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EASTWEEK
Weekly analytical newsletter on Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus and Central Asia (also available in Polish as Tydzień na Wschodzie)

Contents

No. 38(147) | 2008-11-26
Full text available in PDF

Analyses

  • Gazprom cuts its gas production projections

    On 21 November, Gazprom reduced its gas production projections for 2008 by around 10 billion m3. The main reason for this is the economic crisis which has led to decreasing gas consumption in Russia and in the EU. These negative trends may bring a positive short-term effect for the gas monopoly, as they may delay the occurrence of a gas deficit which had already been expected in 2010. However, in the longer term, lower revenues from gas sales will exacerbate the problem of insufficient investments in gas fields, thus increasing the risk of a deficit of Russian gas on both the domestic and European markets.

  • The Belarusian government's anti-crisis measures

    The global financial crisis is increasingly affecting the Belarusian economy. At the same time, economic pressure from the Kremlin is mounting, as Russia makes its economic support conditional on Minsk's accepting deeper dependence on Russia.

Events

 

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Trains to transport Bundeswehr's equipment across Russia
EASTWEEK
CeWeekly

2008-11-26

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On 20 November the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrei Niestierienko stated that on 10 November the Federal Customs Service of Russia had authorized the rail transport of the Bundeswehr's military equipment across Russia to the German contingency in the NATO ISAF mission in Afghanistan. It appears that the unprecedented decision of the Russian authorities is intended to show their European partners that Russia is willing to cooperate in important international security issues after the conflict in Georgia, even by supporting NATO military missions.

 

According to Niestierienko's announcement the political decision to authorize the transportation of the Bundeswehr's military equipment via the Russian railway system had already been taken on 2 October. The agreement about the transit of military equipment (arms, ammunition) through Russia was signed between President Dimitri Miedviediev and Chancellor Angela Merkel during the German-Russian intergovernmental consultations in St. Petersburg. Following that decision the Federal Customs Service of Russia authorized the rail transports in question on 10 November 2008. Since April 2008 Russia has been allowing Germany to transport non-military equipment (food, uniforms, sanitary materials) via its railway system across the Russian Federation. Since 2004 the Bundeswehr's military equipment has been shipped through the Russian territory by planes. The Bundeswehr used Transall airplanes which landed in the Bundeswehr-serviced base in the Southern part of Uzbekistan for this purpose. The authorization the Russian authorities have granted to Germany also proves that, despite the crisis in Georgia, German-Russian military cooperation has not been suspended. <jus>

 

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