Russia's, Kuwait's FMs to discuss Middle East and Gulf situation

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MOSCOW, May 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei
Lavrov of Russia and Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah of Kuwait will meet here on
Sunday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf.
In the focus of attention will be issues of the Palestinian-Israeli
settlement in view of indirect talks between the parties to the conflict
that have started recently.
According to analysts, the two foreign ministers are likely to tackle
issues of closer cooperation in the area of security in the Gulf. Kuwait
put forward this initiative at the May summit of the Cooperation Council
for the Arab States of the Gulf, and Russia has repeatedly urged to make
the region a mass destruction weapons-free zone.
Lavrov and Al-Sabah will also exchange views on ways to settle the
Iranian nuclear problems and situation in Iraq. Moscow and Al Kuwait stand
for political and diplomatic settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem.
The two ministers will discuss further development of economic
cooperation, primarily in the oil sphere and in the defence industry.
The trade turnover between the two countries is nearing 100 million
U.S. dollars, which, according to analysts, is inferior to some European
states. "The sides are set to diversify the economic aspect of their
bilateral cooperation," analysts say.
It is not ruled out that the two foreign ministers will tackle
preparation of a visit to Russia by Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad
Al-Jaber al-Sabah.

.Visiting King of Jordan to meet with Azerbaijan's leaders.

BAKU, May 16 (Itar-Tass) -- King of Jordan Abdullah II, who arrived
here on Saturday for a two-day official visit, on Sunday will meet with
the Azerbaijani leaders to discuss bilateral relations, including in the
defence area.
According to diplomatic sources, Abdullah II will hold talks with
President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliyev and will meet with Prime Minister
Artur Rasi-zade. He is also planned to visit the Baku computer plants.
The talks are expected to focus on the situation in the Middle East
and Southern Caucasus, as well as on cooperation between the two countries
within the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It is not ruled out
that the sides will tackle issues of cooperation in the areas of security,
migration policy, power generation, and tourism.
This is King Abdullah's third visit to Azerbaijan in the past five
years. Amman and Baku have been maintaining active political dialogues for
years, and Azerbaijan sees Jordan as one of its strategic partners in the
Middle East.

.Kwasnewski says Georgia ready for talks with Russia.

TBILISI, May 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Former Polish President Aleksander
Kwasnewski on Saturday quoted Georgia's Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze
as saying that his country was ready to begin negotiations with Russia
with no preconditions.
"(Vashadze) told me today that Georgia was ready to begin talks with
Russia at any place and time with no preconditions," Kwasnewski said in an
interview with the Tbilisi-based Rustavi-2 TV company.
According to Kwasnewski, it was a "very serious signal on the part of
Georgia."
"I will report about it to European leaders, since it is a very
serious signal for them. Europe can render profound assistance and help to
the process of launching negotiations between Georgia and Russia," he said.
Within the framework of his short-time visit to Georgia on Saturday,
Kwasnewski met with Georgian leaders, including with President Mikhail
Saakashvili. According to Kwasnewski, they discussed "issues of
cooperation between the two countries and relations between Georgia and
Russia."

.Russia may have balanced budget at oil price of $70 - Kudrin.

ST. PETERSBURG, May 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia may have a deficit-free
budget even if oil prices are 70 U.S. dollars per barrel, but it will have
to cut expenditures, Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on
Saturday.
Russia's 2010 budget was based on oil prices of 58 U.S. dollars per
barrel, and the budget deficit in this case was forecasted to reach 6.8
percent of GDP, Kudrin told students of the St. Petersburg State
University's economic department. According to Kudrin, now, that the oil
prices are at 75-80 U.S. dollars per barrel, the deficit is likely to be
5.2-5.4 percent of GDP. In 2007, when the oil price was 71 U.S. dollars,
Russia's budgetary deficit was 5.1 percent.
Kudrin drew attention to the problem of high budgetary expenditures.
According to the finance ministry's estimates, a balanced budget is
reachable at the oil price of 95 U.S. dollars per barrel. So, it is
necessary to bring down consumption and cut expenditures, he said. In his
words, oil prices will go down sooner or later to match the fundamental
indices.
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