POWER PLAY: Russian
President Vladimir Putin defended his decision to withdraw lucrative
government stakes in energy companies from a list of assets to be
privatized.
AC/DC: The privatization issue has long divided the
political elite's liberal and conservative members. Former President
Dmitry Medvedev wanted to sell the state assets and vowed several times
to speed up the process.
SELL HIGH: Putin said that the assets,
including government stakes in leading oil and gas companies, should not
be sold at current market prices. However, critics say the stakes which
were under consideration would hardly affect the government's dominant
position in those companies.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.