Federation Council Speaker says Kaliningrad may become special economic zone

Kaliningrad may become a special economic zone, Speaker of the RussianFederation Council Sergey Mironov said today summing up the results of hisvisit to Poland. On September 8 he is planning to visit Kaliningrad and theKaliningrad region as a member of a large parliamentary delegation, whichwill include the representatives of the International Committee and theFederation Committee of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament,Mironov told reporters. The Chairman of the Federation Council was quoted as saying he meant not afree economic zone, "which has become a proverb and a byword and a blackhole for the federal budget", but a special economic zone, where trade andtax policy rules may differ from those generally accepted throughout thecountry. In his turn, the head of the Polish Seim said Poland was notplanning to eliminate trade and economic contacts with the Kaliningradregion, but was going to develop them in all possible ways. The head of thePolish Seim reiterated that the trade turnover between Poland and theKaliningrad region had been $278m in 2001, while the trade turnover betweenPoland and Germany, Warsaw's largest trade partner, was $264m. .