Russia-NATO Council might discuss anti-missile defence cooperation-Rogozin.

.

BRUSSELS, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- NATO might specify its position
concerning its cooperation with Russian in the area of anti-ballistic
missile defence at a session of the Russia-NATO Council due on Friday,
although his issue is outside the official agenda, Russia's permanent
representative at the North Atlantic Alliance Dmitry Rogozin told
Itar-Tass.
"The main subject on agenda of the session is NATO's response to the
Russia-proposed European security treaty. The second issue is
traditionally put as 'miscellaneous,' however, I am sure that this
'miscellaneous' implies anti-missile defence," he said.
According to Rogozin, there are serious disagreements within NATO as
regards cooperation with Russia in the area of anti-ballistic missile
defence. This fact "is perplexing, since the idea of creating a common
anti-missile system from Vancouver to Vladivostok was voiced by NATO
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen," he said. He did not name NATO
member states which oppose this approach, saying only that these included
countries "that would like to see elements of the U.S. anti-missile shield
on their territories."
In this connection, he expressed the hope that today's session will
"finally spell out a mandate of the Russia-NATO Council's working group on
anti-missile defence problems.
Earlier, it was a group on theatre missile defence, which considered
"local possibilities for cooperation between Russian and NATO short-range
missile interception systems to ensure security of military contingents
deployed within joint peacekeeping missions," he noted.
"Now it has been proposed to extend this group's competences to study
possibilities for intercepting ballistic missiles targeted at Europe.
However, as soon as we came close to practical issues of the group's
mandate and competences for talks, it has become obvious that there are
states within NATO that fear Russia's integration into a common European
anti-ballistic missile defence system," Rogozin stressed.
"So, today we may expect a heated debate on this problem," he added.

.AvtoVAZ, Renault-Nissan to make 300,000 cars a year in 2012.

TOKYO, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's biggest car manufacturer
AvtoVAZ and the Renault-Nissan alliance will make up to 300,000 motor
vehicles a year at a joint production facility in Russia's Togliatti
starting from 2012, AvtoVAZ president Igor Komarov said in an interview
with Japan's Nikkei Business Daily on Friday.
According to Komarov, overall investments in the project will amount
to 400 million euros, with Renault-Nissan accounting for 300 million
euros. Starting from September 2012, Nissan will produce 75,000 cars a
year under its brand name in Togliatti, and Renault - 150,000 cars from
March 2013. AvtoVAZ will manufacture 75,000 cars a year under the Lada
brand name. The three will use a single platform.
The three companies seek to increase their presence on the Russian
market up to 40 percent, Komarov said.

.RF-Turkey Akkuyu nuke plant project beneficial for both
countries-Margelov.

MOSCOW, July 16 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian-Turkish project for the
construction of a nuclear plant in Turkey's Akkuyu will encourage closer
cooperation between the two countries, head of the Federation Council
upper parliament house international committee Mikhail Margelov said on
Thursday.
Commenting on the Turkish parliament's decision to ratify an agreement
with Russia on the construction of a nuclear plant in Akkuyu, in the
Turkish province of Mersin, Margelov said both countries would benefit
from the project.
Talks between Russia and Turkey on the issue proceeded with
difficulties, he reminded. "Winning a Turkish tender is a serious success
for Russia, among competitors were globally recognized companies, and the
fact that Turkey, in the long run, preferred the Russian project has
testified to Russia's stronger positions in the nuclear industry," he said.
In his words, it is a "significant project" for Turkey as well. "The
country will have an opportunity to launch its own peaceful nuclear
program," he said, adding that now it is dependant on external electricity
supplies.
"The construction of a nuclear plant will also serve as a serious
basis for closer cooperation between the two countries. Russia and Turkey
have already established close economic ties, and the Akkuyu project will
strengthen them," he said.
An agreement on the construction of a nuclear plant in Akkuyu was
signed on May 12, 2010 in Ankara. Under the agreement, Russia and Turkey
will cooperate in the construction and operation of the plant with a
projected capacity of 4,800 megawatt, or 14 percent of the electricity
currently generated in Turkey.
-0-ras


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