“Vedomosti”: “From Airplanes to Gas”
During a visit to France, Prime Minister Putin will discuss a rescue plan for AvtoVAZ, a package of energy projects, including the South Stream pipeline, and the potential purchase of a Mistral amphibious assault ship.
Yesterday evening, a large delegation of government officials and businessmen (see website), headed by Vladimir Putin, arrived in Paris. As reported a day earlier by Alexander Ushakov, the Deputy Head of the Government Office, the delegation is expected to sign 25 agreements in France.
One of the major goals the delegation hopes to achieve from the negotiations is to reach an agreement on restructuring AvtoVAZ's debt. It is expected that Renault (which holds 25% of AvtoVAZ's stock), Russian Technologies (18.83%) and Troika Dialog (24.28%) will sign a rescue plan for the car manufacturer. The plan provides for "Renault's extended involvement in the plant's modernisation," according to the Russian Ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov. The exact figures, the proportions of the shares and the investment sums are to be determined during the talks.
Ushakov said that Prime Minister Putin would also discuss the possible purchase of a Mistral amphibious assault ship for the Russian Navy. However, Interfax quoted Alexander Orlov as saying that this issue was not on the agenda. A source close to the Defence Ministry explained that the leaders of the two nations might provide an impetus for their defence ministries to begin negotiations on purchasing the warship. The source said that an open tender will be issued for Russian and foreign companies, and that the French company DCNS, which builds the Mistral-class ships, will also participate in the bidding.
Russian energy companies are expected to sign at least three large agreements. Two of these agreements will be with Electricité de France, which will conclude a memorandum with Gazprom on joining the South Stream project and a memorandum with INTER RAO UES to create a Russia-based joint venture that will operate in the field of energy efficiency and conservation, on a parity basis. In addition, a contract to develop the Kharyaginskoye oil field will be signed by the Russian company Zarubezhneft, which will receive a 20% share in the project for approximately $65 million. The French Total company is one of the project's main investors.
The negotiating parties will also discuss the Soyuz-Kourou project, an initiative to provide for the launch of Russian Soyuz-2 space rockets from the Kourou space centre in French Guyana, according to the Government's press-service. The project's ground installations are 90% complete; the total cost of the project is 334 million euros (Russia's share is 121 million euros). The first launch is scheduled for summer 2010.
Aerospace projects are also on the agenda of the meetings in France. Yesterday, Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko, General Director of the Sukhoi Company Mikhail Pogosyan, and General Director of Oboronprom Andrei Reus visited the French Snecma company's plant, a representative of Sukhoi told Vedomosti. The outcome of the visit will largely determine whether production of the SaM-146 engine for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ) regional passenger jet is accelerated or not. The project is falling behind schedule due to the lack of engines.
The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft has recently once again moved the deadline (to early 2010) for the delivery of the first Superjet to Aeroflot. Currently, the jet's engines are jointly produced by Snecma and the Russian Saturn company. "One of the options for speeding up the engine's manufacture would be to transfer production of some of the components from Saturn to French companies working in cooperation with Snecma," a Sukhoi representative said. We could not reach Mr Reus for comments. The meeting was still under way when the newspaper went to press.
Russia's Vnesheconombank (VEB) is planning to sign two agreements on infrastructure projects in Russia, as reported by the state corporation's press-service.
Not all business representatives in the delegation are involved in signing agreements. For example, Mikhail Prokhorov, President of Onexim Group, Viktor Vekselberg, co-owner of Renova Group, and Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the main owner of the Sistema services conglomerate, have travelled to France as members of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), according to the information provided by their associates. Maksim Lunev from VTB bank told Vedomisti that the Bank had no specific plans in France and that VTB board chairman Andrei Kostin was merely a participant in the delegation's activities.
France and Russia have traditionally had good relations, according to Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs magazine. "French President Nicolas Sarkozy played an important role during the conflict between Russia and Georgia last summer, which helped increase France's influence in world affairs."
The article was prepared with the assistance of Anastasia Dagaeva, Yelena Mazneva, Yulia Fedorinova, Anna Baraulina, Natalya Portyakova, and Alexei Nikolsky.
Yekaterina Kravchenko
