Today in Russian Business – Oct 21, 2011

Talks between Russia and Georgia on the former’s WTO accession desires have yielded no conclusion, says Reuters, but negotiations will apparently continue next week.  Should the EU ban it from operations in euros, the faltering Syrian regime may start using the Russian ruble for banking transactions, central bank governor Adib Mayaleh has told Russia Today.  In a World Bank study of the regulatory environment for businesses in 183 countries, Russia has been raised 4 places from last year to 120th.  Though it still falls behind China and precarious states like Yemen, the improvement does suggest, the Moscow Times argues, that it has become a more enticing place to do business.  The Sunday Times has apologized in court to Elena Baturina, the property tycoon wife of ex-Moscow mayor Yury Luzkkov, for its false claim that she had bought a £50 million mansion in London.  The broadsheet has agreed to pay an ‘appropriate sum’ of damages plus legal costs.