Russia

Lukoil executive says Russia should join OPEC energy cuts

Moscow - The vice president of Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil major, said Wednesday it may be best for Russia to join OPEC in production cuts to bolster oil prices slumping amid the financial turmoil.

Leonid Fedun said joining OPEC could be "only good for Russia."

His comments surprised the industry Wednesday. Previous attempts for Moscow to align its policy with OPEC fell through when private energy firms, like Lukoil, increased oil deliveries, analysts said.

Russia ratifies friendship treaties with Georgian breakaway regions

Moscow  - Russia's lower house of parliament on Wednesday ratified friendship treaties with South Ossetia, over which Russia fought a war with Georgia, and Georgia's other breakaway region of Abkhazia.

The treaties provide for Moscow to base thousands of troops in the two separatist regions, which it recognized as independent states after the five-day war in August.

Lawmakers in the State Duma unanimously voted in favour of the accords formalizing diplomatic, business and military relations with the regions.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said Wednesday that Moscow planned to station 3,800 troops in each area to protect against a Georgian attack.

Medvedev tells Russians: Your money is safe in banks

Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his personal savings were safe in the bank and held himself up as the example to follow in an interview published Wednesday to sooth growing distrust among his countrymen.

"I have kept all of my bank accounts. I did not withdraw any money and I did not transfer my rubles to dollars," Medvedev answered a reader's question in the Russian daily Argumenty i Fakty.

"I am sure that my savings, just like the savings of all other Russians, are not under threat," he added.

In January election campaign disclosures, Medvedev, the former chairman of Russia's largest firm, energy giant Gazprom, had 2.74 million rubles (100,000 dollars) deposited in eight bank accounts.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Moscow for energy talks

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Moscow for energy talks Moscow - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Moscow on Monday to seek a long-delayed deal on energy ties with Russia and discuss the global financial crisis.

Wen will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev in his two-day visit to the capital before heading to oil-rich Kazakhstan for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security grouping of Central Asian states.

Georgian president names new prime minister

Georgian president names new prime minister Moscow - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, facing domestic criticism over a failed war with Russia, on Monday dismissed his prime minister and named the country's ambassador to Turkey as his replacement.

He was expected to announce a new cabinet this week in what he said were needed "radical democratic reform" Monday.

Meanwhile, the country's influential former head of parliament Nino Burjanadze formed a new opposition party set to vehicle growing criticism of Saakashvili's management of the war.

Moscow joins protests over reported US attack inside Syria

SyriaMoscow  - Russia - which has a military cooperation agreement with Syria - Monday joined those co

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