US debates joining South Korean military exercises - newspaper

.

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- The US government is struggling to
make a decision whether to send an aircraft carrier to take part in
military exercises with South Korea, the Washington Post said on Saturday.
"The back-and-forth over the USS George Washington reflects the
precarious security situation in Northeast Asia after North Korea's
sinking of the Cheonan on March 26. It underscores a huge issue facing
U.S. and South Korean officials: how to stop North Korea, which is
believed to possess nuclear weapons, from conducting conventional attacks
such as the torpedoing of the Cheonan."
"Some within the administration are arguing that dispatching the
97,000-ton carrier to the Yellow Sea off the Korean Peninsula, where the
Cheonan was sunk, could anger China or cause North Korea to react
violently."
"Reports that the United States would send the aircraft carrier battle
group surfaced in early June after Washington and Seoul decided to conduct
more intensive joint military exercises in response to the attack, which
killed 46 South Korean sailors," the Washington Post wrote.
On Friday, the Korea Times repeated earlier reports that the George
Washington was being sent, citing an unidentified official at the Ministry
of Defence. A Pentagon spokesman said no decision had been made, the
newspaper wrote.


.Use of national currencies should be stimulated - Naryshkin.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Over the existing tendency in
the global economy, it is necessary to stimulate the use of national
currencies, the head of Russia's presidential staff, Sergei Naryshkin,
said.
"The influence of regional currencies in the global economy has grown
lately," he said. "That is why it is important to stimulate the use of
them in payments."
This statement should not be considered "as an urge towards weakening
a dollar or a euro," he said.
Economic relations and mutual dependence of countries are necessary
conditions for the influence of national currencies, Naryshkin said. The
Persian Gulf area countries have been using the approach already.
The BRIC /Brazil, Russia, India, China/ countries, like previously,
show the biggest development growth, he said.
"I am convinced, that the forming system of mutual relations will
favour the further development of cooperation and the stabilisation of the
world economic and financial systems," he added.


.Finance Ministry orders VTB to look into phased privatisation.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Finance Ministry
ordered VTB to work out a phased privatisation over several years of the
state's stock of the bank, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.
The government will make the decision only "if the market is
comfortable," he said.
Kudrin did not say when the procedure might start, but mentioned that
the stock, most probably, would be sold at a time, Prime-Tass reported.
The government should "earn more than it paid for it," he said. "The
revenues should be above 180 billion over a few years as the stock will be
sold."
VTB is a leader in the national banking sector. The Bank holds a
sustainable competitive position in all segments of the market. The
Russian Government is VTB's major shareholder, with a 85.5% stake.


. Most Russians prefer to have savings - poll.

MOSCOW, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Most Russians have to save money all
the time, and the share of those who chose to say so has grown over last
month /from 57 to 60 percent/, the results of the survey conducted by
Russia's oldest polling institution, VCIOM, show.
According to the survey, 14 percent have started to have savings only
recently /about two months earlier/, while seven percent stopped saving
some time earlier. The share of those who never saved remains stable - 14
percent. Five percent did not give any answer.
When Russians do not have enough money to pay for something, they
would rather prefer not to buy /36 percent/. Others may choose to save the
required sum /lowered from 35 to 30 percent/.
Only a minority may borrow money from friends, however this option
becomes more popular /from 19 percent in March to 26 percent in May/.
Eight percent would not reply.
The poll was conducted on May 15-16 in Russia's 140 cities and
villages of 42 regions, and 1,600 were surveyed. The error margin does not
exceed 3.4 percent.


.Gazprom long-term gas contracts above three trln cm - source.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Gazprom has
obligations under long-term contracts for supplies of three trillion cubic
metres of gas, the company's Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said in an
interview to the Russia-24 channel.
The company plans to have new infrastructures in Yamal and off-shore
and to develop the South Stream and Nord Stream projects, he said.
Combined with the long-term contracts, these projects will secure the
company from the global gas deficit and volatile prices, Prime-Tass
reported him as saying.

-0-kar