2011/12/17

Dec 16 International

الخارجية الروسية: مشروع القرار الروسي في مجلس الأمن يؤكد عدم جواز التدخل الخارجي في سورية
Russian Foreign: Russian draft resolution in the Security Council stresses the inadmissibility of external interference in Syria
http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/news/574237/
16.12.2011 12:03

Alexander Ukashević, a spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the draft resolution, which was promulgated by Russia on Thursday, December 15 / December to members of the UN Security Council, affirming the inadmissibility of the interpretation of its provisions as a signal to start outside interference in the internal Syrian affairs.

Ukashević explained in a news conference on Friday, December 16 / December, the talk is going on a modified version of the draft resolution had been submitted by Russia and China to the Security Council as an alternative to the European draft resolution that was talking about imposing sanctions on the Syrian regime.

The Russian diplomat said the text of the amended draft refers to the need to Send Observer Mission of the Arab League to Syria soon.

Ukashević said: "We proceed from the outside interference in Syria could destabilize the situation in the Middle East as a whole, it is considered that there is no alternative to the political-diplomatic settlement of the crisis."

He added that the project "clearly confirms the inadmissibility of the interpretation of provisions of the resolution as a sign of foreign intervention in internal Syrian affairs."

He added that the Russian draft resolution sends a signal to the Syrian authorities and the opposition alike need to stop the violence, in addition to the emphasis on the need to Send Observer Mission of the Arab League to Syria soon.

Moscow hopes to clarify the details of the Arab initiative as soon as possible

Ukashević said that Moscow hopes to finalize details for the Arab initiative and approve it as soon as possible.

He added: "We have repeatedly said that we develop our relations with the Syrian leadership and the opposition at various levels. But the main objective at the present time lies in the implementation of the main principle of the Arab initiative on the cessation of violence by all parties and audit control mechanism which can be activated by sending observers of the Arab League to Syria" .

He warned that the Arab League initiative should not become a warning.

Source: Agencies

Political analyst: Russia's draft resolution enjoyed good prospects in the Security Council

Arman Ohannesian, editor of the magazine "International Living" in Moscow, said that the Russian draft resolution enjoyed good prospects for passage in the UN Security Council.


Lukashevich: Russia Submitted an Objective Draft Resolution on Syria to the UNSC
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/12/16/388645.htm
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/12/16/388642.htm
Dec 16, 2011

MOSCOW, (SANA)- Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia submitted an objective draft resolution on Syria to the UN Security Council.

In a press conference on Friday, Lukashevich added that the Russian draft resolution referred to the necessity for the Syrian authorities and the opposition to halt violence and engage in dialogue according to the Arab work plan.

He stressed that none of the draft resolution's articles are to be interpreted as a call for foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs, warning that such interference will stoke tension in the region as a whole.

The Russian official underlined that there is no alternative to the diplomatic political efforts to find a solution for the situation in Syria.

Anatoly Egorin: Unites States, Western Countries Supply Armed Terrorist Groups in Syria with Weapons and Cash

Dr. Anatoly Egorin, Deputy Director of Oriental Studies Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Russian Federation said ''all have come to know that the Unites States and Western Countries supply the armed terrorist groups in Syria with weapons and cash and instigate these groups to pursue criminal acts in Syria.''

In press statements to SANA Correspondent in Moscow Friday, Dr. Egorin added that the Western Countries increase their aggressiveness against the Arab Countries, whose governments stand in the face of the strategic interests of the west, which has been seeking to dominate the Arab region and plunder its resources and to get closer to Russia as to attack it in the future.

Egorin pointed out that some western countries instigate Turkey as to take anti-Syria stances, which is against the interests of the Turkish People.

Dr. Egorin vehemently condemned the media war and bids of foreign interference by some Arab and western countries against Syria, asserting that Syria is a fundamental country in the region and a founding-member of the Arab League.

Dr. Egorin highly lauded the Syrian People as 'courageous', ' firm in defending its homeland and genuine interests' calling, on behalf of Russian researchers and scientists, on western colleagues as to ''work together for dialogue among all Syrian sides as to get out from current crisis'', pointing out that the Syrian opposition is not harmonious and doesn't have the same stances from the Syrian authorities.

Russian Analyst: Washington Should Abandon Its Hard-line Stance towards Damascus

In the same context, the Russian political analyst Vislav Matozov said Russia's new draft resolution does not include a change in the Russian principled stance towards Syria in the current crisis, reiterating Russia's support to Syria against any form of foreign interference in its internal affairs.

In a phone call with the Syrian TV, Matozov said his country called in its draft for dialogue between the Syrian leadership and the opposition, an end to violence by all parties, recognition of the legitimacy of the Syrian authority and rejection of the extremist opposition abroad.

