Translated material
"Gas-election" system
The President of Russia is ready to run for President of Russia
President Dmitry Medvedev's third visit to Italy this year began with negotiations with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The head of the Italian government often speaks in support of the Russian leadership, so it was with him that Mr. Medvedev first decided to discuss the prospects for concluding a European security treaty proposed by Russia. Mr. Medvedev came up with this initiative last summer, and last Sunday, November 29, the draft agreement was published on the Kremlin’s official website and sent to the leadership of all European countries, NATO and the OSCE.Mr Berlusconi gave a reserved assessment of the Russian initiative, calling it an “important document” and recalling that it would be discussed at a NATO council meeting in Brussels next week. Dmitry Medvedev replied: “Many partners said that this was an anti-NATO idea. But this is a full-fledged agreement based on the indivisibility of the European space. We learned that there were problems last year (the president clearly hinted at a war with Georgia - Ed. ).”
Silvio Berlusconi received his Russian guest at Villa Madama. The majestic structure, standing on a hill, was supposed to emphasize the significance of the negotiations taking place there. The Italian prime minister's habit of increased media attention was immediately noticeable. During their brief walk along the beige carpet, Berlusconi and Medvedev, both in dark blue suits, stopped three times to shake hands in front of cameras.
The palace made a very strong impression on the Russian guest. Even the tent built for a press conference with a fragment of the classical painting “Aurora” the size of the statue of Peter the Great by Zurab Tsereteli in Moscow deserved great praise. “When I was called into the tent, I thought this tent would look like the house of the leader of the Libyan Jamahiriya,” Mr. Medvedev admitted, “and this is a separate work of art.”
The parties paid much attention to eternal topics: the Iranian nuclear program and the prospects for introducing a visa-free regime for citizens of Russia and the EU. In addition, they discussed relations between Russia and the EU after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
Among the two dozen documents signed in the presence of the president and prime minister is a memorandum of understanding between Gazprom and Eni regarding the construction of the South Stream pipeline. Unlike the other signatories, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, and the general manager of Eni, Paolo Scaroni, hugged right on stage. And then Mr. Scaroni talked for a long time about something with the Italian Prime Minister. Later, at a press conference, Silvio Berlusconi was very happy that in the near future gas will flow past “such a complex territory as Ukraine.” And Mr. Medvedev recalled that in just a few days the 40th anniversary of Russian gas supplies to Europe will be celebrated. “We are not just opening champagne in honor of this, we are opening a new era in European energy security,” Mr. Medvedev said.
Previously, Gazprom and Eni took part in the implementation of this project on a parity basis, but after the visit of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Paris at the end of last week, a third participant was added to them - the French company Electricite de France. According to the agreements reached, its share should be about 10% in exchange for concluding long-term contracts for the supply of gas to power plants located along the gas pipeline route. As Mr. Miller confirmed to reporters, the French company's share will be 10% or more. But when asked for clarification how much more it could be, he only evasively stated: “At least 10%.” Now Eni's share must be proportionately reduced.
However, on the eve of the presidential visit, the head of the company, Paolo Scaroni, said that the inclusion of EDF “is still to be discussed.” However, as Gazprom official representative Sergei Kupriyanov explained to reporters, the discussion will not include the entry of the French and not the fact that their share will be obtained at the expense of the Italian side, but only the structure of the deal. It is planned to conclude a tripartite agreement within three months, Mr. Kupriyanov said.
In addition, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Aeroflot and Alitalia. As Transport Minister Igor Levitin explained to reporters, we are talking about both introducing additional flights between the two countries and providing air corridors for flights to third countries. Aeroflot will be able to fly through Italy to Africa, and Alitalia through Russia to the countries of Southeast Asia. The agreement between Russian Technologies and the Pirelli company provides for the construction of a plant for the production of tires for trucks and passenger cars in Togliatti, and the memorandum of understanding between Vnesheconombank, SIBUR and the SACE insurance group provides for the construction of a polypropylene production complex in Tobolsk. The capacity of this enterprise will be 500 thousand tons per year, the contract value will be more than $2 billion.
Joint awards from the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Italy for their contribution to the development of friendship and cooperation were received by the Russian Minister of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu and the head of the Department of Civil Defense under the Italian government Guido Bertolaso. This spring, two departments eliminated the consequences of the earthquake in L'Aquila, where Dmitry Medvedev subsequently visited the G8 summit in the summer. Russia has even committed itself to the restoration of two historical sites - the Church of St. George the Great and the Ardingelli Palace.
However, even in Rome, Dmitry Medvedev could not hide from the question of participating in the 2012 elections. Just at the moment when an ordinary Russian citizen asked this question on a direct line to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, an ordinary Italian journalist asked Mr. Medvedev's opinion. “Vladimir Putin does not exclude his participation, and I do not exclude it. But we are close people, we understand each other very well, so we won’t bump into each other. But only if Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev have a chance of winning. We are responsible politicians,” the president said.
The President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Italy also answered the question about the fate of Afghanistan. “They must find themselves as a state. An attempt to form a state there with the help of foreign technologies did not work in the 20th century, and it will not work now,” the Russian leader believes. According to Mr. Berlusconi, the main difficulty lies not even in politics, but in economics. “A new economy must emerge in Afghanistan. But for now they only produce opium,” he emphasized.
Late in the evening, Dmitry Medvedev managed to visit Italy's closest neighbor - the Vatican City State, where he met with Pope Benedict XI and Secretary of State (head of the Vatican government) Tarcisio Bertone. This is Dmitry Medvedev's first meeting with the highest hierarch of the Catholic Church. It is curious that the pontiff usually does not hold receptions on Thursdays, but he made an exception for the Russian president. As you know, the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches have very difficult relations, which is why the Pope never meets with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. But the secular leaders of the state consider it their duty to visit the Vatican. Previously, both Russian presidents, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, visited here. But Dmitry Medvedev went further than his predecessors: he agreed to establish full-fledged diplomatic relations with the Vatican at the embassy level. Until now, they have been carried out at the level of permanent missions.