STILL FRIENDS?
"Medvedev says sanctions have not spoiled his relationship with Obama."
HOW THE WORLD VIEWS RUSSIA
Graphic of world public opinion toward Russia based on recent Pew poll:
WAR FEARS RISING
RUSSIA IS STOCKPILING GOLD
From the story in The Telegraph:
Russia has taken advantage of lower gold prices to pack the vaults of its central bank with bullion as it prepares for the possibility of a long, drawn-out economic war with the West.
The latest research from the World Gold Council reveals that the Kremlin snapped up 55 tonnes of the precious metal - far more than any other nation - in the three months to the end of September as prices began to weaken.
Vladimir Putin's government is understood to be hoarding vast quantities of gold, having tripled stocks to around 1,150 tonnes in the last decade. These reserves could provide the Kremlin with vital firepower to try and offset the sharp declines in the rouble.
PUTIN THE HISTORIAN
In a commentary for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Maria Lipman takes a look at Russia's historian-in-chief.
Putin is uncontested and unchallenged as Russia’s ruler. Apparently, he would like to inculcate in the Russian people a perception of history as unquestioned as his own rule. The historical creed that he conveys to his nation and to the world is that Russia is a great power, that whatever it has ever done is right, and that anyone who dares to challenge this vision is at best wrong, and more likely, an enemy who seeks to “recode” Russian society and to undermine the Russian nation.
Read it all here. We also had an interesting discussion on the topic on last week's Power Vertical Podcast.
AND THE WORST PERFORMING EMERGING MARKET CURRENCY IS...
...the ruble, according to Bloomberg:
Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) --The ruble slumped the most among emerging markets as Brent crude slid to a four-year low and the U.S. and European Union weighed new sanctions againstRussia.
The ruble weakened 1 percent to 46.425 per dollar by 12:53 p.m. in Moscow, the biggest decline among 24 developing-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg and trimming to 0.5 percent its advance since central bank Chairman Elvira Nabiullina on Nov. 10 pledged action against speculators. Yields on 10-year government bonds increased 6 basis points to 10.15 percent, the highest since October 2009.
MORNING NEWS UPDATE
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
PATRIARCH KIRILL DUE IN MOSCOW
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, is due to arrive in Belgrade on November 14 for a three-day visit.
His schedule calls for meetings with Serbian government officials as well as members of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
He plans to take part in the dedication of a Russian necropolis and a monument in Belgrade to Nicholas II – the last czar of Russia under the Romanov dynasty.
He also plans to visit the University of Belgrade and the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade – an ecclesiastical embassy church in the Serbian capital.
Together with Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, Patriarch Kirill also is to perform a liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Sava in Belgrade.
(Based on reporting by Interfax and Tanjug)
U.S. SAYS RUSSIAN BOMBERS NEAR NORTH AMERICA 'UNWARRANTED'
By RFE/RL
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department says Russia’s plans to send long-range bombers on flight patrols near North America are unwarranted.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said November 13 that Washington does not think there is “a current situation in the western Atlantic [Ocean] and eastern Pacific [Ocean], or the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, that warrants additional flights in out-of-area territory” by Russia.
Russia’s state-run news agency TASS quoted Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying November 12 that the patrols are aimed at securing Russia’s “military presence” in the areas.
Shoigu’s statement came days after NATO reported a increase in Russian military flights in European airspace recently -- including flights over the Baltic Sea and international waters as far south as the coast of Portugal.
Psaki said Washington also notes a recent spike of Russian military flights in international airspace "near North America."
(With reporting by Reuters, AP and TASS)
NATO INTERCEPTS RUSSIAN TRANSPORT OVER BALTIC SEA
The Dutch government says two Dutch F16 fighter jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin transport plane after it flew into international airspace north of Estonian and Lithuanian without giving a flight plan.
The Dutch jets were part of a NATO force patrolling the skies above the Baltic states as part of a presence beefed up since the Ukraine crisis erupted earlier this year.
The Dutch government says that after the interception on November 12, the Ilyushin-76 flew off in the direction of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad – which is sandwiched between NATO member states Poland and Lithuania.
Meanwhile, in response to Moscow’s increase military activity in the region, the defense ministers of Britain, the three Baltic states and four Nordic countries agreed on November 13 to increase intelligence and air force cooperation.
The Nordic countries involved are NATO members Norway and Denmark and neutral Finland and Sweden.
(Based on reporting by Reuters and AP)
CAMERON WARNS RUSSIA MORE SANCTIONS POSSIBLE OVER ACTIONS IN UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
British Prime Minister David Camera has warned Russia that its actions in eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and could result in additional sanctions from both the European Union and the United States.
Cameron made the remarks at a news conference in Australia, a day before the start of a G20 summit in Brisbane that is also to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Camera told reporters he hopes “that the Russians see some sense and recognize that they should allow Ukraine to develop as an independent and free country, free to make its choices."
The British prime minister said: "If Russia takes a positive approach towards the Ukraine's freedom and responsibility we could see those sanctions removed.”
But he said “If Russia continues to make matters worse, then we could see those sanctions increased. It is as simple as that."
(With reporting by Reuters)
FIFA ACCUSED OF WHITEWASHING RUSSIA-QATAR CORRUPTION PROBE
By RFE/RL
The investigator of corruption allegations surrounding the winning bids by Russia and Qatar to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 says his findings are being misrepresented by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.
FIFA investigator Michael Garcia says a 42-page summary of his two-year probe, released on November 13 by FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert, contains numerous omissions and “erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions” he detailed in his full report.
Garcia's complete 430-page report of investigative work has been sealed by FIFA from public scrutiny.
Eckert claims Garcia’s probe cleared Russia and Qatar of buying votes of FIFA executives and that “a degree of closure has been reached.”
He said any wrongdoing found by Garcia did not affect the integrity of the December 2010 votes by FIFA's executive committee.
Garcia said he will appeal FIFA’s decision to close the investigation.
British lawmakers called Eckert’s summary a “whitewash” and said FIFA must publish Garcia’s report in full if it expects anyone to believe their claims there was no cover-up.
Excerpts summarized by Eckert on November 13 noted the Russian committee that submitted the winning bid to host the 2018 World Cup tournament “made only a limited amount of documents available for review.”
But Eckert said the lack of documents provided by the Russians “was explained by the fact that the computers used at the time by the Russian bid committee had been leased and then returned to their owner after the bidding process.”
He said the owner of those computers has confirmed that the computers have since been destroyed.
Eckert also said the Russian bid committee “attempted to obtain access to the Gmail accounts used during the bidding process from Google USA.
However, the Russia bid committee confirmed in a letter dated August 1, 2014 that Google USA had not responded.”
Asked on November 13 if Russia had cooperated fully, the head of the Russian 2018 bid committee Alexei Sorokin said: "Yes, we did. We think we did our best."
Regarding Qatar’s successful bid to host the World Cup in 2022, Eckert’s summary said: “According to the report, the conduct of two individuals who acted as consultants or advisers to the Qatar 2022 bid team raised concerns."
He said the consultants and advisers were not members of Qatar’s bidding committee, but acknowledged that Qatar's use of advisers reflected a "significant lack of transparency."
Eckert’s summary also said the investigation "identified certain questionable conduct” by Qatar’s committee.
Those included a $1.8 million payment by Qatar’s bidding committee to the January 2010 Confederation of African Football (CAF) congress in Angola under a “sponsorship agreement” that granted the Qatar 2022 committee “exclusive right to market its bid” during the event.
The summary noted that “several different improper payments were made” before the December 2, 2010 FIFA executive committee vote that awarded the tournament to Qatar.
But Eckert concluded: “The record does not support the conclusion that the purpose of these payments was to promote the Qatar 2020 FIFA World Cup bid."
Rather, his summary said, “the evidence strongly suggests” the payments were meant to influence votes in the June 2011 election for FIFA president.
Garcia also is now calling for key details of his investigation to be published.
That has provoked clashes with FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who has helped protect the privacy of his boardroom colleagues who have been implicated in seeking favors in return for their votes.
Garcia could be suspended from his FIFA post if he publicly reveals details of the case, and removed from office when the 209 member associations meet at their congress in May 29, 2015.
On that same day, Blatter is expected to be elected to a fifth term as FIFA president.
(With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and BBC)
RUSSIA DENIES PRESENCE IN UKRAINE AS FIGHTING PERSISTS
By RFE/RL
Ukraine's military and pro-Russian separatists have reported new casualties amid growing fears of an escalation of the conflict that has shattered ties between Moscow and the West, while Russia continues to deny it has any soldiers in eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military said on November 13 that four of its soldiers had been killed and 18 wounded in fighting with the rebels during the previous 24 hours.
It said the fighting was concentrated in the area of the international airport outside Donetsk, one of two rebel-held provincial capitals in eastern Ukraine, and the village of Debaltseve near the provincial border of Luhansk.
Separatist authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said three people were injured by artillery shelling in Donetsk overnight and reported an ongoing bombardment of rebel positions near Debaltseve.
In Kyiv, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said shelling by separatists in both the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces had intensified, but that Ukrainian forces have no intention of renouncing a September 5 cease-fire agreement.
The truce deal has been violated daily, with each side blaming the other.
Lysenko said a buildup of forces in the areas the separatists control signaled they were planning a new offensive in a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people since April and driven Russia's ties with the West to the lowest point since the Cold War.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, meanwhile, told journalists in Kyiv on November 13 that the border between Russia and Ukraine continues to be "repeatedly crossed by Russian regular forces."
Kyiv and Western governments are concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin may want the separatists to seize more territory in Ukraine or solidify control over the areas where the rebels on November 2 conducted elections dismissed by the United States and European Union as illegitimate violations of the September 5 truce agreement, which also called for other measures to end the conflict.
On November 12, the UN Security Council -- in which Russia and the United States have the power to block resolutions -- met in emergency session on Ukraine’s crisis for the 26th time, again without taking action.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen told the council that the UN is “deeply concerned over the possibility of a return to full-scale fighting” in eastern Ukraine.
He said the country also could face a months-long simmering conflict that would be catastrophic, or the situation in eastern Ukraine could become a “frozen” conflict that lingers for years or even decades.
The emergency session of the UN Security Council came hours after NATO's top commander in Euope said on November 12 that "multiple columns" of Russian tanks, artillery, and antiaircraft units had crossed from Russia into separatist-controlled territory during the previous two days.
Russian issued its clearest denial yet of a military presence in eastern Ukraine, saying that there are no Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine.
"I tell you completely candidly and officially that there have not been and are no military movements across the border, let alone a presence of our military personnel on the territory of Ukraine," Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said.
He said Russia is doing everything it can to prevent an escalation of the conflict and accused Kyiv of violating the September 5 cease-fire agreement.
Lukashevich said Russia was talking to an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observer mission "about what they said in their report," referring to the monitors' sightings of unmarked military convoys in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine in recent days.
Lukashevich added that the collapse of the cease-fire "must not be allowed ... It would be catastrophic for the situation in Ukraine."
Kyiv and Western governments have dismissed Moscow's denials, pointing to evidence including sightings of convoys and numerous funerals of Russian soldiers that have bneen held in Russian in recent months.
Lysenko, the Ukrainian spokesman, said there has been no let-up in the flow of military equipment to the rebels from Russia.
A top official from the OSCE said the observer mission in eastern Ukraine faces "unacceptable restrictions" on its mandate to monitor the border with Russia.
Ilkka Kanerva, the president of the OSCE's parliamentary assembly, told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on November 13 that monitors are limited to reporting "only what it sees pass through the official crossing along the tiniest strip of the border."
Kanerva asked: "If we are not permitted to do it right, the question is -- is it worth to do it at all?"
(With reporting by dpa and Interfax)
RUSSIAN HIGH COURT POSTPONES MEMORIAL CASE
Russia's Supreme Court has postponed a hearing on a government request to shut the human rights group Memorial until December 17, giving the prominent organization a glimmer of hope it may avoid closure.
The Justice Ministry brought the case against Memorial in October, claiming its charter does not conform to its activities, and the high court had scheduled a hearing on November 13.
But both Memorial and the Justice Ministry requested a postponement to give the group time to hold a conference it is planning on November 22-23.
Memorial rejects the government's claims but has said it will make adjustments to address them.
"We'll use the additional time to fix the problems the Justice Ministry has raised," said Oleg Orlov, a founding member of Memorial.
"If we have to busy ourselves with nonsense to survive, we'll busy ourselves with nonsense," he said.
Kremlin critics have called the suit against Memorial part of a campaign to silence dissent.
Lyudmila Alekseeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the oldest human rights organization in Russia, expressed relief Memorial was not ordered closed at the November 13 hearing.
Alekseeva said, "I hope that will be the end of the story: a conference will be held and the groundless requirements of the Justice Ministry will be fulfilled."
Memorial is an umbrella organization consisting of more than 50 groups across Russia, including its famed human rights center, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Georgia.
Founded in Moscow in 1989 under the auspices of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, Memorial has led efforts to uncover communist-era rights repressions and fight rights abuses in modern-day Russia.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government agency that monitors human rights abuses worldwide, says Moscow’s attempt to liquidate Memorial is "an obvious attempt to silence the voice of its own conscience."
(Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and rapsinews.ru)
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RUBLE SLIDE...
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