RUSSIA: Medvedev Again Backs Down From Putin Challenge.

BLOOMBERG

PM Vladimir Putin hasn’t refused returning as president next year...even as current President Medvedev continues his "charm Offensive" to woo foreign investors put off by Russia's corruption and oligarchy control.

Today Medvedev told the FINANCIAL TIMES that he won't compete against Putin in next year's presidential election... though he said that he wants a second term.

But lingering questions over who will run for president in 2012 has sent capital fleeing anyway.

Even if Putin decides to run...capital may not remain.

“If Putin came back as president, it could be difficult to convince sceptical investors that long overdue reforms would now start, and some investors could pull out,” said a hedge fund manager.

RUSSIA: Medvedev Dangles Possible Sale Of Oil Giant Rosneft.

BLOOMBERG

President Dmitri Medvedev launched a trial balloon over a partial sale of oil giant Rosneft.
Rosneft currently produces almost 25% of Russia's oil.

He says Russia MAY sell some of Rosneft.... and surrender state control of the large oil producer by reducing its stake...to below 50%.

Medvedev wants to speed-up privatizations to lure foreign investors and lagging growth.

“The dominance of state-controlled companies in a considerable number of industries” is limiting enterprise and investment and threatens to make Russia less competitive, Medvedev said. “This economic model is dangerous for the future.”

Russia wants to raise at least $36 bn usd in the next 3 years...by selling state assets.

RUSSIA/ BELARUS: Medvedev Holds 1st Press Conference...And Says Almost Nothing; Minsk Gets $3 Bn Bail-out...With Conditions.

NYTimes/ E. Barry

  An estimated 800 media showed-up for President Dmitry Medvedev's first press conference...after 3 years in office.
   But they left mostly disappointed.
   Most had expected Medvedev to reveal whether or not he will stand for re-election in 2012.
   All he would say...was that a decision would be announced..."soon."
   Many have also speculated that there is a power struggle going-on between Medvedev and PM Putin.
   Medvedev only said that he Putin were "truly like-minded" after 20 years.
  "This does not mean however that we see eye to eye on everything," he added.
   "But we are close in our strategies, otherwise we would simply be unable to work together."

AND:    There are reports that Russia will give Belarus a 2.1bn euro/ $3 bn usd bail-out loan.
     PM Putin was just in Minsk. Observers predict loan conditions will be stringent with Russia reportedly seeking privatization of certain key assets.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13462560

RUSSIA: Putin And Medvedev's Mixed Signals About Future Control...Mixing-up Followers.

NYTIMES/ E.Barry shared a Pulitzer Prize with C.Levy last month for Russian coverage.

 NYT:  "... lately the tandem has begun to hiccup and backfire. It is impossible to say whether trust has broken down between the two men, one of whom will increase his power in next spring’s presidential election. But a universe of officials, businessmen and political hangers-on — uncertain whether to show loyalty to one man, the other or both — has “spent the whole last month on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” wrote economist Vladislav L. Inozemtsev.
   Winston Churchill likened Kremlin power struggles to bulldogs fighting under a carpet: “An outsider only hears the growling, and when he sees the bones fly out from beneath, it is obvious who won.”

RUSSIA: Moscow Witnesses 66th Anniversary Victory Day Parade.

TELEGRAPH/  1:31 RAW VIDEO

   Some 20,000 soldiers and officers marched past the reviewing stand of President Medvedev, PM Vladimir Putin and other dignitaries in a Victory Day Parade...marking the 66th anniversary of the end of WW2.
   Medvedev has promised to upgrade Russian weapons and reform the military.

RUSSIA: Putin/Medvedev Rift Growing? Prez. Dmitry Allegedly Defying PM Putin In Push For Another Term.

GUARDIAN/ T.Parfitt

    A Russian MP claims that President Medvedev is ready to defy PM Putin and seek a second term.
    Ruling United Russia MP Konstantin Zatulin said Medvedev's allies are trying to undermine Putin.
    "Medvedev wants to stay, he has broken the agreement and now Putin will have to persuade him to back off," said Zatulin.
   But Medvedev controls no party.
   Putin leads United Russia and thru it exerts control over parliament, regional leaders and the bureaucracy.

RUSSIA: Medvedev Orders Putin To Purge Boardrooms Of His Cronies.

GUARDIAN/

    President Dmitry Medvedev has given PM Putin an ultimatum with a 1 July deadline to remove some 17 of his ministers from boardrooms of Russia's largest public companies.
     Medvedev blames Russia's poor investment climate on state involvement and rampant corruption.

RUSSIA: Medvedev And Putin Spat Over Libyan "Crusade."

REUTERS/

    In the most public clash yet between the two powerful Russians, President Dmitry Medvedev says PM Putin's use of the term "crusades" for the current Libyan situation is.. not "acceptable."
    "Under no circumstances is it acceptable to use expressions which essentially lead to a clash of civilizations. Such as a 'crusade' and so on," said Medvedev.
     Putin just labelled the UN Security Council's resolution allowing military intervention in Libya as "medieval calls for crusades".
    Putin also compared the Libyan attacks to Bush's Iraq invasion and proof that Russia must continue to boost its military.
 FOR PUTIN'S COMMENTS:
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/21/us-libya-russia-idUSTRE72K3JR20110321 

BALTICS/ POLAND/ RUSSIA: WikiLeaks NATO Cable "Bewilders" And Offends Moscow.

GUARDIAN/
     Russia's NATO envoy says Moscow was "bewildered" and will demand NATO drop a secret  agreement to defend three Baltic nations against any military attack revealed by a WikiLeaks cable.
    According to the confidential U.S. cable, in January, NATO agreed to expand a defense plan for Poland to also cover NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Russia's border.
    It also proved an surprizing embarrassment to President Medvedev, who was in Warsaw, the first Russian president  to visit Poland in almost a decade.

RUSSIA: Recent Events Show That Putin Is In Charge.

LATIMES/ Sergei L. Loiko /

   Forget President Dmitry Medvedev. From the ashes of the devastating fires surrounding Moscow and an embarrassing spy scandal, a macho leader has re-emerged, PM Vladimir Putin. Putin is positioning himself to reclaim the presidency a little more than a year and a half from now.
LOIKO: "While Medvedev appears mostly confined to his Kremlin office, Putin is rushing around the country with the news media in tow. He comforts fire victims, upbraids local officials — and publicly dictates to the president what should be done about the fires that have killed 40 people and ravaged more than 1.2 million acres." "It is quite obvious that Putin uses these difficult times to show the people who is the strong man in the country, who is the national leader, who is the can-do man — and who is just a Kremlin clerk,"  said Kremlinologist Lilia Shevtsova.

ALSO SEE  new posting by  columnist ANDREW OSBORN:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewosborn/100049573/in-russia-the-age-of-putin-mark-ii-is-already-looming/

UKRAINE: Russia Offers Security Pledge And No Navy Attack.

REUTERS/    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that the doors to a Russia-led security bloc are always open to the Ukraine. Further, he pledged that the Russian navy based on Ukraine's Crimea would never attack it. Medvedev calls the fleet's presence in the Black Sea a guarantee of stability in the region.

POLAND: Russia Posts Some Katyn Massacre Documents Online.

GUARDIAN.UK/     Russia has posted some documents about the massacre of Polish officers at Katyn on a governmental website, and said it would release more material. The documents have been published before in Poland and Russia. Russia's decision to post them on the web is seen as the latest positive gesture for better relations with Poland. President Dmitry Medvedev stated "I have ordered that appropriate work be carried out and materials that are interesting to our Polish colleagues be handed over to them."

UKRAINE:1ST UPDATE/ Russia's $40 Billion Black Sea Base Deal.

LINK CHANGE to BLOOMBERG /1ST UPDATE/22 Abril / 
   A deal to extend a Black Sea port vital for the Russians was signed by Ukraine's new President Viktor Yanukovych and Dmitry Medvedev. The lease for Russia's naval base in Sevastopol, Ukraine has been extended for 25 years. It was set to expire in 2017. For the extension, Russia agreed to grant Ukraine  discounts on natural gas. The deal will cost the Russians about $40 billion USD.

ARGENTINA:1ST UPDATE: Kirchner Interview: Restructuring Debt, Meeting Obama And Medvedev.

BLOOMBERG/ UPDATE: 16 Abril/   Argentina has unveiled a plan to restructure $20 billion in defaulted debt held out of a 2005 settlement that may allow it finally to access international debt markets for the first time in a decade. Argentina’s offer will probably be worth about 54.5 cents on the dollar if the country excludes past-due payments on warrants linked to economic growth. President Kirchner also met with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on the first visit there  by a Russian head of state in 125 years, who pronounced that “Russia is back in Latin America.” Cristina added that “The world has changed.We are no longer a backyard of another country.” She shook hands with President Obama at the nuclear security summit and got her chief central banker's appointment anrrowly approved by the senate.

UKRAINE: New President Yanukovich Soothes Russian Relations.

REUTERS/     President Victor Yanukovich claimed his five-year presidency will "open a new page" of ties with Russia during a Moscow meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Importantly for Russia, Yanukovich indicated he would allow Russia's Black Sea Fleet stay in Ukraine's port of Sevastopol after the current lease expires in 2017.

CURRENCIES: Russia To Buy Canadian Dollars, Perhaps Others, Avoiding $USD.

BLOOMBERG/
Hoping to diversify and reduce its dependence on the $USD, Russia will buy Canadian dollars and perhaps other currencies, as well. Russia will increase its gold holdings and promote regional currencies in trade and finance to reduce risks posed by the dollar’s dominance. President Dmitry Medvedev has blamed the global financial crisis on an over-reliance on the $USD. Russia’s reserves, the world’s third largest, currently consist of 47% $USD, 41% euros, 10% pounds and 2% yen. The country keeps about 35% of its reserves in U.S. Treasury debt.

RUSSIA: Medvedev Attacks Stalin Defenders.

BLOOMBERG/
In a break from his predecessor Vladimir Putin, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attacked those seeking to reshape the reputation of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Millions of Soviet citizens died under Stalin's rule and Medvedev said it was wrong to justify those who exterminated their own people. He also warned against efforts to falsify history and defend repression.

Lithuania Seeks Better Relations With Russia.

KYIVPOST.COM.

Lithuania's new president Dalia Grybauskaite called Russian President Dmitry Medvedev last week, the first official contact between heads of the two states in eight years.

"Since 2001 there have been no contacts. This is not normal between neighbouring countries. It is in the interest of the two to have constructive relations," she said.

Ukraine Celebrates 18 Years Of Independence From Soviets.

DEUTSCHE WELLE.DK