Lavrov to carry on consultations in MidEast Tuesday.

TEL AVIV, June 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sergei Lavrov is to carry on consultations in the Middle East on Tuesday.
In the morning he is to hold talks with Israeli officials in Jerusalem.
Later in the day, the Russian Minister will travel to the West Bank.
Lavrov is to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, Head of the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) in Ramallah. Discussion will focus on the
Palestinian-Israeli dialogue, the situation around Gaza, and prospects for
inter-Palestinian reconciliation.
Analysts regard the commencement of indirect talks between the
Palestinians and the Israelis as a highly serious positive factor. The
international mediators, including Russia, have made much effort towards a
resumption of this dialogue. The talks, which are being held with the
mediation of American special representative George Mitchell, deal with
two main issues - the borders and security.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko emphasized,
"Russia is interested in these contacts' being transferred as soon as
possible to the direct dialogue format." However, Mahmoud Abbas has
already made it clear enough that such an option would be possible only in
the event of positive outcome of the indirect talks, which, in the opinion
of observers, are proceeding with difficulty disheartening enough.
Naturally, the situation around Gaza will be considered. The Russian
side repeatedly emphasized the need for the lifting of the blockade of the
Gaza Strip. Many international experts agree that the blockade is simply
ineffectual and has long lost sense as a matter of fact. "It is necessary
to urgently lift the restrictions regime and ensure free access of
non-military goods and humanitarian cargoes to the Gaza Strip," Nesterenko
stressed, adding that measures being taken to alleviate the position of
the population of the enclave should not be superficial.
Inter-Palestianian unity will be yet another acute issue to be
discussed in Ramallah. "Russia believes that without settling this issue
any possible Palestinian-Israeli agreements will hardly be fulfilled,"
Nesterenko pointed out. "We fully support the efforts of Egypt in this
respect". Unfortunately, in the opinion of many experts, chances for the
achievement of inter-Palestinian accord are not visualized so far.
At the close of talks in Ramallah, Lavrov will leave by air for Cairo
where he is also to compare positions on the situation in the Middle East.

.Duma commission to discuss petrol prices, utility rates.

MOSCOW, June 29 (Itar-Tass) - The relevance of an almost 18-percent
increase in petrol prices since the beginning of 2010 will be one of the
main subjects of discussion here on Tuesday at a meeting of the State Duma
(lower house of parliament) Commission on legislative support for the
activities of natural-monopoly entities, state corporations, and
commercial organizations with State participation.
Member of Parliament Andrei Golusko (United Russia party), First
Deputy Chairman of the Commission, has told journalists that two packages
of matters will be examined by those present at the panel's meeting.
"First, the situation on the petroleum products sales markets and
dynamics of the prices of automobile fuel. Second, the regulation of
prices, tariffs, and markups on products and services rendered by public
utilities, and control over the setting of tariffs on housing/public
utilities services," Golushko specified.
The MP said the Commission regards these matters "as the most pressing
and acute ones. This is why the Commission members decided to discuss them
as a priority".
It is expected that the Commission's meeting will be also attended by
Anatoly Golomolzin, Deputy Director of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service,
Nikolai Bakayev, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Tariffs, as
well as by officials of the Ministry of Regional Development, and
representatives of the Foundation for the Promotion of a Reform of the
Housing/Public Utilities Sector state corporation.

.Vostok strategic exercises begin in Siberia and Far East. .

NOVOSIBIRSK, June 29 (Itar-Tass) - Operational strategic exercises
Vostok (east)-2010 have begun in the Siberian and Far Eastern regions of
Russia on Tuesday with the participation of the Armed Forces and other
security-related organizations.
The press center of the Siberian Military District (SMD) announced
that the exercises would involve up to 20,000 servicemen, up to 70
aircraft, up to 2,500 units of armaments, military hardware and
special-purpose machinery, and up to 30 ships.
The main aim of the exercises is to evaluate the new
organization-and-establishment structure of forces and military units in
the complex conditions of wooded mountainous terrain.
Colonel General Alexander Postnikov, Commander-in-Chief of Russia's
Land Forces, who is deputy supervisor of the operational strategic
exercises Vostok-2010, has arrived in Chita. The SMD troops commander and
the SMD headquarters have received a new controller-injected-action
directive from the exercise supervisors and set about accomplishing the
tasks assigned.
The exercises under the general supervision of General of the Army
Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, are to
end on July 8,
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