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On the purchase of land by private companies

Trade and Economic Development Minister German Gref: We have prepared a draft law in accordance with your instruction. You instructed the government to make a several-fold decrease to the purchase price for land by industrial enterprises. The draft law we have prepared proposes setting the purchase price for the land occupied by privatised companies based on a percentage of the cadastre value. In Moscow and St Petersburg the figure has been set at 20 percent of the cadastre value and in all other cities at 5 percent of the cadastre value. This is 2.5 times lower that the current rate and approximately 20 times lower than the current rate applied in territories between cities. There is however, an active desire, above all on the part of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, to lower the rate yet further – to 2.5 percent – that is, half the rate currently proposed by the government’s draft law, which has already gone through the approval procedure.

Mikhail Yefimovich [Prime Minister Fradkov], the other members of the Cabinet and I discussed this issue and we think that, in principle, 2.5 percent of the cadastre value is also a possible option. We would lose a certain amount of budget revenue, but the burden of land purchase payments would be above all on large industrial enterprises that occupy large tracts of land. If this decision goes ahead, then these companies would gain some resources that we could ask them to invest in modernising their production facilities. I think, Vladimir Vladimirovich [President Putin], that you should probably make this decision. If you decide whether the rate should be 5 percent or 2.5 percent, I think that the government could examine this issue within the month and submit the draft law to the State Duma.

Vladimir Putin: I think the government should make this decision together with the State Duma. As for my own opinion, I think that the state has already sold these enterprises once, and when the state sold them the idea was that it was selling them together with the land. In essence, what we are doing now is making the owners pay a second time for the property they have already purchased. Raising the land purchase price would affect not only the owners, and not so much the owners, in fact, as the employees of these enterprises. So, if it is my opinion that interests you, I think that we should go along with the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and opt for the most liberal solution, that is, go for the minimum rate.

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Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov on the start of construction of a third fourth-generation submarine:

I wanted to inform you that we will be launching the start of construction of the third fourth-generation submarine, Vladimir Monomakh, at the end of next week in Severodvinsk in Arkhangelsk Region. This is a strategic missile-carrying submarine and will be equipped with the Bulava missile system. This will be the third submarine of its type under construction. The first, Yury Dolgoruky, will be ready for launching and commissioning at the end of 2007. The events next week are timed to coincide with a historical date, for this week we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Russia’s submarine fleet.

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First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the work of the Government Operations Headquarters for combating bird flu:

The headquarters has been established in accordance with the President’s instruction and the government’s order and has already begun work. How does the overall situation stand today? This epizootic has now spread to 40 countries and looks like spreading yet further. According to the World Health Organisation, 175 people around the world have been infected with the disease, though the real figure is probably a lot higher because a number of countries simply do not carry out any monitoring of this kind.

Nine regions in our country, above all in the south, have registered the death of birds infected with the highly dangerous H5N1 strain of bird flu. More than 1.1 million birds have already died or been killed. We consider the current situation to be very serious and therefore need to give it our continued constant attention.

We organised a meeting today with all the regional heads on setting up the necessary headquarters and bodies in the regions. The federal executive bodies responsible for this work – the health and epidemiological services, Agriculture Ministry and Emergency Situations Ministry services – also took part in this meeting. We outlined a number of measures aimed at organising action according to our plan to combat the epizootic. This includes carrying out vaccinations at poultry farms and ensuring that the necessary quantities of vaccine are delivered. We have the possibilities for ensuring this work.

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On the results of the official visit to Algeria

Vladimir Putin (Addressing Mikhail Fradkov): Mikhail Yefimovich, following the visit to Algeria we need to ensure that the Defence Ministry’s work and the work of the Finance Ministry and a number of other agencies is coordinated so as to guarantee that we fully implement the agreements we have reached regarding the contracts concluded for more than $7 million both in the military-technical sector and in the civilian sector. This will require, of course, coordinating the different ministries’ and agencies’ work. I ask you to please to keep this under your supervision and take the appropriate action.

Mikhail Fradkov: Based on the results of your visit we are now drawing up and approving a work plan for all the ministries complete with deadlines, because the issues that you discussed, the issues concerned by the decisions reached, are of a complex nature and need to be kept under regular supervision. We will ensure this is done.

Vladimir Putin: We need to ensure that the government keeps a check on the implementation of these contracts and make sure that no problems arise in the work on our side.

Thank you.