NIZHNI NOVGOROD, July 31. Russia must remain a nuclear super-power. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin today in Sarov (Nizhni Novgorod Region). As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, the president visited the Russian nuclear energy centre, met several nuclear physicists, got acquainted with the work of the centre and generally gave a high appraisal of the technology and capability of the Scientific-Research Institute of Experimental Physics.
'As one of your colleagues said, all of our work is exported,' Mr Putin said. 'In order to limit the number of importers, we must remain a nuclear super-power.' He added that 'Russia has accepted many legal restrictions on testing nuclear weapons,' the president said. 'However, this should not affect the work of the nuclear centre.' Mr Putin promised that the salaries and legal rights of nuclear physicists would be reviewed and also assured them that certain administrative problems would be resolved.
The Russian Scientific-Research Institute of Experimental Physics was founded in Sarov in 1943. The first Soviet nuclear bomb was put together at the centre as well as the first ever hydrogen bomb in the world, designed under the leadership of Andrei Sakharov, the famous Russian academic.
Why is this happening, who is this guy and whose side is he on?
Azerbaijan is key to understanding the region and the power. During the past decade the only western source of power and force projection into the region was with the USACC. The United States Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce. It was this body that has, and remains, the source of negotiations, planning and structure in the region.
Iran rather than Iraq is the real prize. Iran is the main obstacle to US plans to develop international oil and gas projects in the Caspian.
To control, or dominate Iran, Bush has to encircle it: Afghanistan to the East, Turkey/Azerbaijan to the North, Iraq to the West, the South are already U.S. stooges. #msg-1263010
If Bush loses Azerbaijan and with the UAE miffed over the port deal military plans to attack Iran could be setback.
Whoever Kamalddin Heydarov is and whatever side he is on, he is in an extremely important position capable of blocking Russian military parts to Iran among other things.
One would have to ask is his access to the Caspian Specialized Rescue Service part of the “Caspian Guard’ the $100 million effort of the US Department of Defense to takeover the Caspian Sea or of help to other countries?
On April 11, John J Fialka of the Wall Street Journal revealed that the US Department of Defense will spend $100 million over the next few years to establish the "Caspian Guard", a network of police forces and special operations units "that can respond to various emergencies, including attacks on oil facilities". Russia is also expanding its Caspian Fleet, as it too presses its claims to offshore fields in the region. Under such circumstances, it is all too easy to imagine how a minor confrontation could erupt into something much more serious, involving the US, Russia, Iran, and other countries. #msg-6368606
-Am
AZERBAIJAN’S EMERGENCIES MINISTRY BECOMES POWER BASE Rovshan Ismayilov 3/09/06
A recent string of cadre shake-ups promises to reinforce the political power of one of President Ilham Aliyev’s closest and most influential associates, Kamalddin Heydarov, the recently appointed minister of emergencies. Some observers contend that Heydarov’s new position could, with time, present a challenge to the Azerbaijani leader’s own authority.
Until late February, Heydarov had served for roughly nine years as chief of the State Customs Committee, a post that gave him control over all imports into Azerbaijan and a reputed ranking as one of the country’s wealthiest residents. The official is best known, however, for his long-term conflict with former Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliyev, who was arrested in October 2005 on charges of plotting to overthrow President Ilham Aliyev. Shortly after Aliyev’s arrest, Heydarov was announced as the head of a soon-to-be-established Ministry of Emergencies, with responsibility for guard detachments, construction licensing and state reserves of grain. The ministry’s responsibilities and Heydarov’s appointment as minister were later set by presidential decree in February 2006.
One of the ministry’s most important tasks is in an area that has little to do with natural catastrophes or emergencies, however. Government sources, who asked not to be identified, told EurasiaNet that the ministry, along with the newly created Defense Industry Ministry, will represent Azerbaijan on the joint Russia-Azerbaijan commission of military-technical cooperation, which will oversee shipments of military supplies from Russia. [For more information, see the EurasiaNet archive.]
The ministry will also have the authority to run special investigations and operations. A militarized guard unit will be created to protect objects of particular importance in the event of industrial accidents, as well as to defend against threats of terrorism. A fleet of ships and a wharf in Baku run by the Caspian Specialized Rescue Service, a joint-stock company, were handed over to the ministry, too. Though the fleet’s current composition is largely unknown, one military expert stated that before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the fleet included 20 ships equipped with anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.
The ministry will also control the country’s civil defense, fire service, water rescue service and a special reserve intended to ensure the availability of goods of vital importance during emergencies.
Considerable influence over Azerbaijan’s booming construction industry has also been granted to the ministry. To avoid human-caused catastrophes, the government says, the Ministry of Emergencies will handle all licensing for new construction projects. Under a separate presidential decree, also issued on February 28, the government’s main office for evaluating construction projects, the Department of State Expertise, will be subordinated to the emergency ministry.
Local experts say that putting Heydarov’s ministry in charge of construction permits is only logical, given the frequency of earthquakes and landslides in Baku. "It is normal that this control will be performed by the body which is responsible for rescuing people in events like earthquakes or landslides," said Emil Akhundov, a construction expert and former head of the Baku municipal department of architecture. "However, there is no guarantee that this tool will not be misused for monopolizing the fastest growing industry, construction."
Heydarov is expected to retain his influence on a number of other economic fields as well, including media, fisheries, and trade. The minister’s former deputies now head both the State Customs Committee and the Ministry of Taxes, while the State Border Service is headed by another Heydarov protege, Elchin Guliyev. Individuals close to Heydarov can also be found in strategic positions in parliament and regional government.
Some political observers contend that Heydarov’s expanded influence brings to mind the late President Heydar Aliyev’s establishment of the ministry of economic development in 2002 and the appointment of his protege, Farhad Aliyev, as minister. Until his arrest in 2005, Farhad Aliyev exercised control over some of the country’s largest industries, and some media outlets, while also created a number of successful businesses including Azpetrol, Azerbaijan’s largest oil company. With time, Aliyev emerged as a political rival of sorts to the current leadership.
Given the outcome of the administration’s association with Farhad Aliyev, some analysts question why President Aliyev is setting the ground work for another similarly powerful minister. "There is a threat [to President Aliyev’s position] potentially," commented independent political analyst Rasim Musabekov. "It is difficult to explain why the president allows one of the ministers to become so powerful. Maybe he needs to create balance within the government and wants Heydarov to undercut the power of another powerful person."
As emergency minister, Heydarov will be able to sidestep the negative publicity that dogged his work at the Customs Committee, widely seen as one of the most corrupt government agencies and routinely blamed by ordinary Azerbaijanis for higher retail prices.
Some observers argue, however, that this positive PR will only last as long as Heydarov does not pose a political threat to the Aliyev administration in any way. Experts believe that Heydarov received his new post out of President Aliyev’s gratitude for his longstanding loyalty to the administration, especially during last year’s parliamentary elections.
Nonetheless, some experts contend that, given the nature of emergency rescue operations in Azerbaijan, the minister’s chances for ever becoming a rival to President Aliyev are slim. "The poor infrastructure and lack of coordination between government agencies make this task impossible," noted Ilmar Mammadov, an independent political analyst. "And if Heydarov will become a threat, any emergency situation can be used to blame him."
While Heydarov may now hold considerable power, the political ground on which the minister stands is too slippery, Mammadov continued. "It will be much easier to get rid of Heydarov for ineffective management of an emergency, than to dismiss him when he was the chief of the customs services, involved in the daily management of a large number of businesses," Mammadov said.
Editor’s Note: Rovhsan Ismayilov is a freelance journalist based in Baku.
Reference: • • Azerbaijan One of the urgent topics in the local independent and opposition newspapers was the exchange between customs chief Kemaleddin Heydarov and the Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev. Opposition Yeni Musavat newspaper reported that Aliyev is supported by the West and therefore he can struggle against the chief of the State Custom Committee. However, newspapers which are close to Heydarov, accused Aliyev of co-operation with the opposition and reported that the minister had allocated money for the financing of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). Governmental Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper criticized the opposition in choosing the carnation for the revolution. "The carnation is used only for funeral ceremonies or poor boys who have no money to buy roses for their girlfriends," the newspaper reported. Sharg newspaper reported about the current state of Iran-Azerbaijan relations and its affects on Azerbaijan. "US media reports that Iran is going to attack Azerbaijan are nonsense. Iran is not Azerbaijan's enemy. Those saying such things were a bit brainless," the newspaper reported, quoting Afshar Suleymani, Iran's Ambassador to Baku. "When a person bangs his head against the wall, he says all sorts of things. He can't help it. This might be the case here. Naturally, a normal and healthy person will never say so. I think he had dreamed it all. This can never happen between Iran and Azerbaijan," the Ambassador said. Russian-Language Echo newspaper reported about the return of the Azeri military serviceman, Ramil Khudaverdiyev, detained earlier this month, quoting Baku representative office of the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC). "The delivery took place at the Armenian-Azeri border between the Tavush and Gazakh regions. The ICRC took part in this process as the neutral mediator based on the appeals of the relevant bodies of the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan," the newspaper reported. 525-ci Gazet reported on the visit of UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura to Azerbaijan. "At a meeting with the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's wife, a goodwill ambassador for UNESCO, the president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva, Matssura noted the great progress made in Azerbaijan. Mehriban Aliyeva said that the visit will allow Azeri-UNESCO relations to reach a new stage. Aliyeva spoke about the foundation's one-year work and the work done in the education and health spheres," the newspaper reported. According to Russian-Language Zerkalo newspaper, US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice had a telephone conversation with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. "During the conversation, they expressed satisfaction with the development of US-Azeri relations in various areas. Rice said that she attaches great importance to the meeting between the Azeri and Armenian presidents regarding the Karabakh settlement on the sidelines of the Kazan summit and hopes that the talks will contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict. Aliyev also noted the significance of the Kazan meeting with the Armenian president and expressed hope for the positive outcome of the talks," the newspaper reported.
In 1999, Russia attempted to ship 21 metric tons of plutonium to Iran. Alert customs personnel of Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee stopped the shipment as it crossed the border from Georgia. In 2001, customs personnel seized a large cargo of T-55 tank parts, again enroute from Russia to Iran. In this part of the world, traffic in materials used to make nuclear weapons and arms shipments to sworn enemies of the United States are top concerns of U.S. policy makers. In cases such as this, it’s good to know who your friends are. Kamaladdin Heydarov, Chairman of the Azeri State Customs Committee and Major-General of the Customs Service, says: "We have a very long and close relationship with the U.S. Embassy in Baku. We’ve worked on technical and educational issues concerned with customs control." http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:CHloxBect1oJ:www.internationalspecialreports.com/ciscentralasia....
IAE forecasts 150-pct growth of world demand for fuels by 2030
03.05.2006, 19.07
HELSINKI, May 3 (Itar-Tass) - The International Energy Agency (IAE) has forecast a 150-percent growth of world demand for fuels by 2030.
The countries that once constituted the former Soviet Union, including Russia, would account for 40 percent of fuel exports to international markets, IAE Executive Director Claude Mandril said summing up the results of a world economy trends survey.
He pointed to the importance of stable energy exports from Russia, including those of natural gas, and to the increase of capital investments into Russia’s gas sector.
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