Medvedev to hold Russian public reception session through Internet.

MOSCOW, November 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
will hold a public reception session on Monday. He will connect with all
his new public reception offices in 83 Russian federal constituents
through the Internet.
"This will be a traditional public reception. Some 83 presidential
public reception offices set up under Medvedev's instructions will open on
this day in various federal constituents," a source in the press service
of the presidential executive office told Itar-Tass. "So, November 22 can
be considered the common reception day in all regional reception offices,"
the source said.
All regional public reception offices will get on the line with
Medvedev and their visitors will be able to ask their questions to the
president. This will be the first communication session between the
president and people in this format.
The president will talk to people from his public reception office in
Ilyinka Street. An office equipped with the satellite communication is
located on the second floor of this main presidential public reception
office. The videoconference format is familiar and comfortable for
Medvedev. He chaired many meetings with regional chief executives in a
videoconference and believes that this format allows solving many problems
urgently.
"The president stated that he will hold public reception sessions,
particularly in a videoconference format, at least twice a year," the
Kremlin source recalled. The first reception session was held in Moscow on
April 9, 2009. Then the reception office of the presidential executive
office at 23/16, Ilyinka Street was turned in a personal presidential
reception office. The changed format of reception sessions is caused by
Medvedev's plans to draw attention of regional and federal authorities to
fulfill the presidential instructions and to give closer attention to the
problems of people. The second reception session was held three months
later on July 15, 2009, in Moscow. During a working visit to the Amur
Region on July 3, 2010, the president talked to people at his reception
office in Blagoveshchensk.

.Georgia hierarchs take part in festive service RF patriarch leads.

MOSCOW, November 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The hierarchs of the Georgian
Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church were participating in festive
service led by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill at the Kremlin on
Sunday. The festive service was held at the St. Archangel Michael
Cathedral in the Kremlin on the occasion of the holiday of St. Michael the
Archangel.
Gori Metropolitan Andrei and Akhalkalaki Metropolitan Nikolai are
currently on a visit in Moscow. The Georgian hierarchs were participating
in a theological conference at the St. Tikhon Orthodox Humanitarian
University and visited the Monastery of the Donskaya Icon of the Mother of
God. The tombs of representatives of glorious Georgian dynasties are
located in this ancient Moscow monastery. The earliest tombs are those of
Georgian Prince David (died in 1688) and his brothers Mamuka (Matvey) and
Alexander (died in 1711).
A delegation of young people from Georgia is also currently on a visit
in Moscow. They are members of the international youth movement "The
Iverians - the Generation for the Future of Georgia" created last summer.
This is the first visit of the Georgian delegation in Russia after a break
of more than two years.
Patriarch Kirill believes that the friendly relations between the
Orthodox Churches of Russia and Georgia are very important in order to
restore the interstate relations between the countries. "Inter-Orthodox
relations can be maintained even, where the international diplomacy has
few opportunities. The participation of Russian clergymen in the life of
the Georgian Orthodox Church and mutual visits of clergymen of the
countries maintain not only church, but also humanitarian relations
leaving a real hope for improving the relations between the countries,"
the Russian supreme hierarch said at a meeting with students of the Higher
Diplomatic Courses of the Russian Foreign Ministry on November 18.

.Russia FM to visit Belarus to discuss ties within Customs Union.

MOSCOW, November 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov will arrive in Minsk on Monday to discuss broader cooperation
within the Customs Union and to inaugurate a Russian center of science and
culture in the Belarusian capital.
The Russian foreign minister will participate in a joint session of
the boards of the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Belarus, a diplomatic
source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Joint sessions are regular
and reflect the high level of foreign political cooperation between the
countries. This cooperation is based on the intentions to develop
coordinated approaches on the key issues of the international agenda," the
source said.
Forthcoming negotiations will highlight "deeper integration processes
in the post-Soviet space, primarily within the Customs Union of Belarus,
Kazakhstan and Russia." The sides will also consider other issues of
practical interest.
"A working visit of the Russian foreign minister in Minsk and a joint
session of the two foreign ministries' boards will certainly promote the
development of bilateral foreign political cooperation," the Russian
diplomatic source underlined.
-0-baz