POLITICS

Foreign Ministers from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey met in the Georgian city of Batumi on Tuesday to discuss cooperation. The main project currently planned is building the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, connecting the three states and bypassing the existing railroad network that was built in the Soviet era.

(Kommersant)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara arrived in Moscow on a two-day visit on Thursday for talks about Ukraine’s integration with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

(Izvestia)

The first round of talks between Thai authorities and rebel Islamist groups has been held in Malaysia. The negotiations, already labeled by the media as “historic,” may end the conflict in the country’s south, which has already claimed more than 5,500 lives.

(Kommersant)

ECONOMY

Most Cypriot banks, except the Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank, opened on Thursday after closing on March 15. Though small queues were seen in front of some banks, there were no panic among bank depositors.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

Russian economic growth may be below 3 percent this year, the economics ministry says.

(Vedomosti)

METALS & MINING

Shares in Polyus Gold, the most successful Russian gold producer in 2012, dropped 2.6 percent after it was forced to postpone the launch of its Natalks gold deposit because of abnormally cold weather.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti)

OIL & GAS

Hungary joined Poland as a gas supplier for Ukraine. The authorities in Kiev say they have almost stopped buying Russian gas, a claim Gazprom denies.

(Vedomosti)

TELECOMS & IT

Mikhail Fridman's A1 investment group and two of Russia’s top three mobile operators, MTS and Vimpelcom, joined the bidding for discount mobile service provider Tele2 Russia, rivaling an agreed deal with VTB Bank.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Izvestia)

DEFENSE

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an unexpected order for a snap large-scale military exercise while returning from a visit to South Africa. The drills will involve 7,000 servicemen, 36 ships and 250 armored vehicles.

(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

The Russian defense ministry plans to draft 153,000 young people during this year’s spring conscription.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

SOCIETY

The Russian government has approved its long-term social and economic development strategy through 2030.

(Kommersant)

The Russian Investigative Committee has called on businesses to reverse deals authorized by the former head of the ministry’s property department, Yevgenia Vasilyeva, and return the real estate that they have bought.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Izvestia)

Russia is bidding to host Expo-2020 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at www.en.rian.ru