Moscow - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is planning the launch of new Russian political party with the support of billionaire and former KGB officer Aleksander Lebedev, Vedomosti newspaper reported Tuesday.

The new political grouping named the Independent Democratic Party (IDP) will aim at putting candidates into parliament in Russia's 2011 elections.

The IDP's main platform will be the development of independent state and social institutions and particularly a national television broadcaster that would not take orders from the government, Vedemosti reported.

New Delhi, Sep 30 : Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has said that it had started talks with Indian firms on the delivery of SuperJet-100 passenger airliners and other civil aircraft to the country.

The SuperJet-100 project is a family of medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major US and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.

“We have started preliminary talks with a number of Indian companies on the delivery of SuperJet-100 airliners,’ Alexei Fyodorov, UAC’s general director, said here without specifying the potential customers.

New Delhi, Sep 30 : Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India in the spring of 2009.

Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the delivery of 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four two-seater MiG-29KUB by 2009, to be deployed on the Admiral Gorshkov, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy.

“The first four MiG-29K aircraft will be delivered to India in the spring of 2009,” said Mikhail Globenko, marketing director of MiG.

Strasbourg  - Ahead of a Council of Europe debate over the Russian-Georgia conflict, a dispute emerted Monday between factions over whether to restrict the Russian deputies' participation.

A number of leftist and liberal deputies argued for punitive action against Russian deputies, but pro-Russian sentiment also appeared to be materializing in the assembly.

A key issue in the dispute concerns the commitment expressed by both Russia and Georgia, when they gained membership in the 47-member body, to settle their conflicts by peaceful means.

Speaking against the Russians, Britain's Labour deputy Denis MacShane said that Russia had destroyed Georgia's territorial integrity.

New Delhi, Sep 29: India and Russia today agreed to extend the term of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) for another ten years -- till 2020, leading to a further strengthening of ties between both countries.

Russia’s Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov today met his Indian counterpart A K Antony for one-to-one talks and later co-presided over a session of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for Military-Technical Cooperation.

Antony termed today’s meeting of the IRIGC-MTC as very successful, and was hopeful of it having a positive outcome.

New Delhi, Sept 29: Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov met his Indian counterpart A K Antony at South Block today.

Earlier, Serdyukov laid a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. After paying homage, Serdyukov was presented a Guard of Honour at South Block by the Indian armed forces.