AVTOVAZ car maker announces dismissal of almost 5,000 employees.

SAMARA, the Volga region, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian car
maker AVTOVAZ has announced that it's laying off almost five thousand of
its employees, the plant's press service reported late on Monday.


.Putin to visit France in November.

NOVO-OGARYEVO, near Moscow, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - Vladimir Putin
is to visit France in November to participate in the work of an
inter-governmental commission. This was one of the topics for discussion
at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French
counterpart Francois Fillon. Putin described the development of
Russian-French relations as successful.
"Relations between Russia and France are developing quite successfully
in all areas. It's vitally important to conduct a political dialogue and
develop economic relations," Putin said at a meeting with the French Prime
Minister Francois Fillon on Monday.
The two prime ministers discussed the holding in 2010 of the Year of
Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia.
Putin thanked Francois Fillon for finding time to meet him after an
international conference in Yaroslavl in which the French prime minister
had taken part.


. AVTOVAZ carmaker announces dismissal of almost 5,000 employees.

SAMARA, the Volga region, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian car
maker AVTOVAZ has announced that it's laying off almost five thousand
people from its administrative and managerial staff, the plant's press
service reported late on Monday.
On December 14, 2009 AVTOVAZ will cancel a short-time working week for
its employees, which the plant's president introduced on June 23, 2009.
The administrative and managerial personnel will be cut under a new
structural reorganization plan approved on September 9. The number of
managerial levels will be reduced from 12 to 7, the number of directorates
will be cut from 37 to 27 and the number of vice-presidents has been cut
more than twofold.
Employees who have reached retirement age are the first to be fired.
They will be paid all the benefits and compensations that are due to them
under a collective treaty.
The head of the local trade union organization Nikolai Karagin told
Itar-Tass on Monday that the plant's workforce was about 102,000 people of
which about 12,000-14,000 people are pensioners.
In July 2009 about two thousand AVTOVAZ employees submitted
applications for dismissal on condition that non-recurrent pension
contributions will be paid to them.


.Yushchenko goes to Turkmenistan to discuss gas.

ASHGABAD, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko began an official visit to Turkmenistan on Monday to discuss
prospects for resumption of direct deliveries of Turkmen gas to Ukraine as
well as cooperation in trade, economic and military-technological spheres.
The Turkmen government press service says reports that Turkmen
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Viktor Yushchenko are scheduled
to meet on Tuesday.
The two leaders will have to adjust long-term programs of inter-state
cooperation, which is being built on a mutually beneficial basis. After
the talks the sides are expected to sign a set of bilateral documents with
an aim to step up bilateral cooperation.
Presidents Viktor Yushchenko and Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov will
unveil a new railway bridge over the Amur-Darya River and will lay down
the foundation of an automobile bridge nearby.


. Russia, France to fight terrorism & sea piracy.

NOVO-OGARYEVO, near Moscow, September 15 (Itar-Tass) - Visiting French
Prime Minister Francois Fillot said that France would cooperate with
Russia, including such areas as fighting terrorism and sea piracy.
He called for deeper economic ties between the European Union and
Russia. "Russia and the European Union need to reach an agreement to
create a larger economic and human space. We need strong and reliable
relations to be able to join efforts to fight against terrorism,
proliferation of WMD and piracy and solve the problem of Afghanistan,"
Fillot went on to say.
For his part, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia
was attaching great importance to cooperation with France. He is planning
to visit France in November to participate in the work of an
inter-governmental commission.
"We know about the French president's ideas and we will try to support
them. In November we will have a chance to have a practical discussion of
these subjects," Putin said during his meeting with Francois Fillon on
Monday.
The Russian prime minister discussed the development of Russian-French
relations as successful.
"Relations between Russia and France are developing quite successfully
in all areas. It's vitally important to conduct a political dialogue and
develop economic relations," he said.
The two prime ministers also considered prospects for holding in 2010
of the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia.
Putin thanked Francois Fillon for finding time to meet him after an
international conference in Yaroslavl in which the French prime minister
had taken part.