Rogozin doubts NATO's intention to create join missile defence with Russia.

BERLIN, May 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian permanent representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said he had doubts about NATO's intention to build a joint missile defence with Russia.

NATO's draft new strategic concept is ambiguous and shows little
interest in building a joint anti-missile shield, Rogozin said in an
interview published by the German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland
published on Wednesday.
"In its strategic concept NATO must say clearly that Russia is no
longer considered an enemy and will not start any actions against our
national interests," he said.
Rogozin believes that the concept, presented by NATO's Wise Men led by
former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, reflects a lack of
unanimity among NATO member states in respect to Russia.
"NATO is like a young man who asks his girl friend: 'Would you marry
me?' and added right away: 'But I am not sure whether I love you or not',"
Rogozin said.
He noted that the West's proposals regarding a joint missile defence
are too abstract. "The United States has refused to make specific
proposals," he said.

.Industry minister summoned to court to testify in Khodorkovsky case.

MOSCOW, May 20 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow's Khamovniki District Court has
summoned Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko to testify as a
witness in former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case.
The judge signed a subpoena requiring Khristenko to appear in court on
June 22. Earlier, the court had subpoenaed Sberbank savings bank CEO
German Gref to testify on June 20. Both subpoenas were handed over to the
defendants' lawyers.
However the Khamovniki Court refused to summon Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin, Vice Prime Minister Igor Sechin, and Vice Prime Minister and
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.
The defendants' lawyers had asked the court to summon them as
witnesses in the case and said their testimony could help establish the
truth. Lawyer Konstantin Rivkin said that Khodorkovsky had received
personal explanations regarding the taxation of oil companies from Kudrin.
The Prosecutor's General Office objected to any of the abovementioned
persons being summoned to court as witnesses. State prosecutor Valery
Lakhtin said they could clarify the circumstances of the case. "Summoning
Kudrin to court to explain the existing norms of financial legislation
would be absurd," Lakhtin said.
The court agreed with the prosecutors' opinion with regard to the
majority of the witnesses mentioned and declared that there were no legal
grounds for summoning them to court.

.Rogozin urges NATO to work out effective mechanism against sea
pirates.

BRUSSELS, May 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian permanent representative to
NATO Dmitry Rogozin urged NATO countries to work out "an effective
mechanism" for prosecuting and penalising sea pirates.
He spoke after a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council held at the
ambassadorial level at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on
Wednesday. It focused on sea piracy and missile defence.
"There was a detailed briefing for our NATO partners on the Russian
operation to free the tanker Moscow University," Rogozin said. "We used
this example to point out to the ambassadors of the 28 NATO countries that
it is necessary to implement the Russian initiative, submitted to the
United Nations, on the creation of an effective international mechanism
for prosecuting, trying and punishing Somali pirates."
"The absence of such a mechanism leads to improvisation by parties
involved in anti-pirate operations and subsequent interpretation of their
actions in mass media," he said.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, 17 pirate attacks were
registered in the Gulf of Aden in the first quarter of this year, compared
to 41 in 2009. Pirates are holding 17 ships and more than 340 sailors from
different countries.
Last year, the pirates are believed to have been paid about 60 million
U.S. dollars in ransom for the seized ships.
NATO officials also held a briefing on theatre missile defence which
the alliance plans to discuss in cooperation with Russia and possibly
expand to a full-fledged Russia-NATO missile defence system.
"The idea of building NATO's missile defence gradually becomes a new
ideology of the alliance, a means of ensuring its integrity," Rogozin said.

.Russia's Investment Fund co-finances 14 projects worth Rbl 1 trln.

MOSCOW, May 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Investment Fund co-finances 14
projects worth one trillion roubles, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on
Wednesday.
"Of this amount, 364 billion roubles come from the Investment Fund,"
he said.
"As of April 2010, the total amount of completed work under federal
projects had exceeded 265 billon roubles, with more than 60 billion
roubles provided from the Investment Fund," Putin said.
"Another important aspect of the fund's work is support of regional
investment projects. So far 23 projects have been approved in 21 regions.
Their overall value is about 104 billion roubles, including 13.3 billion
roubles from the Investment Fund," the prime minister said.
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