Kommersant: Israel urges Russia to pull Iranian forces out of Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov paid an urgent and unannounced visit to Israel on Monday and held talks with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kommersant writes that this third high-level meeting over the past two weeks was needed since the Syrian army’s operation near the Golan Heights is coming to an end. Russia earlier vowed that during this operation, pro-Iranian forces would be withdrawn from the Israeli border. However, Israel demands that Iran should fully leave Syria and rejects Moscow’s compromise proposals, which the Russian and US leaders agreed on at their summit in Helsinki on July 16, the paper says.
Israel’s key demand is thwarting any possibility that the Iranians may attack its territory from Syria. This concerns removing all intermediate-and long-range missiles from the country. Israel also insists that Iran should stop manufacturing high-precision weapons and missile defense systems, and also halt arms smuggling from Lebanon to Syria. If these demands are not met, Israel says it reserves the right to act against pro-Iranian forces and the Syrian army, claiming that Syrian President Bashar Assad bears full responsibility for the Iranians’ actions on its soil.
Meanwhile, Russia’s goal at the moment is returning Syria’s entire territory under the control of Damascus, namely the southwestern de-escalation zone, which is adjacent to the borders of Israel and Jordan, the paper says. Russia needs to ensure support of both countries and also of the US for a successful military operation. However, Russia cannot ensure the full withdrawal of the Iranians from Syria now.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Iran, US a heartbeat away from ‘mother of all wars’
US President Donald Trump has warned Tehran of unprecedented consequences in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s demand that the US stop its sanctions pressure. Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes that Washington may opt for a harsher course against Tehran. The State Department has declared that the US leader expects "irreversible changes in the Iranian regime." Meanwhile, Rouhani went on national television and stated, "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."
Reuters earlier reported citing high-level administration officials that the US decided to crank up media pressure against Tehran to undermine the current regime’s authority.
Yuliya Sveshnikova, Research Associate at the Higher School of Economics, noted that if Rouhani exited, it would not lead to any significant changes. She further pointed out saying, "I believe the Iranian public understands that the problem lies in (Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s) bad governance and this understanding has also grown not only among the middle class, but also among those whose earnings are significantly lower," the expert said.
It is evident that US policy on Iran is determined by its key allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, the paper writes.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russia’s gold reserves set to equal Soviet record
This June, gold in Russia’s international reserves reached 2,000 tonnes, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. The Bank of Russia said that in the first half of this year it bought almost 106 tonnes. If these purchases maintain this pace, in four years, Russia’s gold reserves will repeat the Soviet record, the paper writes.
The Russian regulator has been steadily buying gold since 2008, when the reserves stood at less than 500 tonnes. The share of this precious metal in Russia’s international reserves is also growing: over the past ten years, it has risen from 2.5% to 17%.
Russia’s gold reserves reached their maximum (2,800 tonnes) in 1941, according to the paper.
In some 10 or 15 years, Russia may move from the fifth place to the third after the US and Germany in terms of monetary gold, Otkritie analyst Timur Nigmatullin, said. Russia uses gold as a means of protection and diversification of its investments. After the April round of US sanctions, the Bank of Russia cut investments in the US government securities six-fold, decreasing the share of dollar assets in reserves in favor of gold.
However, it is impossible to totally give up dollar assets, as the central bank’s reserves should reflect the structure of trade relations, the expert stressed.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: BRICS seeks to expand its sway in Africa
On Wednesday, Johannesburg will host the 10th summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend the event. Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes that given the fact that the anniversary forum will be held in Africa, this will confirm a serious geopolitical role of the alliance. The leaders of India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa will convene before to discuss the rules of the game in the digital economy in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The summit’s key topic will be "BRICS in Africa: cooperation with developing states to achieve an inclusive growth in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution." Leaders of nine African countries, which chair regional organizations, will address the meeting.
The idea is to show that BRICS does not focus on itself, but exerts influence on the entire African continent, the paper says. Africa is among Russia’s priorities outlined in the updated Foreign Policy Concept.
"The potential of cooperation with African states created during the Soviet era has not been lost," said Yuri Vertashov, researcher at the Center for the Study of the Russian-African Relations and Foreign Policy at the Africa Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"Now, the outstanding feature in building our relations is rejecting ideological approaches, while focusing on mutually beneficial cooperation. African states are increasingly attracting the attention of Russia’s large and medium-sized businesses," he said, noting that Moscow’s cooperation with Africa may attain a breakthrough.
"Russian businesses have a sufficient foundation to expand their positions in Africa," he noted. According to Vertashov, a conclusion can be made that relations with Africa will expand and will take on a systemic character.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: China eyes bolstering Russian grain imports amid trade war with US
The door for supplying Russian grain to China may open wider. Beijing is ready to import it not just from separate regions, as proposed earlier, but from all across Russia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes.
Chinese authorities may open its markets to Russian grain (wheat, soy, corn, rice and rapeseed) after receiving information needed for analyzing phytosanitary risks and on-site inspections, Russia’s agricultural watchdog said after talks with China’s General Administration of Customs.
"China’s initiative is related to the mounting trade war with the United States given that the US is one of its key suppliers of grain and oilseeds," project manager at the Russian Export Center Anton Khokhlov said. Over the past three years, the US has accounted for 30% of China’s grain imports.
China needs nearly 90 million tonnes of soybeans and 4 million tonnes of rapeseed and corn, and its interest in wheat supplies is constantly growing. According to Khokhlov, Russia may boost supplies of wheat, barley, and oilseeds and corn to China by the end of the year. "The entire potential is several million tonnes," he said.
Meanwhile, President of the National Association of Exporters of Agricultural Products Sergey Balan refused to forecast the growth of Russian supplies to China. Given that the grain harvest is reviewed every week due to weather conditions, domestic exporters prefer to use traditional supply routes, namely the Middle East and North African states, including Egypt, he explained.
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