Medvedev to verify implementation of his instructions

.

MOSCOW, October 29 (Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev will
verify on Friday how regional governors and ministry officials fulfill his
instructions. His spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said a TV link-up will be
arranged to discuss a number of issues, including housing and communal
problems.
Medvedev held the first such conference in March and promised to hold
them every quarter.
Head of the Kremlin control department Konstantin Chuichenko said in
summer the number of presidential instructions fulfilled on time increased
to 68 percent in the first five months of the year. "Earlier it was every
sixth instruction, now it is every fifth," he said.
Chuichenko said the number of presidential instructions grew 40
percent in January-May and comprised 2602.
However Chuicheko said in some cases the implementation of the
instructions "leaves much to be desired" and the president demanded a list
of violators.

.Putin to discuss concept for specially protected natural areas.

MOSCOW, October 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will
chair a meeting on Friday to discuss the concept for the development of
specially protected natural territories.
The concept drafted by the Natural Resources Ministry calls to
increase the number of nature reserves and national parks, develop
educational tourism and raise ecological awareness, and mount protection
of the territories, the government press service said.
Putin discussed the issue in detail during his visit to the famous
Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka which was badly hit by a massive mudslide
in 2007.
The 2011 federal draft budget appropriates 1.5 billion rubles more for
the development of specially protected natural territories against 2010.
At present Russia has 102 wildlife preservations of a total space of
33.9 million hectares, 42 national parks (9.3 million hectares), and 69
natural reserves (12.5 million hectares). Last year over 700 thousand
tourists visited nature reserves and over six million people came to
natural parks.


.Poland, Russia to ink gas deal.

WARSAW, October 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Poland and Russia will ink an
intergovernmental agreement on Friday on increased Russian gas supplies.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak and his Russian
counterpart Igor Sechin will sign the contract, the economic ministry said.
The contract envisages a gradual increase in Russian gas supplies to
9.7 billion cubic meters in 2010 and up to 11 billion cubic meters in 2012
and further on. The terms of the agreements on gas supplies and transit
through the Yamal-Europe pipeline remain unchanged - up to 2022 and 2019
respectively.
Besides, EuroPolGaz transfers the functions of operator of the Polish
section of the pipeline to Gaz-System state-owned company. The document
also drops the provision that banned re-export of Russian gas and says the
parties are ready to prolong gas transit via Poland up to 2045.
The European Commission insisted the pipeline must be managed by an
independent entity and must be open for use by third parties in order to
comply with EU law. The contract was finalized in Moscow on October 17
with the participation of European Commission representatives. The Polish
government believes the clauses that made Gaz-System responsible for a
free flow of gas and for ensuring third-party access to the pipeline are
enough to bring it in line with EU regulations.
The gas deal comes amid a warming-up of relations between Moscow and
Warsaw.
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