He pointed out that all the armed groups operating on the ground in Syria are being encouraged and funded by the US, calling upon Washington to abandon its hard-line stance towards the Syrian leadership as well as its support to the armed opposition.

The Russian analyst wondered about the source of the huge funds being provided by Washington to the Syrian opposition in light of the current deficit in the US budget.

"It seems that the money are taken from the budget of the Libyan people whom they immersed in continued armed clashes and chaos to the date," wondered Matozov.

Russia's Mufti: Solution to Syria's Problems to Be Reached by the Syrians

Head of the Iftaa Council in Russia, the grand mufti, Shaikh Rawi Ain Eddine stressed that the solution to the problems facing Syria should be reached by the Syrians themselves without foreign interference.

During his meeting with the Syrian Ambassador in Moscow, Dr. Riyad Haddad, Shaikh Rawi reiterated the Russian Iftaa House's rejection of any foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs and its support to Russia's stances towards the situation in Syria.

He said that the Russian stances in this regard are in defense of the principles of right and justice.


موسكو تنفي زيارة فاروق الشرع إلى روسيا.. ومصادر تقول انه تم تأجيل الزيارة من اجل أن تشمل لقاء بوتين
Moscow denies Farouq al-Sharaa's visit to Russia .. The sources said that the visit was postponed in order to include a meeting Putin
http://www.aksalser.com/index.php?page=view_news&id=a3eff51d4ed88e3e5461fb1f5ba0cf84&ar=272536871
Friday - December 16 - 2011 - 13:19:42

Denied, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, reports that the arrival of Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa to Moscow, said in an interview, told Interfax "Russian".

He was Vice Chairman of the Russian Association for Solidarity and Cooperation between the peoples of Asia and Africa Kosov Kim had said earlier that al-Shara will hold talks in Moscow with Russian leaders, including Lavrov, on the situation in Syria.

For its part, reported channel "Al-Manar," the Lebanese that "the postponement of Shara's visit to Moscow soon to include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials."


Russian oil the winner from Syria, Iran sanctions
http://arabnews.com/economy/article548820.ece
By REUTERS
Published: Dec 15, 2011 23:02 Updated: Dec 15, 2011 23:03

LONDON: Russia is emerging as the winner from international sanctions against Syria and stands to benefit even more if the European Union bans imports of Iranian crude, keeping Russia's Urals crude at stiff premiums for months more.

Urals crude already has been fetching premiums over the North Sea Dated Brent benchmark since mid-October, the longest period ever.

"The strength of Urals relative to Brent in recent weeks is due to a combination of factors: uncertainty over the impact of sanctions on Iran and the loss of Syrian production and exports," Roy Jordan with consultancy Facts Global Energy said.

Forced to pay higher Urals prices, European refiners have been losing money, which could discourage the EU from moving ahead with a proposed ban on Iranian oil.

Urals is typically sold at discounts to Brent, because it contains about 1.3 percent of sulfur with API gravity of about 32, making it heavier and more sour than the crudes that go into setting the North Sea benchmark.

Most Iranian and Syrian crudes are similar to or heavier than Urals. All of these crudes require extra refining.

Syria exported most of its 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of heavy sour crude to the Mediterranean before sanctions were imposed earlier this year following repression of civil protest against President Bashar Assad's 11-year rule.

Syrian heavy crudes were typically the alternative to Urals crude, when the Russian prices were high.

"As the Syria sanctions do not look set to change anytime soon, there is likely to be some continuous upwards effect on the Urals," said Samuel Ciszuk, a consultant with KBC Process Technology.

On top of that, if the EU agrees to ban imports of Iranian crude in January, European refiners would have to find alternatives for another 600,000 bpd of medium and heavy-sour oil — a figure in the International Energy Agency's monthly oil market report released on Tuesday.

"I expect that the potential loss of Iranian crude imports will persuade European refiners to continue to pay a premium for Urals over Brent in the short-term until the situation relating to Iran is clarified," Jordan said.

The IEA said that even in a partial ban, European refiners would confront higher prices for replacement crudes from producers including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia sells exclusively to term contract customers. Not all the sour crude buyers in Europe have contracts with the Saudis.

Russia, however, sells its crude on the spot market as well as term contracts.

Greece, which had relied on Iranian crude, recently bought a cargo of Urals crude from trader Glencore for the first time in many months, traders said.

"They are certainly trying to test how life looks without Iranian supplies. Well, it certainly looks expensive," one trader said.

"Greece will find it very hard to live without Iranian oil by switching back to Urals."

Russia exported about 4 milion bpd of crude, predominantly Urals, to Europe in November via tankers and pipelines, Reuters data showed. Its oil is traded by Russian and European oil majors and most big oil traders.

While Russia is the winner, European refiners have been the losers. The fears of an EU embargo are proving more harmful to them than to Iran, which could sell its oil to energy-hungry Asia.

