Medvedev hasn't decided yet when to deliver his state of the nation address.

GORKI, November 25 (Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev has not
decided yet when to deliver his state-of-the-nation address to the Federal
Assembly this year, LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said after a meeting
between the head of state and the leaders of parliamentary factions on
Wednesday, November 24.
"Some at the meeting dropped hints and asked whether the address would
be delivered on November 30," Zhirinovsky said.
The president said he was "thinking" and "plans to spend some more
time" to finalise the address, he said.
"What is important is not when it will be delivered, but that it
contains what should help us develop more effectively in 2011,"
Zhirinovsky said.
He believes that the address will include Medvedev's plans for the
development of democracy in Russia.

.Non-parliamentary parties to speak in Duma Dec 7-10 -- Gryzlov.

GORKI, November 25 (Itar-Tass) -- State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov
said representatives of non-parliamentary parties would be able to speak
in the lower house of parliament on December 7-10.
"The question has been solved positively, and we will give the Duma
floor to all parties - there are seven all in all - on December 7-10,"
Gryzlov said at a meeting between President Dmitry Medvedev and the
leaders of parliamentary factions on Wednesday, November 24.
He said the presentations would focus on labour relations and a
possible increase in the retirement age in Russia.
There are four parties in the Duma - United Russia, the Communist
Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and Just Russia. Another three
parties - Patriots of Russia. Right Cause, and Yabloko - have no
representation in the Duma.
The Duma passed a law this past summer, according to which parties
that are not represented in the national parliament and regional
legislatures are allowed to attend their plenary sessions at least once a
year.
The document was adopted pursuant to the president's Address to the
Federal Assembly 2009, in which Medvedev said it would be useful for the
parliaments of all levels to devote at least one of their sessions to
hearing and discussing non-parliamentary parties' proposals.

.New big gas field discovered in Azerbaijan.

BAKU, November 25 (Itar-Tass) -- A new big gas field has been
discovered in Azerbaijan, the president of the national oil company SOCAR,
Rovnag Abdullayev, said.
The new offshore Caspian field called Umid (Hope) is believed to
contain 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 30 million tonnes of
condensate.
"This is the second largest gas condensate field discovered in
Azerbaijan over the past 15 years," Abdullayev said.
The biggest hydrocarbon field so far is Shakh Deniz, discovered in
1998 and containing 1.2 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. Production
at the deposit began in 2006, while second phase production is expected to
begin by 2016.
Azerbaijan has been negotiating with more than 20 companies and
consortiums interested to buy gas from Shah Deniz II and has said it will
conclude negotiations by the middle of next year.
It is negotiating with Turkey to sell 6 billion cubic metres gas per
year from Shah Deniz II, and 10 billion cubic metres to European customers.
Abdullayev did not rule out that the estimated reserves might increase
after the second well has been drilled at the new filed. The state oil
company is doing the exploration at the new field on its own, without
engaging foreign investors and companies.
Azerbaijan's overall natural gas reserves are estimated at 3-5
trillion cubic metres. The country is a key potential gas supplier for the
European-backed Nabucco pipeline project.
Now that certain difficulties have arisen in the talks with
Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iraq are being considered as the most
probable gas suppliers for the pipeline.

.Ministry expects decline in agricultural production in Russia in 2010.

MOSCOW, November 25 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Agriculture Ministry
expects a 10 percent decline in agricultural production in the country in
2010.
The agricultural production index will be around 90-91 percent,
Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said.
Last year, agriculture reported a growth of 1.2 percent.
According to Skrynnik, the main underlying factor in agricultural
production this year was an abnormal drought, as a result of which crop
husbandry fell by 20-25 percent.
The drought affected 25,000 farms and killed crops in an area of 13.3
million hectares (30 percent of all land under grain crops). Confirmed
direct damage from the drought is estimated at 41.7 billion roubles.
However despite the abnormal weather, there is enough grain in the
country, Skrynnik said.
According to the ministry, gross grain production this year has
amounted to 64.2 million tonnes in bunker weight, and 60.3 million in net
weight. On the whole, grain reserves are estimated at 87 million tonnes
with domestic consumption standing at 72-74 million tonnes.
The minister also said that milk production in 2010 would drop by 1.8
percent from last year to 32 million tonnes.
-0-zak/


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