.Foreign ministry recommends US to turn to Russian scholars for consultations.

MOSCOW, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Ministry has issued
a recommendation to experts from the U.S. Department of State to turn to
authoritative Russian scholars for consultations so as to improve their
knowledge of the situation around religion in this country.
The recommendation is specified in the answers the Foreign Ministry's
official spokesman issued Monday night in connection with reporters'
questions after the publication of a report on the religious situation in
different countries by the U.S. Department of State.
"We'd like to say we didn't find anything basically knew for ourselves
and we know the situation in this sphere here much better than foreign
experts do," the comments issued by the spokesman said.
"Quite naturally, it would be unwise to think that an extrapolation of
America's own experience of 200 years old to the millennium-long history
of Russia with its unique multi-confessionary composition might make it
possible for the U.S. experts to figure out the details of the system and
character of our inter-religious relations," the document said.
"We believe assistance from authoritative Russian scholars -
historians, philosophers, theologians, and clerics - might help bring
about an understanding of the situations here sooner of later," the
spokesman said.
"The authors of the report published by the Department of State couldn'
t leave the encouraging tendencies in this country unnoticed, although
they tried to wash down this impression with the mouth-drawing claims over
the alleged persecution of totalitarian sects and the privileged position
of the Russian Orthodox Church," the spokesman said.
"In this situation, one could also talk about the privileged position
of the Roman Catholics in Italy and Poland, the Moslem religion in Turkey
and Jordan, or Buddhism in India or Japan," the spokesman said.
"Inter-confessionary peace and concord are part of Russia's invaluable
heritage, which we treasure highly and keep up whatever the costs might
be," the statement said.
It stressed at the same time Russia's openness for this dialogue.

.Investigation of controversial air crash in Altai Mountains over.

NOVOSIBIRSK, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Investigation of an illegal
helicopter gaming tour that a group of high-rank officials and businessmen
had in a mountainous wildlife preserve in the Altai Mountains in January
2009 is over and the findings have been submitted to the Transport
Prosecutor's Office, a spokeswoman for the West Siberian Investigation
Department said.
The prosecutors are now going to issue a bill of indictment over the
criminal offense, said Tatiana Sherstova, the spokeswoman.
January 9, 2009, a Mi-171 helicopter crashed in the Kosh-Agach
district of the Republic of Gorny Altai. It had eleven people aboard and
seven of them died in the accident
Investigators have established that the party including Anatoly
Bannykh, a Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Gorny Altai, Boris
Belinsky, the Director General of the Ineko company, and Nikolai Kapranov,
a deputy director of the Institute of Moscow City's Economy and Law, was
hunting for the animals entered in the Endangered Species Book - the
argali or mountain sheep /biological species ovis ammon/.
The suspects have been issued charges under an article of Russia's
Criminal Code specifying punishment for illegal hunting.
The maximum punishment presupposed for this offense is two years in
jail plus a ban on occupying certain positions or engaging in certain
occupational activities for three years.

.Russian minister to chair session of Council of Telecom
Administrations.

BAKU, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Board of Telecommunications
Administrators of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of Communications
/RCC/ is expected to have a regular 43rd session here Tuesday.
It will be chaired by the Russian Minister of Telecommunications, Igor
Schegolev.
The participants will consider the development of satellite and
fixed-line communications in the RCC member-states, the introduction of
digital television, the prospects for unified roaming tariffs in the
Commonwealth of Independent States, and the concept of an express mail
service /EMS/.
The agenda also includes a discussion of the RCC countries' readiness
to building information-age society.
The Russian Administration for Telecommunications and the
International Organization of Space Communications Intersputnik are
expected to sign an agreement, under which the Russian administration will
act as a document-submitting agency at Intersputnik.
Also, a program will be signed on cooperation between the RCC and the
Pan-African Postal Union /PAPU/ in the years 2011 through to 2014.
Igor Schegolev and other participants will attend a gala opening of
the BakuTel'2012 international telecommunications exhibition.
.Russian musicians give gala concert at UNESCO headquarters.

PARIS, November 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian musicians have given a gala
concert at UNESCO headquarters in Paris as part of the Russia-France
cultural year.
The concert was devoted to the 120th anniversary since the birth of
French President Charles de Gaulle.
The program featured the trumpeter Sergei Nakaryakov, the pianist
Sergei Markarov, and opera singers Askar and Yelena Abdrazakov. France was
represented by the Republican Guard Orchestra under the baton of Colonel
Francois Boulange.
The program embraced a wide variety of Russian and European classics,
from Glinka and Tchaikovski to Rossini and Mozart
"This concert should be viewed as a symbol of the Russia-France mutual
year, which coincides with the international year of cultural
rapprochement," Russia's representative at UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova
said.
Mutual enrichment of cultures in the name of peoples' unity and
solidarity is one of the fundamental principles underlying UNESCO
activity, she said adding that De Gaulle, one of the brightest statesmen
in modern France stood at the foundation of this international agency.
"He made an immense contribution to the cause a dialogue between the
nations of Europe and peoples in other parts of the world and he didn't
see a future for the united Europe without Russia," Mitrofanova said.
"Russia and France have a long and rich history of mutual relationship
and General De Gaulle added to it quite a lot," she said. "I'm especially
glad to note the huge respect that people in Russia have for Gen De
Gaulle, who made several visits there."
-0-kle