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ORT Review
www.ortv.ru
Compiled by Luba Schwartzman (luba7@bu.edu)
Research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy
at Boston University
HEADLINES,
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
- Russia's Minister for Economic Development and Trade German Gref has announced that, in November, the Russian government will review a federal program for the development of the Far East and the Transbaikal region through the year 2010.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev and with the leaders of all parliamentary factions. President Putin asked the deputies to pay special attention to the negative tendencies in the world economy, and in the oil market in particular, when working out the 2002 budget.
- President Putin also met with Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Deputy Defense Minister Lyubov Kudelina. Ivanov updated the president on the situation along the Russian-Georgian border, especially in the Abkhaz region and on the heightened defense and security measures that have been taken. Salaries and special allowances for certain categories of military service will be increased.
- Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction and Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky has arrived in Moscow on a working visit. He met with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to discuss Russia's close contacts with Israel and with the Palestinian Authority during the "new stage of tension." Ivanov underscored the importance of receiving information from the region "first hand."
- Russia's Internal Affairs Minister Boris Gryzlov has arrived in Baku on an official visit. He met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ramil Usubov, and with the republic's president, Geidar Aliev, to discuss issues related to the fight against international terrorism, the illegal drug trade and the protection of the Caspian Sea's biological resources. Gryzlov and Usubov signed a Russian-Azerbaijani Interior Ministry cooperation treaty for 2002.
- The Soiuz TM-33 spaceship has successfully docked with the Zaria international space station.
- President Putin met with French Ptime Minister Lionel Jospin to discuss cooperation on the fight against terrorism and the Afghan problem as well as in the economic and scientific-technical spheres (including cooperation between the national space programs).
- Russian residents will now be able to view live broadcasting of five major Ukrainian television channels at www.ukraina.ru.
- The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation held an Open Doors Day today.
- The disarmament of the Kursk nuclear submarine will be one of the most important stages of the operation.
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