Russia to set aside $15.4b for anti-crisis measuresJune 19, 2012 - 12:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian government has agreed to set aside 500 billion rubles ($15.4 billion) in next year’s budget to directly finance anti-crisis measures if the eurozone crisis continues to escalate and spread, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday, June 19. The funds will be used to support “socially needy people” and “systemically important enterprises,” Siluanov said in an interview with The Financial Times. In his first interview with a foreign newspaper since his appointment as Russia’s finance minister last year, Siluanov said the anti-crisis mechanism also envisaged the revival of a scheme, proposed but not implemented in 2009, to issue government bonds to recapitalize banks in exchange for shares. The Russian government allocated 200 billion rubles for anti-crisis support to domestic companies in 2012, RIA Novosti reported. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. U.S. “deeply troubled” by Azerbaijan's arrest of civil society members The United States is deeply troubled by the continued arrest of members of Azerbaijani civil society, Matthew Miller has said. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |