Russia awaits official proposals for NATO summit.

MOSCOW, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian leadership will decide
on the possibility of holding a Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon after
receiving official proposals, a Kremlin official told reporters on
Thursday.
"We have not seen the invitation, the issue will be considered after
the Russian foreign ministry receives the details of the proposal," the
official said.
Last week NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen invited Russia
to hold talks with the 28 NATO states at an alliance summit in Lisbon in
November and consider its possible participation in the planned missile
shield in Europe.
"We have no allergy to the missile shield issue," Russian Ambassador
to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said. "The quality of NATO proposals will play a
key role. Much will depend on what role Russia is offered and on the
degree of participation in decision-making," he added.
NATO summit in Lisbon has to approve a new strategic concept and
Rogozin said "we do not conceal our interest in the document. We believe
it offers a possibility for NATO countries to drop Cold War inertia and
move to a new quality of relations with Russia."

.Transport minister tells Putin Amur road completed.

NOVO-OGAREVO, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Transport Minister Igor
Levitin reported overnight to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the Amur
road from Khabarovsk to Chita in the Far East has been completed.
Putin who drove a Lada car for four days along the road in August
presented a reserve vehicle that accompanied him to one of the workers.
"It is a reserve car, but anyway it passed the trial. I can confirm it
is a good vehicle," Putin told Oleg Trushin by a TV linkup with Khabarovsk
where it was early morning at the moment. Trushin, who has a 15-year labor
record in road construction, thanked Putin for the present.
"I want to report the road has been completed," Levitin told Putin
standing together with a team of road workers at the entrance to
Khabarovsk. "Two transport arteries - rail and road - come together on one
combined bridge here," he added.
Putin recalled the road had been planned in the Far East yet in 1966
and work slowly began in 1978. In the '1990s construction stalled
altogether and resumed in the past five years.
"The road we have been constructing in the past five years is a modern
one. But we still have to do a lot in that region of Russia," Putin said
and specified it is necessary to build a road from Khabarovsk to
Skovorodino and reconstruct the road from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok.
He also suggested expanding the Amur road to four lanes in both
directions. "I know your objections as there is not enough traffic," he
told Levitin. "But I believe we have to think about the future today. As
a (broader) road appears traffic will definitely increase," he said.

.SCO military exercise enters active phase.

ALMA ATA, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- Five thousand men and over 300
hardware and 50 aircraft will fight maneuver enemy at a range in
Kazakhstan where the Peace Mission-2010 exercise of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) begins on Friday.
Russia sent over 1000 soldiers, 130 armor and a dozen of aircraft and
helicopters to the exercise. Other troops come from Kazakhstan, China,
Kirgizia, and Tajikistan.
Kazakh defense ministry spokeswoman Dina Mukharinova said the active
phase will comprise three stagers. Ground forces will initially attack the
objective captured by the adversary. Troops will then "block and eliminate
illegal armed formations in a residential settlement." The third stage
will be night-time fighting.

.Government to report anti-crisis performance in six months.

MOSCOW, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian government and the
Central Bank will report anti-crisis activities in the first half of the
year to the State Duma on Friday.
Reports will be delivered by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov
and Central Bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev.
The budget and tax committee of the State Duma has already drafted the
conclusion which says anti-crisis measures ensured stability of the budget
and financial system.
State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov said the government report contains
several optimistic figures which show Russia is recovering from the crisis.
He said the GDP upped 4.2 percent in six months which is a major
increase against last year.
Industrial production grew 10.2 percent and cargo transportation
increased 12.2 percent. Retail turnover upped 3.4 percent, while real
incomes grew 11.1 percent. Unemployment fell over eight percent, according
to Gryzlov.
However budget deficit comprised 439.9 billion rubles or 2.1 percent
of the GDP in the first six months.

.Soyuz spacecraft undocking delayed.

KOROLYOV, September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- For the first time in the
history of the International Space Station (ISS) the Soyuz spacecraft
failed to undock on time on Friday.
The Russian Mission Control center said "an irregular situation
occurred" and some commands were not fulfilled for technical reasons.
Soyuz TMA-18 spaceship with Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and
Mikhail Korniyenko and NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson was scheduled
to undock at 05:35 hours Moscow time and land in Kazakh steppe at 08:55
hours.
The Mission Control Center said the situation is not critical. If the
spacecraft does not undock immediately, it will make another attempt in
three hours after the ISS twice circles the Earth.
During the time mission control experts will analyze the situation and
work to eliminate technical problems.
In that case the spacecraft will land in Kazakh steppe approximately
at 12:00 hours Moscow time.
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