OREANDA-NEWS. On 27 August 2008 was announced, that at its meeting on August 18, 2008 the Presidium of the Russian Government made the following decisions on the issues on its agenda.

1. On progress in implementing measures to liquidate the consequences of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict

The Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation has taken note of the reports by the Minister for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Liquidation of the Aftermath of Natural Disasters, the Minister of Regional Development, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government - Finance Minister of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Health and Social Development, the Minister of Education and Science, Deputy Minister of Transport and the Director of the Federal Migration Service on the said issue.

The heads of the relevant executive power bodies, in the light of the discussion held and the directives issued during the meeting, have been instructed to take the necessary measures to bring relief to the citizens who have been affected by the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict.

It has been decided that the results of these activities should be promptly reported to the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Ministry for Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Finance Ministry and Rosoboronzakaz, jointly with the federal executive power bodies concerned, have been instructed to examine the issue, raised during the meeting, of organizing the purchase of farm produce from the population in South Ossetia to provide food for servicemen and other persons taking part in the peace-keeping operation and the liquidation of the consequences of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict. On the issues that require a decision to be taken by the Government of the Russian Federation, corresponding proposals are to be submitted to the Government before September 1, 2008.

It has been decided that the Ministry of Education and Science and the Finance Ministry shall, before August 23, 2008 submit to the Russian Government proposals on financing educational organizations in South Ossetia out of the money saved from the use in 2008 of budgetary allocations for the implementation of the Priority National Project "Education."

The Finance Ministry, jointly with the federal executive power bodies concerned and in the light of the discussion held, has been instructed to examine the issue of increasing the Government's Reserve Fund for prevention and liquidation of emergency situations and the aftermath of natural disasters in 2008 and to submit corresponding proposals to the Government. The Ministry of Communications and the Media and the Federal Migration Service of Russia shall ensure the functioning in the city of Tskhinval of public Internet access centers for the search of persons whose whereabouts are unknown.

It has been decided that the results of these activities shall be reported to the Russian Government within a week.

2. On allocating to the Government of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania money from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the prevention and liquidation of emergency situations and the aftermath of natural disasters.

The meeting passed a draft Executive Order of the Government on the issue.

3. On the allocation to the Ministry for Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Health and Social Development and Rosrezerv of money out of the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the prevention and liquidation of emergency situations and the aftermath of natural disasters.

The Government Presidium has adopted a draft executive order on the issue.

4. On creating a relief fund for South Ossetia.

The Presidium of the Russian Government has postponed the deliberations on the issue.

5. On measures of assistance in the reconstruction of the facilities damaged during the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict and on the social and economic development of South Ossetia.

The meeting passed a draft Government executive order on this issue.

6. On providing health facilities for the children of citizens who have left the zone of the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict.

The Government Presidium has passed the draft Executive Order on the issue.

7. On the forecast plan (programme) of privatization of federal property for 2009 and guidelines for the privatization of federal property for 2010 and 2011.

The Government Presidium has taken note of the report by the Minister of Economic Development on the above issue.

The meeting approved the draft forecast plan (programme) of privatization of federal property for 2009 and the guidelines for the privatization of federal property in 2010-2011 with the exception of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Labour and Social Insurance Research Institute, Moscow.

The Ministry of Economic Development, jointly with the federal executive power bodies concerned, has been instructed to take additional measures to enhance the effectiveness of privatization of federal property paying attention to:

the improvement of the mechanism of planning the privatization of federal property that envisages the shift to three-year planning of the privatization of federal property;

the practicability of granting the federal executive power bodies the authority to exercise ownership rights on behalf of the Russian Federation with regard to the federal state unitary enterprises under their jurisdiction included in the forecast plan (programme) of federal property privatization.

The relevant proposals shall be submitted to the government before October 15, 2008.

The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources have been instructed to examine the issue, raised during the meeting, of privatization of the government-owned shares of OAO VNIIZARUBEZHGEOLOGIA.

The relevant proposals shall be submitted to the Government before September 15, 2008.

The Ministry of Economic Development jointly with the federal executive power bodies concerned has been instructed to submit to the Government proposals on reducing the list of strategic enterprises and strategic joint-stock companies.

8. On the distribution of interbudgetary transfers to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for the purpose of subsidizing the budgets of closed administrative-territorial entities to support measures to ensure balanced budgets of closed administrative-territorial entities.

The meeting of the Presidium adopted a draft Executive Order of the Government on the above issue.

9. On the draft subprogramme "The Development of Football in the Russian Federation in 2008-2015" of the federal targeted programme "The Development of Physical Culture and Sport in the Russian Federation in 2006-2015."

The Presidium meeting adopted a draft government decree on the issue.

10. On the draft federal law On the Accession of the Russian Federation to the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage.

The Government Presidium has approved the draft federal law and decided to introduce it at the State Duma.

11. On the draft federal law On the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Labour Activities and Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers who are citizens of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Uzbekistan and the migrant workers who are citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation.

The Government Presidium has approved the draft federal law and decided to submit it to the State Duma.

12. On organizing the activities of the Government Commission (federal headquarters) for power supply safety.

The meeting adopted a draft government decree on the issue.

13. On the formation of the Government Commission for the development of housing construction.

The Government Presidium has adopted a draft decree on the issue.

August 22, 2008

The city of Moscow

* Decisions on the issues on the agenda are taken with due account of the remarks and proposals made during the Government meeting and are issued as official documents of the Government of the Russian Federation.