On March 9, 2011, the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev met with the American Vice President Joseph Biden in Moscow. The Russian head of state said that Russia was ready to create a strategic relationship with the United States. Russian government officials are hopeful that the United States would help Russia join the World Trade Organization in 2011. President Medvedev also asked the American Vice President to work with Congress to graduate Russia from Jackson-Vanik.

All parties to the dialogue on Russia’s accession to the WTO share the view that Russia is absolutely entitled to become a new member of the organization and are working on the technical aspect of the agreement on Russia, Webb said.

Confidential messages by U.S. diplomats working in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, were recently leaked by WikiLeaks. They showed that the United States was concerned about Moscow’s mounting influence in Tajikistan.

“I emphasized the very high priority that President Obama attaches to doing everything that the U.S. can to help Russia achieve accession to the WTO and the graduation from Jackson-Vanik this year, 2011,” U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told Interfax.

Russia and the E.U. are becoming connected to each other more and more, Barroso said, commenting on the results of a visit to Brussels by a delegation of the Russian government led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

OAO Sberbank’s Deputy Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Anton Karamzin said the bank, Russia’s biggest, now expects higher profits this year than it had been forecasting, as it maintains its margins and grows corporate loans.

Chairman of Sberbank of Russia German Gref expects the Russian economy to grow rapidly. “I think that Russia has a unique opportunity for rapid growth in the middle and long term range,” Gref said at a Troika Dialog forum.

The Central Bank of Russia predicts inflation for this year will be 6-7 percent. “We figure 0.6 percent in March, but in general we think it is possible to keep within our range of 6-7  percent,” Central Bank of Russia Chairman Sergei Ignatyev said at a government presidium meeting.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other top officials discussed a universal ID-payments card that will be issued from January 1, 2012 at an estimated cost of 135 billion – 165 billion roubles and will enable their users to pay for goods and services in Russia and abroad and possibly even vote.

“Please look into the construction of a gas liquefaction enterprise in southern Russia on the Black Sea coast as a potential element in the implementation of the South Stream project,” Putin said at a meeting with Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko.

TNK-BP, a Russia-based vertically-integrated oil company, has announced plans to build an integrated installation of oil and gas, or UKPNG, on Zagorsk group of fields in Novosergievskom area within the framework of the integrated Orenburg project.

Russian Prime Minsiter Vladimir Putin has given instructions to speed up all decision-making activities for starting the construction of a modern oil refinery in the Primorsk krai, which will be able to produce up to 10 million tons of product annually.

OAO Gazprom’s deputy chairman of the Management Committee Alexander Medvedev and Hans Engel, board member of BASF responsible for the Oil & Gas Division, have signed a memorandum in St. Petersburg for Achimov deposits development at the Urengoy field.

TNK-BP has announced plans to build a second line and the railway terminal on the Zaykinskom gas-processing plants with an investment of USD 200 million.The commissioning of the facility is scheduled for May 2012.

The Russian coal mining industry is gradually recovering after the 2008-2009 economic slowdown and a major disaster at the Raspadskaya mine in 2010. The sector is likely to reach the pre-crisis level of development already this year, according to analysts.

The possibility of the involvement of Germany’s Wintershall AG in the South Stream gas pipeline raises the chances for gaining E.U. support for the project, the CEO of Italy’s Eni, Paolo Scaroni, told the Wall Street Journal.

Russia is re-addressing the USD 6.5-billion Khabarovsk – Sakhalin – Japan energy bridge project, which involves laying an underwater cable, in view of the fact that Japan’s energy sector has suffered major damage due to the earthquake and the tsunami.

Rosatom is conducting a check of all Russian nuclear power plants as to how well they would be able to withstand natural and man-made disasters. “We have begun this work,” Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said at a session of the Russian Security Council.

TGK-9, a Russian power generation company and an affiliate of Integrated Energy Systems, or IES, has selected advanced gas turbine technology from GE for a combined-cycle plant that will supply heat and electricity for the residents of Berezniki.

The Bank of Moscow has announced the launch of a banking iPhone application equipped with a range of functions enabling its users to gain access to banking details and data. The application is equipped with four primary functions: about the bank; home banking; currency converter; organizer.

Russia and the European Union have started expert negotiations for Russia’s possible participation in a comprehensive E.U. directive on roaming, Communications Minister Igor Shchegolev said following a meeting with his E.U. counterparts in mid March.

Analysts believe the current turbulence on the stock market is a short-term phenomenon and the IPO delays have been caused primarily by the companies’ desire to sell shares at a higher price than they can count on at the moment.

Russia has the capacity of producing from 85 to 87 million tons of grain this year, Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergei Korolev said at a selector meeting in Moscow devoted to the development of animal husbandry and preparations for spring fieldwork in Russia.

In addition, state-owned Russian Agricultural Bank, or Rosselkhozbank, plans to provide over 100 billion roubles of loans for seasonal agricultural works, while state-controlled Sberbank is to provide over 50 billion roubles in other agricultural loans, Putin said.

Russia and France should sign a contract for the sale of the Mistral helicopter carriers in 2011, Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin told reporters. The contract will be signed after the parties reach an agreement on the price, he said.

General Motors has inked an agreement of intent with Russia’s Economic Development Ministry to set up expanded industrial vehicle assemblage on new terms, GM said in a statement.

Boeing and Aeroflot Russian Airlines have announced an order for six Boeing 777-300 extended range aircraft and two Boeing 777-200ERs. The order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing’s orders and deliveries website.

Pursuant to the statute, off-market deals with an exchange commodity from the government-approved list shall be registered in the course of trading for the commodity in question at commodity exchanges that meet the requirements of Russian legislation on commodity exchanges.

The State Duma Property Committee on February 22 advised the lower house of parliament to pass in the first reading a bill that will allow banks partly or fully owned by the state to acquire privatized state or municipal property for their branches.

The State Duma on February 25 passed on second reading the bill “On Electronic Signature” and the appropriate amendments to the Russian law. The electronic signature bills were submitted to the State Duma by a group of Russian legislators led by State Duma First Deputy Speaker Oleg Morozov.

Currently, there are over 6 000 officially recognized internal structural subdivisions of credit institutions in the Moscow region that have licenses authorizing them to carry out operations in foreign currency.

The Ministry suggests updating the list by adding equipment and technologies meant for energy-efficient oil extraction, equipment for the reduction of oil consumption for technical needs, optimizing the operation of wells, advancing oil metering, facilities for oil refining, and for transporting oil and oil products.

The State Duma has passed on first reading a government-proposed bill aimed at improving the state regulation of the production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcohol, and alcohol-containing products, and also beer and alcohol-containing drinks.