In a few years, Russia and the European Union will be ready to completely cancel visa procedures, claims chairman of the Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev. This cancellation also requires the signing of necessary agreements on readmission with “third states,” which Kosachev did not specify. At the Russia-EU summit at the end of June, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested writing down the specific steps and deadlines for moving toward the cancellation of visa procedures.

Research done by the Levada Center shows half of the representatives of the middle class having doubts and skepticism about the current stability of Russia. Though on the whole the middle class believes Russia is developing rapidly and will soon become a world leader, many are afraid that the country's stability is based more on favorable oil prices rather than institutional changes. Many from the middle class, despite having experienced improvements in the small business and entrepreneurship realm, still contemplate emigration from time to time.

The Mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, has placed pressure on terminating Russia's-Ukranian Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation instead of extending it. The Mayor claims the development of events currently happening in Ukraine does not correspond to the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership of 1998 in part and in whole.

According to the Kortes information center, one main cause for the rise in the cost of fuel oil is the low efficiency of Russian oil refineries. Kortes director Pavel Strokov claims Russian plants are surpassed by Western plants in deep processing. Kortes also suggests a connection between the rising price of fuel oil and the rising world oil prices, and it is predicted that petroleum product prices will continue to rise.

Trading in Mosenergo stock was stopped midday on Friday after gaining more than 10 percent in the course of the day. Suggestions on the hike point to a speculative character before the exchange of RAO UES of Russia shares for ones in the generator. It is also suggested that many stocks in the sector are largely undervalued and could endure a sharp rise before the end of the year.

Although the Central Bank of Russia acknowledged yesterday that the annual inflation would be closer to 12 percent instead of the initial 10.5 percent target, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is determined to contain inflation, even if it means sacrificing growth rates in the economy. Kudrin hopes to accomplish this by limiting the growth in money supply mainly by manipulating the interest rates, which may hamper GDP growth. The optimistic Kudrin believes the goal of matching the initial inflation target will definitely be “difficult, but possible.”

Russian GDP growth in the first quarter of the year is estimated at 8.5 percent. This growth is partly attributed to an increased share in the GDP that the extractive industries obtained in the last year. Consequently, despite stagnation of oil production and other mining activities, the Russian economy's dependency on extraction has notably increased. The share of the GDP for many remaining industries fell.

Alexei Kudrin, Russian Vice-Premier and Minister of Finance, is to hold talks with Saudi Arabia in El Riyadh on Tuesday on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). A Russian delegation source has said that it is planned to make maximum headway at the bilateral talks with Saudi Arabia. "We are aiming to settle outstanding matters and it is not ruled out that understandings (to this effect) will be reached in El-Riyadh," he said.

The French carmaker PeugeotCitroen and the Japanese car producer Mitsubishi Motors will launch a joint venture in Russia, according to a cooperation agreement signed in May. Peugeot Citroen will have controlling interest in the joint venture. It will build a plant in Russia’s Kaluga region, 180 kilometres from Moscow, by 2010. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on June 10, 2008.

Brazil wants to expand cooperation in the technological sector with Russia, in particular on biotechnology and space exploration, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said in an exclusive interview with Interfax "Brazil and Russia could expand cooperation in the high-technology sector with a focus on biotechnology and space exploration, as relates to the search for solutions to energy problems, which could complicate the development process in our countries," Amorim said.