Ukraine’s ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said she was ready to head the country’s new government, she told reporters today. Tymoshenko was sacked by President Viktor Yushchenko earlier this month. “I can see that our relations are returning to status quo,” she said.

Rumors are circulating in Moscow about a looming financial default, Novye Izvestia newspaper reports. The default is expected September 21-25 or October 1 at the latest. Some banks and exchange offices are advising clients to keep their dollars and “dump” rubles as long as the exchange rate is appropriate.

Supplies of light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea can only be considered after it dismantles its nuclear program, the Russian foreign minister said Wednesday. Sergei Lavrov said he discussed the issue with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Ukraine’s parliament has rejected the candidacy of Yuri Yekhanurov for prime minister. Yekhanurov won 223 votes, against 226 needed for approval. He was not supported by Communists, the Social and Democratic Party and some other parties.

Deputy head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Anatoly Golomolzin said the agency might impose sanctions against oil companies that intended to freeze only the retail gasoline price on the domestic market, leaving the wholesale price to further grow.

Russia’s government has raised the export duty on crude oil to $179.9 per ton. The decree, signed by prime minister Mikhail Fradkov, comes into effect on October 1, the government's press service reported.

Today, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will pay a one-day working visit to Hungary to meet with his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany and President Laszlo Solyom, RBC has been told by the government's press service.

The Moscow City Court has started hearings of the appeals earlier submitted by the former chief executive of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev Tuesday.

A move to take control of the world's largest manganese plant in the Ukraine by the Renova group was the trigger for this month's dismissal of the Ukrainian prime minister and her cabinet by President Victor Yushchenko, according to Yushchenko himself and industry sources.

Russia supports an early signing of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the United Nations Sunday. Addressing the 60th session of the UN General Assembly, Lavrov said: "We expect the UN General Assembly to contribute to the fight . . .

The six nations negotiating to put an end to North Korea's nuclear weapons program have adopted a joint statement on the principles of denuclearization, a Chinese official said Monday.

Russia’s state statistics service presented the government an unpleasant surprise. Its reports show that the country’s industrial production growth rates halved from January through August 2005 compared with last year’s figures.

Oil production in the fourth quarter of this year is expected to be 120 million tons of oil and unstable gas condensate, according to the ministry of industry and energy. A decree on the transportation of crude oil, oil products and gas to Russian consumers and abroad was signed by Andrei Reus . . .

In his statement at the high-level plenary meeting of the 60th UN General Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about "the split of civilizations" and the need to overcome it. He used the phrase in the context of "coordinating international cooperation in the fight against terrorism . . .

Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom shortlisted Friday five oil majors to contend for the development of the huge Shtokman natural gas field off the Barents Sea and said it would hold a 51% controlling stake in the project.

On the last day of his working visit to the US, September 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet US President George Bush and managers of the US top oil companies.

Lithuania’s authorities object to plans to build a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, citing environmental concerns. This is the first attempt to block the project, signaling perhaps the beginning of a war by the Baltic states and Poland against the Russian-German gas . . .

Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves were $151.9 billion on September 9, $1.5 billion up from a week earlier, the central bank of Russia reported. The reserves increased for the third straight week, having added $3.8 billion, or 2.6 percent, over this period.

Prominent Russian politicians have commented on the announcement yesterday by an ex-premier, Mikhail Kasyanov, that he would run in the 2008 presidential election.

Igor Smirnov, president of the self-proclaimed Transdnestr Moldovan Republic, praised the Russian peacekeeping mission and said the country could play a significant role in settling the Transdnestr-Moldovan conflict.

Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky is said to have financed the election campaign of Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yushchenko. Ex-Ukrainian leader Leonid Kravchuk said Berezovsky had told him that his firms had transferred $15 million to the bank accounts of companies that financed Yushchenko’s campaign.

Communications, trade and the services sectors, which grow faster that the GDP, could become a new engine of the Russian economy, Russian economy minister German Gref told reporters today. “Oil production and oil exports stopped driving our economy in 2005 . . .

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in New York. Putin said Russia would support the peace process in the Middle East, and was open to cooperate with all interested parties, including Palestine.

An appeal by ex-YUKOS chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky and business partner and head of Menatep, Platon Lebedev, began in the Moscow City Court today. They had been sentenced to nine years in jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion. The defense had asked the court to overturn the verdict . . .

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair at the 60th anniversary summit of the UN General Assembly to discuss cooperation in fighting international terrorism. The Russian leader also thanked Blair for the efficient preparations for the Russia-EU summit. . .

Russian prime minister Mikhail Fradkov is convinced that Russia could lead the world economy, he said at the Magistral 2005 transport exhibition in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil on Friday. The premier said Russia had great potential, which had to be used effectively.

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom, German chemicals manufacturer BASF and E.ON Ruhrgas have signed a deal to build a gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, BASF said in a statement on Thursday.

Ukrainian leader Viktor Yushchenko said he had not wanted to sack prime minister Yulia Timoshenko. He said the decision had been prompted by new allegations of corruption within Ukrainian authorities made by deputy prime minister Mykola Tomenko on Thursday morning.

A meeting of the board of directors of Novorossiysk Shipping Company (Novoship), Russia's leading tanker operator by fleet size and asset value, revealed yesterday that faction-fighting has broken out over who will control the company.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has dismissed Yuliya Tymoshenko's government. Yury Yekhanurov has been appointed acting prime minister. Before the appointment, Yekhanurov headed the Dnepropetrovsk region administration.