PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - April 14
MOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- Gazprom has decided to freeze its contract with Ukraine for the transit of natural gas to Europe after 2019, according to Gazprom's chief Alexei Miller.
- Russia's national carrier Aeroflot is attracting passengers from airlines in the Middle East as the rouble devaluation allows it to offer more competitive ticket prices.
- Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has ordered the economy ministry to check the compliance of Rosneft claims for the money of the National Wealth Fund.
- President Vladimir Putin is personally involved in coordinating rescue and anti-fire works in Khakassia and Baikal regions where forest fires have killed at least 23 people, according to a presidential spokesman.
KOMMERSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- A delegation from the Conference of European Rabbis will meet head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis on April 20, the daily reports. Among other issues, the parties are expected to discuss ways to reconcile relations between Russia and the West.
- Russia has lifted its ban on export of S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran imposed in 2010 and hopes Iran will withdraw its $4 billion claim against Russia from the international arbitration court.
- Rosneft is planning to spend almost 9 billion roubles this year on raising employee salaries - excluding senior managers -by 7.5 percent.
- Russia is planning to carry out its first launch of an automatic satellite in December from the new Vostochny space port, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
IZVESTIA
www.izvestia.ru
- Moscow's former mayor Yury Luzhkov is ready to provide organic meat and buckwheat to a new chain of fast food restaurants, to be launched by Russia's film makers Nikita Mikhalkov and Andrei Konchalovsky.
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
www.ng.ru
- Head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos Igor Komarov told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that first the launch of a transport spaceship to the Moon would be conducted by 2012. A manned mission will take place by 2024, the paper reported.
- Head of Russia's new Vostochny space port in Siberia Sergei Terentev was detained in April after workers protested against wagers arrears. Terentev is suspected of stealing more than 14 million roubles ($268,972), the daily says.
- Kiev is worried that Russia could deploy peacekeepers to East Ukraine and is demanding that Western states send their own peace contingent to the border with its former Soviet ally.
($1 = 52.0500 roubles) (Reporting By Tatiana Ustinova; Editing by Jack Stubbs)
