G20 summit opened after one-hour delay, many leaders were late.

SEOUL, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- The presidents and heads of
government of the G20 countries and of the invited states, as well as the
heads of international financial organizations have started the first
plenary meeting of the summit. An hour later than expected they took their
seats to get down to discussion.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had entered the hall talking with
U.S. President Barack Obama. Then the leaders of Russia and the U.S. had
to part to take their places at the table. In accordance with the protocol
of the meeting the participants are seated in alphabetical order. Left of
the president of Russia there is Mexico's President Felipe Calderon and on
the right-hand side, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Medvedev had already taken place at the table, when he was approached
by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The Russian leader stood up and the
two leaders had a lively discussion for sometime. Then Medvedev started
looking through the latest news and memos concerning the summit on his
i-Pad again.
The first plenary session was a continuation of the discussions the
leaders had started at the official reception the day before. The global
economy and drafting of a framework agreement are the main themes. South
Korean President Lee Myung-bak, opened the meeting to urge the greatest
attention to such issues of the world economy as global imbalances that
prevent the restoration of sustainable economic growth.
After Lee Myung-bak's speech the secretary-general of the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, briefed the
meeting on the structural reform of the OECD.
Upon completion of the first plenary session the leaders will continue
their work. The theme of the second session will be reform of
international financial institutions.


Belarus to get over 1 mln tonnes of Venezuelan oil via Ukraine 2010.

KIEV, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Venezuelan oil supplies via Ukraine
to Belarus this year will amount to 1.3 million tonnes, the CEO of the BNK
Ukraina company, Nikolai Vasilevich, said at the second international
conference on the development of the Ukrainian market of petroleum
products.
"Today, we are the only freight forwarder of Venezuelan oil," he said.
According to the company's statistics available as at November 1, 820
thousand tonnes of oil from Venezuela had been transported through
Ukrainian territory. "Every month about 240 thousand tonnes is moved
there," continued Vasilevich, adding that supply plans for 2011 were being
agreed. He did not rule out that next year oil would continue to be
delivered by rail, along with supplies through the Odessa-Brody and
Druzhba pipelines.
The organizers of the second international conference on the
development of the Ukrainian market of petroleum products are Consulting
Group A-95 and the Association of Operators of the Ukraine Market of Oil
Products.
Other partners in the event were TNK-BP Commerce, Belarusian Oil
Company, Orlen Lietuva and concern Galnaftogaz.

Russia supports Ukraine's candidacy for OSCE presidency in 2013

VIENNA, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia supports the candidacy of
Ukraine for the presidency of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2013, Russia's permanent representative at
the OSCE, Anvar Azimov, said on Thursday following a statement by
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin at a meeting of the OSCE
Permanent Council.
"We are confident that the Ukrainian side in its preparations for
assuming the honorable and responsible role of the OSCE president will
take into account the interests of all member-states and conduct a prudent
and balanced policy in this capacity," said the Russian envoy. "A key
prerequisite of this certainty is seen in the current foreign policy of
Ukraine, with the legislative embodiment of its non-aligned status and the
formation of constructive relations with all nations, especially
neighbors. In this context we note with satisfaction the positive momentum
in our bilateral ties in various fields, which significantly promotes an
atmosphere of cooperation and security in Europe."
The Russian envoy expressed the hope that the forthcoming OSCE summit
in Astana will give a serious political impetus to the work of that
organization for the sake of stronger security and stability from
Vancouver to Vladivostok.
"It is crucial to ensure all future presidencies, including the
Ukrainian one, should actively promote the implementation of the strategic
course towards strengthening equal and indivisible security for all OSCE
member-states without exception," he said. "Implementation of this idea in
many respects depends on the elimination of "visa barriers" on the
pan-European scale and on the freedom of movement in reality, not on
paper, without which it is impossible to expect the emergence of a single
"community of security." We hope that this task will also be included in
the lists of Ukraine's priorities throughout its presidency."
Azimov also drew attention to the fact that "future presidencies will
be faced with a very important task of reinforcing the OSCE as a
full-fledged international organization." This will require efforts to
strengthen the regulatory basis of the OSCE and the proper formalization
of its legal status, including the adoption of a statutory document that
would allow it to become a full-fledged player in the international scene.

-0-str