Many European refiners such as Finland's Neste and Italy's Eni have invested in recent years in advanced refining units such as desulphurizers and hydrocrackers to be able to handle heavy sour crudes. That strategy could backfire.

"Expensive Urals turns refinery economics upside down," an oil trader with a major said.

"Everyone completed investment in their refineries to buy more Urals and other sour (crudes), where the cost savings used to come from."

Cracking margins to make refined products such as gasoline and diesel from Urals have fallen to a loss of $1.25 to $2 a barrel in the past two weeks, said consultant Jordan.

By contrast, the Reuters refining margins model shows refiners can still profit from light-sweet Brent crude.


Russia will offer eurozone up to $20 bln in IMF-run aid
December 16, 2011 09:49 AM
Agencies
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/International/2011/Dec-16/157023-russia-will-offer-eurozone-up-to-$20-bln-in-imf-run-aid.ashx

BRUSSELS: Russia dangled a $20-billion offer of IMF-run aid for the eurozone Thursday as President Dmitry Medvedev held his last summit with EU leaders amid splits on energy, Syria and Iran.

The elections to replace Medvedev in March also came under scrutiny following the allegations of fraud and protests that greeted Russian parliamentary elections earlier this month.

Arkady Dvorkovich, Medvedev's adviser, said Russia was ready to contribute as soon as the IMF calls in its help. "Ten billion dollars is the minimum commitment," he said, adding that Moscow would "consider" giving another $10 billion depending on "the size of the gap" in European efforts to raise overall rescue funding to a targeted one trillion euros.

"If the gap is half a trillion and we don't know where other $490 billion are coming from, that would not be much point," he said.

He said after talks that began overnight that $10 billion due to be returned from the IMF next year could remain with the IMF "today" for special eurozone aid as soon as the fund calls on it.

EU states have pledged to boost IMF crisis defenses with loans of 200 billion euros ($265 billion). At a summit Friday, EU leaders set a deadline of Dec. 19 for pledges or ideas.

"What we need to do is make markets believe," Dvorkovich said, adding that Brazil, China, India and South Africa, the other so-called BRICS emerging giants, "will not object" to the IMF channeling money to the European Financial Stability Facility.

"European leaders seem to be more optimistic than before," he added following a private dinner of the partners late Wednesday. "Now they were able to say very specific things."

The summit proper gathered EU president Herman Van Rompuy, executive head Jose Manuel Barroso, foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger.

Medvedev was joined by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plus Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina.

"Both the Union and Russia are at a crossroads," Van Rompuy told Medvedev during his opening speech.

"The EU is maneuvering its way through the sovereign debt crisis. We are on our way to bringing confidence to the eurozone," he added.

Questions facing Russia "are no less important," Van Rompuy said, urging Moscow to maintain modernization "based on democratic values, built on a modern economy and ensuring further political reforms."

That was a reference to what officials said would be calls for a squeaky-clean presidential poll in March which is expected to hand victory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The parliamentary elections sparked mass street protests at the weekend and left Putin's ruling party with a reduced majority.

An EU official had said beforehand the bloc would press Medvedev on "democratic development, the rule of law and human rights."

Medvedev in his initial remarks said he was "confident" the EU would overcome the debt crisis, but made no reference to any contribution.

Instead, he said he hoped Friday's signing in Geneva of Russia's World Trade Organization accession, 18 years in the making, "could activate" an EU-Russia cooperation agreement left on the starting blocks because WTO rules are an integral part of EU regulations.

The EU and Russia are far apart on a Trans-Caspian pipeline which Brussels is now negotiating with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, but Medvedev highlighted Russian reliability as an energy partner for the EU.

Medvedev was due to meet with leaders from giant industrial corporations like Deutsche Bahn and Siemens later Thursday.

Money for the eurozone aside, which remains conditional and dependent on IMF decisions, the rest of the talks were to focus on "deliverables" including the first tentative steps towards a cherished Russian goal of visa-free travel in and out of the bloc.

Some short trips will be made easier once biometric passports are introduced alongside other changes.

The summit came as the World Trade Organization was set to approve Russia's long-delayed membership Friday. Russia – the largest economy still outside the WTO – has been trying to join for 18 years.


إحسان أوغلو: نرفض أي تدخل أجنبي في سورية
OIC Expresses Rejection of Foreign Interference in Syria's Affairs
http://www.sana.sy/ara/3/2011/12/16/388721.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/12/16/388745.htm
Dec 16, 2011

ANKARA, (SANA) – Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on Friday expressed his rejection of any foreign interference in the Syrian internal affairs.

During a visit to Libya, Ihsanoglu told the Turkish Anadolu News Agency (AA) "We should carefully study what we can and cannot do in Syria."

He added "What we shouldn't do is the matter of the foreign intervention. Intervention will not help solve Syria's problem. This thing was proved in Libya and in Iraq in 2003."

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