Page 4 - bne_newspaper_June_28_2019

The Regions This Week
June 28, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
Eastern Europe
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Financial Times that “liberalism is dead” as an idea in an interview ahead of the G20 in Osaka, Japan. “There is also the so-called liberal idea, which has outlived its purpose. Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable,” Putin said.
The Russian Orthodox Church is lobbying for
a reconstruction of Sergyev Possad, a town
in the Moscow suburbs that is home to Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, one of the holiest sites for Orthodox Christianity. The project could cost up to RUB140bn ($2.2bn) and transform Possad into an "Orthodox Vatican", Vedomosti daily reported citing the development strategy prepared by Strelka consultancy.
The Supreme Court of Austria cleared the way for controversial Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to be extradited to the US where he would face corruption charges. The court rejected a complaint filed by Firtash against the 2017 appellate court ruling to permit his extradition to the US, where
he is wanted for allegedly bribing Indian officials to secure mining licences. Firtash has been stuck in Austria where the US authorities sprang the charges and extradition request.
Belarus and Russia should agree all their integration roadmaps by November, Belarusian PM Sergei Rumas said. "The updated action program [on developing the so-called union state of Belarus and Russia] will primarily stipulate roadmaps per branches of the economy. We should reconcile absolutely all the roadmaps
by November.”
The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of US centrist Democratic lawmakers, proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia, Bloomberg reported citing a press release from the group.
The package includes such measures as sanctions on Russian sovereign debt, Russian banks and Russian-backed LNG projects and would be imposed under a legislative package aiming to hold Russia accountable for election interference and prevent future meddling.
Ukraine's natural gas monopoly Naftogaz may suspend imports of natural gas for pumping into underground gas storage facilities in August
due to lack of funding, the company's CEO Andriy Kobolev said.
Karyo Holdings, controlled by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, sold its entire 15.625% stake in Russian shoe producer and retailer Obuv Rossii. The buyer of the shares and the amount of the deal have not yet been disclosed. Prokhorov’s was a very successful speculative investment.
Belarus raised coal exports to Ukraine by 292- fold year-on-year to 639,000 tonnes (worth $55mn) in January-April, according to the nation's states statistics committee Belstat. Kyiv-based independent broadcaster Hromadske alleges that Belarus has exported to Ukraine anthracite coal that was originally mined in the rebel-controlled territories of the Donbas region.
Ukraine's industrial output increased 1.6% y/y in May, slowing from 5.2% y/y in April, due to weaker growth in manufacturing, the State Statistics Service reported. Seasonally adjusted output declined 0.9% m/m. In 5M19, industrial output climbed 0.9% y/y.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department postponed the deadline for negotiations to lift the sanctions against Russian carmaker GAZ by four months to November 8. This is the sixth time that the deadline for the talks about sanctions on GAZ have been delayed.