Reuters reports: “Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in power for over 10 years, ruled out a departure from politics, telling a questioner: ‘Don’t hold your breath.’

The country’s most powerful leader made the comment with a smile when asked on his annual televised question and answer session with the Russian people if he would like to leave politics and start a quiet life.

Putin, 57, also said he ‘will think about’ taking part in the 2012 presidential election, when many Russians expect him to return to the Kremlin for a six-year term…” (Putin may become the Gog of Magog, the Chief Prince of Rosh [Russia], Meshech [Moscow], and Tubal [Tobolsk – Southwest of Siberia] during the Armageddon 3 ½ year campaign.)

Voice of America News reports: “U.S. and Russian negotiators are continuing talks in an effort to agree on a new follow-on treaty to the 1991 START-One pact that expired December 5. Both sides say an agreement is more likely at the end of the month.

The START-One agreement is one of the most complex treaties in history dealing with reducing nuclear weapons. It was signed in 1991 by U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. It came into force in 1994.

Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, a private research firm, says that treaty helped end the Cold War.

‘It slashed U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces from 1990 levels of about 10,000 deployed strategic warheads each down to approximately 6,000 by the year 2001,’ said Kimball. ‘And it also established a far-reaching network and system of on-site inspections, verification provisions, information exchanges to provide each side with high confidence that the other was complying with the terms of the treaty.’

Frank Miller, a former senior official on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush says those verification provisions are crucial.

‘It’s important to have confidence. It’s important to have on the ground inspections which this treaty provisions call for,’ said Miller. ‘It’s important to have exchanges of telemetric data. So in addition to what each side’s own intelligence services are able to pick up, the treaty provides additional information which has always been seen as being of great confidence-building value.’

Daryl Kimball says since the START-One treaty was signed, the United States and Russia have slashed their strategic nuclear arsenals even more…” (The U.S. – Russian arms control treaty will fail miserably and dangerously – Ezekiel 38; 39:1, 2, 12, 13; Joel 2: 3, 20, 30.)

BBC News reports: “Russia and India have signed an agreement to increase their civilian nuclear energy co-operation.

The announcement came after talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow.

Russia will build a number of nuclear reactors in energy-hungry India as well as increase atomic fuel exports to it.

Russian reports suggested progress had also been made on India’s purchase of a refurbished former aircraft carrier.

The sale of the Soviet-era Admiral Gorshkov was agreed years ago but delivery has been long delayed.

Kremlin sources gave no timing for when the vessel might be handed over to India’s military.

Mr Singh called the nuclear deal ‘a major step forward’.

‘Today we have signed an agreement which broadens the reach of our co-operation beyond the supply of nuclear reactors to areas of research and development and a whole range of areas of nuclear energy,’ Mr Singh told a Kremlin news conference.

Mr Medvedev spoke of ‘great potential’ in the two countries’ relations…” (India may align itself with Russia as part of the “Kings of the East” led by China, the ally of Russia – Daniel 11:44; Revelation 16:12; Revelation 9:14 -18. East = China and North = Russia.)