steady work should proceed along these lines," Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with newly-promoted FSB officers. (Tass, 04.21.16).

· Russian judge Tatyana Leskina who agreed to accept a lawsuit filed against Russian President Vladimir Putin has abruptly resigned. (RFE/RL, 04.15.16).

· Agents of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) have raided the Moscow offices of a company controlled by billionaire oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov. The FSB said on the search was part of an ongoing tax-evasion investigation. (RFE/RL, 04.15.16).

· Information on criminal cases opened in 2013 against Yuri Udaltsov and Yakov Urinson — top managers at state-run technology firm Rusnano — emerged last Friday. (Moscow Times, 04.15.16).

· Russia’s Investigative Committee intends to question British-American investor William Browder about the murder of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, the Committee's website reported Thursday. (Moscow Times, 04.14.16).

· The newly created National Guard could be given the power to shoot into crowds of people under proposals from State Duma deputies. (Moscow Times, 04.21.16).

Foreign affairs and trade:

· Syria:

o Russian president Vladimir Putin has told a number of visiting envoys that he will not withdraw his support for the Syrian leader until there is a clear alternative in place. By an alternative, he means a specific figure who the Russian leader can feel confident will control the army and hold together what is left of the existing government, diplomats said. (New York Times, 04.16.16).

o Russia and the U.S. are not conducting any secret negotiations on Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. (RBTH, 04.18.16).

o U.S. President Barack Obama discussed Syria with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Monday, during which they agreed to try and strengthen the truce and improve humanitarian access. Obama said in an interview Tuesday with CBS News that he told Putin that Syria is starting to “fray more rapidly.” If the U.S. and Russia are “not in sync” about moving the political transition forward, their efforts to resolve the conflict will suffer a reverse, he said. Obama also voiced concern about the deployment of Russian artillery units to parts of northern Syria. A statement released by the office of Mr. Putin said he had stressed the need for moderate opposition leaders in Syria to distance themselves from the Islamic State and other extremist groups. (New York Times, 04.19.16, Bloomberg, 04.20.16).

o "We think it would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel into Syria," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said on April 21. " Earlier the same day in Ankara, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has kept a "considerable" military presence in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Russia has been moving artillery units to areas of northern Syria where Assad government forces have been massing, raising U.S. concern that the two allies may be preparing for a return to full-scale fighting. (Wall Street Journal, 04.20.16, RFE/RL, 04.21.16).

o Russia’s latest military moves in Syria have sharpened divisions within the U.S. administration over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs a U.N.-led initiative to end the civil war or is using the negotiations to mask renewed military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. National Security Advisor Susan Rice has vetoed any significant escalation of U.S. involvement in Syria.(New York Times. 04.22.16).

o U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Russia’s foreign minister for help in getting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop violating the cease-fire there. (RFE/RL, 04.16.16).

o In private meetings with their Russian counterparts, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan has warned that the alternative to the current cease-fire in Syria could be a dangerous escalation on the battlefield, officials have said. (Wall Street Journal, 04.20.16).

o Russia’s support for the Syrian Army, according to numerous military analysts and diplomatic sources, amounts to virtually the same level of engagement since Russia first deployed in Syria in September. Although the bulk of the fighter jets flew home to great fanfare, they were replaced by attack helicopters that are less susceptible to the sandstorms that blow this time of year. (New York Times, 04.16.16).

o The Russian government says it has sent troops to fight alongside Kurdish units in northwestern Syria and is providing weapons to Iraqi Kurds, in a tactic that could upstage a long-standing U.S. alliance with the stateless ethnic group and increase Moscow's influence in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said Russian soldiers have been fighting alongside Syrian Kurds around Aleppo. Russian officials have also disclosed in recent weeks that they are supplying more weapons to Iraqi Kurds. (Wall Street Journal, 04.21.16).

o Gen. Qasem Suleimani, the mysterious general behind Iran's Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, was reportedly in Moscow for talks last Friday. His last visit preceded Russia's intervention in Syria, but lately there have been signs of strains. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, did not meet with the Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, on his most recent visit to Tehran. (New York Times, 04.16.16).

o President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced reports of Russian jets firing on Israeli planes in Syria as “far from reality.” Earlier on Friday, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Russian fighters in Syria had fired on Israeli warplanes on two occasions. Yedioth Ahronoth also reported that the matter was discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited Moscow on Thursday. At the start of the April 21 meeting, Netanyahu said he wanted to discuss closer military coordination to avoid incidents between Israel and Russia, which launched a military operation in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in September. Netanyahu also said the Golan Heights was a "red line" for Israel and it must remain a part of it. (RFE/RL, 04.21.16, Moscow Times, 04.22.16).

o The Israeli military’s deputy chief of staff, Major-General Yair Golan confirmed good coordination with Russia with regard to Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting alongside government troops. “The Russians come with the right mix of power,” Golan said Wednesday at a briefing in Jerusalem. “We work hard to avoid negative engagements in the air, land and sea.” (Bloomberg, 04.20.16).

o The Russian military said on April 21 that it had completed the demining of the ancient part of the Syrian city of Palmyra. (RFE/RL, 04.21.16).

Other countries:

o Russia considers the G8 format to be a matter of the past, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. "It is like revisiting the past. There is nothing new in it. Consequently, in my opinion, Russia's participation in the G8 is a completely irrelevant issue," the deputy foreign minister said. (Interfax, 04.18.16).

o A Dutch court has quashed a $50 billion award that Russia had been ordered to pay the former majority shareholders of the dismantled oil giant Yukos. The Hague District Court ruled on April 20 that an international arbitration panel had misinterpreted a treaty that Russia signed but never ratified and wasn’t qualified to issue the award to Yukos’s former owners. (RFE/RL, 04.20.16).

o Russia has formally offered its S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems to India, a senior Russian defense official said on April 18. (RBTH, 04.18.16).

o Russia will supply a batch of Night Hunter helicopters to Iraq, a source from the defense industry told Interfax-AVN on April 18. (Interfax, 04.18.16).

o Russian President Vladimir Putin says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on May 6. (RFE/RL, 04.20.16).

o "As a country that makes decisions even regarding bilateral visits only after pressure is put on it or, on the contrary, after pressure is relieved [...], how can such a country lacking independence aspire for an independent role in foreign politics by occupying a seat in the Security Council?" Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said of Japan. (Interfax, 04.16.16).

o Russia's nuclear regulator and Jordan's Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission recently signed an agreement to cooperate in the field of nuclear and radiation safety regulation. (World Nuclear News, 04.18.16).

o A memorandum of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has been signed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the ministry of energy and mines of Laos. (World Nuclear News, 04.15.16).

o The Korea Atomic Industrial Forum has signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with Rosatom subsidiary Rosatom International Network. The agreement aims to enhance communications between the Russian and Korean nuclear power industries. (World Nuclear News, 04.21.16).

o China is expecting Russian President Vladimir Putin to pay a visit in the first half of 2016, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday Last year, the Russian Finance Ministry had been optimistic that it could raise much of the $3 billion from Chinese investors. But those plans ran into regulatory hurdles and weak demand in China, officials said, and aren’t likely to happen this year. (RBTH, 04.18.16, Bloomberg, 04.18.16).

Russia's neighbors:

· Ukraine: