Rossiiskaya Gazeta: "Tokyo Contract"
Vladimir Putin invites Japanese businessmen to invest in Russian economy.
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin visited Japan as Prime Minister for the first time. In one day Putin met the leader of the opposition party, two former prime ministers, and the current Prime Minister. He also promised a host of profitable contracts except for the one the Japanese want the most - on the Kuril Islands.
Putin's visit did not raise a sensation or a strategic decision on the South Kurils. This issue is one of the most sensitive for Japanese leaders. Before Putin's visit, Deputy Chief of the Government Executive Office Yury Ushakov formulated Russia's position: there should be no high expectations because they may result in deep disappointment. This means that Moscow is not ready to dot the "i's" or cross the "t's."
The Japanese will not remove this issue from the agenda, either. Prime Minister Taro Aso called it "a bone of contention" in our bilateral relations. Incidentally, three years ago Aso suggested covering the islands with Japanese TV broadcasting "to bring home to residents that life in Japan is better."
Yesterday, Aso urged resolving the territorial issue "during the life of the current generation." This is why he is planning to discuss with President Dmitry Medvedev an opportunity to sign a peace treaty between the two countries during the G8 summit in July.
Incidentally, discussion of Russia's territorial integrity is not within The Prime Minister's competence, and Putin tried to avoid the Kurils issue citing this reason. He did all he could to focus on economic problems. In the morning he spoke at the Russian-Japanese business forum.
As for the economy, bilateral relations are making steady progress. Trade tripled in 2005-2008 to reach $30 billion, although Russia occupies 16th place among Japan's trade partners. We are primarily exporting energy carriers (50%), while Japan supplies us with cars and high-tech products. "A nation which can supply other countries with the best of everything is a great nation," Putin had to admit.
This correlation will remain unchanged in the foreseeable future although the Russian leaders are not happy about it. At every opportunity, Putin mentioned "Russia's strategic choice," referring to the replacement of raw materials exports with a new, innovation-based model in the economy. Yesterday, he spoke about this again, inviting Japanese businessmen to take part in major construction and other national projects -- the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Sochi Olympics, nano-technology and space exploration.
However, cooperation in electric power generation remains a priority for the time being. Putin recalled a liquefied natural gas plant start-up in Sakhalin in February of this year, and the initial volume of LNG has already been supplied to Japan.
Oil is a no less exciting a subject than gas, and Putin found encouraging words for Japanese businessmen in this sphere as well. He talked about an opportunity for partnership with Japan in building the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline. Putin was very specific: "The pipeline will soon reach Skovorodino, and there we will transport oil by rail for the time being. We are completing the construction of an oil terminal on the shores of the Pacific (in Kozmino, Primorye Territory -- RG) where the trans-shipment will be processed." According to Putin, Russian companies are ready to fill ESPO, and put out from 50 million to 80 million tonnes of oil per year.
A memorandum on the joint use of natural gas in the area of Vladivostok was also signed yesterday. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that "after the construction of the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas pipeline, and the meeting of domestic demand, it will be possible to export gas and its products from Vladivostok to Asian and Pacific countries, including Japan."
Yesterday, Miller also announced that Gazprom is going to start the development of the Sakhalin-3 project. He said that the companies which take part in the Sakhalin-2 consortium will be given an advantage. Gazprom has far-reaching plans, which were described to the Japanese businessmen by the Prime Minister himself: "We may expand the existing projects, including Sakhalin-3, which amounts to 700 million tonnes of oil and 1.5 trillion tonnes of gas on the shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk. It may be followed by Sakhalin-4, 5, 6, and 7. We will have enough projects to cooperate on."
As for the nuclear power industry, Putin again managed to please the Japanese. The head of Rosatom (Russian Nuclear State Corporation) Sergei Kiriyenko signed a relevant agreement on cooperation with the Japanese Foreign Minister. Kiriyenko told RG that this document provides a supply of low-enriched uranium to Japan, and the construction of a depot for its storage on its territory.
Putin told Japanese businessmen: "The long-term prospects of Japanese business in Russia should not be doubted by anyone." He said that the crisis was no obstacle in this regard. In fact, he repeated his speech in Davos, but in an abridged version. The leitmotif was that one country "no matter how powerful" (the United States was obviously implied but not mentioned) cannot manage global finances, not to mention cope with the crisis. To win the support of his representative audience, Putin even quoted the founder of Matsushita Electric: "Although the road to a happy and peaceful future through prosperity seems a dream, I would like to unite the wisdom of many people to turn this dream into reality."
Putin said that this year the crisis will result in a drop in GDP, industrial production and foreign trade. However, as he emphasised more than once during his visit to Tokyo, the Government's actions have saved the national economy, and laid the beginning of the economic recovery.
By the way
By Pierre Sidibe
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed amendments to the regulations on the Government's work, specifying the procedures for the drafting of laws. In line with these amendments, when a bill is submitted to the Government, apart from the required list of documents (explanatory note, financial and economic feasibility report, etc.) it will be necessary to present the opinion of the Government's Institute of Law Making and Comparative Jurisprudence. In addition to this, a list of normative legislative acts required for the adoption of a federal law, should specify the period of its review, and information on the federal bodies of executive power or organisations, which are its chief executors.
Moscow issue
By Pierre Sidibe, Tokyo
