MOSCOW— President Vladimir Putin could put it like this: “It’s the economy, comrade.”
Russia is enjoying a turn in the economic limelight this year. In September, he hosts a G20 summit in St. Petersburg, where President Obama will be a much-sought guest despite regular outbreaks of anti-Americanism here.
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Economists agree Russian president’s latest decrees are unrealistic given the slide in oil prices, but his public opinion ratings are suffering
Reality at the golf resort is all too similar to most of the countries represented at the summit – behind the luxurious scenes, the operation is broke
Russia’s Vladimir Putin says his country was supplying arms to the ‘legitimate government’ in Damascus in line with international law
During a visit to Belfast ahead of the G8 summit, the US president praises those who worked to build peace, saying they are an inspiration to the world
EU officials have said they are very concerned about a new Russian requirement for airlines to transfer detailed passenger data for flights to Russian airports. The EU has no formal agreement with Russia to do so, and the issue raises privacy concerns.
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Bad investment conditions and growing protectionism in Russia are worrying German mechanical engineering companies. According to Thomas Linder, President of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), almost one-fourth of all machines imported into Russia originate from Germany, making it the fourth most important market for the German engineering companies. However, in order to attract foreign investment, Russia direly needs to modernise. According to a survey by the VDMA, safe legal framework conditions are the biggest problem, together with corruption and bureaucracy. This is paired with an increasing concern regarding the political stability in Russia, which has led to German companies to feel unsafe in Russia.
Global shale resources are vast enough to cover more than a decade of oil consumption, according to a US assessment of reserves. The assessment indicated that Russia has the largest shale oil resource, with 75 billion barrels. Edward Morse, head of commodities research at Citigroup, said: “Looking at shale resources has typically been understated by outside market participants because the geology is new and the technology is growing rapidly.”
Russia will consider offering political asylum to Edward Snowden, the defence contractor who blew the whistle on the US Government’s global surveillance programme. Amid calls for Snowden’s extradition to face charges for treason, a Kremlin spokesman said that the country would give a formal asylum request serious consideration.
Marina Litvinenko, the widow of murdered Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, has suffered a “near-complete collapse of confidence” in the inquest into his death and will cease to participate unless an urgent public inquiry into the killing is ordered to replace it. Litvinenko’s family believe that Litvinenko was working for MI6 at the time of this death and his murder was carried out on the orders of the Kremlin. They want to know whether the British authorities could have prevented the killing.
Russia could become the kingpin when it comes to shale oil, if they can develop the technologies required to pull it out of the ground. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Russia now has more shale oil resources than the US, but does not compare to the US in technological capabilities to drill for it. The problem is that while Russian shale resources may be abundant, they are not as easily recoverable as those in China and the US. Russia ranks ninth in this regard.
BP has steeply cut its estimates of global gas reserves, revising Russian reserves down sharply and putting Iran at the top of the world league table. Russia was responsible for the bulk of the reduction, with its reserves estimate downgraded to 32.9 trillion cubic metres from 44.6 trillion cubic metres. The reason for such a sharp drop in BP’s estimate of Russia’s proved reserves was not immediately clear.
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