Kommersant: Russia, Turkey agree on military operation in Syria’s Idlib
A military strike against terrorists occupying Syria’s Idlib Governorate will inevitably happen, and Moscow and Ankara see eye to eye here, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday, Kommersant writes. Russia’s top diplomat warned the United States and other Western partners against meddling in the counter-terrorist operation. Lavrov accused Washington of supporting terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra, which is outlawed in Russia.
Moscow’s unwillingness to quarrel with Ankara and disrupt the Astana process is the main reason why the operation in Idlib has not gotten underway so far, the paper says. This is the last de-escalation zone, which Damascus has not brought under its control. A month ago, Syrian President Bashar Assad pointed to Idlib as a priority for the Syrian army’s next offensive after its success in the south. Damascus started deploying equipment and forces to the country’s north, but Moscow stonewalled the operation.
Turkey has repeatedly voiced its discontent over operations in other de-escalation zones, but has not meddled in the situation. It’s important for Ankara to get security guarantees for those groups loyal to it and also make sure that the military operation won’t spark a new flow of refugees. Moscow’s condition remains the same: the terrorists and the armed opposition must be separated.
According to a military source, the Syrian army is confident that the operation in Idlib will be a success since the militants are unable to put up any strong resistance.
Media: US launches legal battle against Russia at WTO
The United States has filed its first lawsuit against Russia in the World Trade Organization. The formal reason for the claim was Russia’s increased duties on a number of US goods, Kommersant writes. Russia insists that these measures were a response to Washington’s earlier imposed tariffs on aluminium and steel imports. Moscow estimated the losses at $537.6 mln per year. Washington’s counterclaim will allow the sides to compare potential losses from the duties, but this process may drag on for at least two or three years.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development argued that the US had misinterpreted the nature of the duties introduced by Moscow. The tariffs were imposed within the framework of the WTO agreement on special protection measures, which makes it possible to compensate damages incurred from steps taken by another country, namely the US, the ministry said.
Under the WTO's rules, the sides have two months for holding consultations and should they fail, the claimant may demand assembling a panel of arbitrators. Russia’s envoy to the WTO Gennady Ovechko said that Moscow has ten days to provide an answer on joining the consultations.
Washington’s lawsuit "is an automatic reaction to the measures imposed by Russia, and the US responded in the same way to similar measures by other countries - the European Union and China," a research fellow at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA), Knyaz Bagdasaryan, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
The US insists that its duties on steel and aluminium were imposed due to national security concerns, and the WTO rules are rather "vague" in this context, the expert explained.
In September, the European Commission is planning to unveil a proposal on reforming the WTO, Bloomberg writes. "The EU’s statement will stir up motivation for serious talks between key participants on reforming the WTO," leading researcher at RANEPA Alexander Pakhomov told the paper.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Tashkent may take on bigger role in Afghan peace process
Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov visited Kabul and discussed with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fulfilling the key provisions of the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan and also economic cooperation issues. Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes that the Uzbek-Afghan dialogue has accelerated amid the cancelation of the Moscow Conference on Afghanistan. Thus, Tashkent has prospects to become a platform for inter-Afghan consultations.
The situation in Afghanistan has been dramatically deteriorating. According to various assessments, up to 5,000-6,000 foreign militants, who gained combat experience in Syria, are flooding into Afghanistan. The armed opposition controls up to nine provinces in the north and there is a threat that military operations in Afghanistan may spill over into Central Asia.
Against this background, efforts have been made to agree on setting up a united front between the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) and Afghanistan’s central government to drive the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) out of the country. "The future of this alliance aimed at fulfilling a tactical objective is a major issue at all talks," said Bakhtiyer Ergashev, director of the Ma’no Center for Research Initiatives, based in Tashkent.
The talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban were expected to be held in Moscow on September 4, but the meeting was postponed indefinitely. Tashkent may become the new venue for holding the consultations, the paper says.
"Uzbekistan has serious chances to become a moderator in the Afghanistan peace process," Ergashev said, noting, "major agreements will be made between the top three world powers - the United States, Russia and China." According to the expert, it is clear that the Moscow platform will be blocked by Washington and Kabul. In contrast, Beijing has maintained a neutral stance on this issue.
"In this context, Moscow has two paths. First is to push through its option and propel the idea of the Moscow platform, and the second is to start using the opportunities of the Tashkent platform and put forward its interests and scenarios there. It seems that the second option is more preferable because Tashkent can really bring together the conflicting sides of the domestic Afghan conflict. Moscow cannot do this as the latest developments show," Ergashev stressed.
Vedomosti: Russian women get Putin’s most generous pension gift
Russian President Vladimir Putin had kept silent for a long time preferring not to join the public debate on raising the retirement age. The Russian leader outlined his stance in a televised address on Wednesday ahead of the new political and budget season, ordering the government to alleviate the nation’s pension reform program, Vedomosti writes.
These directives do not surprise the officials questioned by the paper. The reform had been under discussion for several months, one of them said. That being said, the United Russia party had suggested many of these measures. "The president acted in a predictable way. After everyone was blamed, he came out and eased the reform," Head of Program at the Moscow Carnegie Center Andrei Kolesnikov said.
Women received the most generous gift from the president. They will be able to retire at 60 instead of 63 as proposed by the draft law passed by the State Duma, the lower house, in the first reading. Their retirement age will be increased by five years. Women who have three children will be able to retire three years earlier, and the mothers of four - four years earlier. For those who have more than five children, the retirement age will remain unchanged at 50.
Chief economist at BCS Global Markets Vladimir Tikhomirov said decreasing the pension age for women had been expected.
People who were due to retire in 2019-2020 will be able to do this six months before reaching the new pension age.
"These measures and this populist trust-based dialogue with the nation may put the brakes on falling ratings as it seems that the father of nation has returned again," Kolesnikov said. The decision on alleviating the pension reform was a response to the public discontent. It was stronger than the authorities had expected, political scientist Yevgeny Minchenko said.
The president’s proposals on softening the pension reform will cost the budget 500 bln rubles ($7.3 bln) over the next six years, First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. These are not big losses for the budget, a federal official told the paper.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Saudis focus on Iran, Syria in talks with Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel al-Jubeir discussed on Wednesday a number of issues regarding bilateral cooperation and also international issues, yet the focus remained on the Middle East. Despite bringing their positions closer on some regional issues, Moscow and Riyadh still have differences on many important details, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
"Saudi Arabia once again voiced its grave concerns over Iran’s growing influence in the region and asked Russia to take steps on containing Tehran," Maria Al Makahleh, President of the Moscow-based International Middle Eastern Studies Club and expert at the Valdai International Discussion Club, told the paper.
"Iran will apparently be one of the crucial issues at all talks with Russia for the Saudis as it views Moscow as nearly the only actor capable of containing Iran. However, no real agreements on this track should be expected. Just like about Yemen, one should not hope for anything else than exchanging views and discussions with Russia on the Saudi bombings of the neighboring country," the expert said.
Another irritant for Riyadh is Russia’s military presence in Syria and its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. However, Lavrov said Russia and Saudi Arabia share the view of setting up a constitutional committee in Syria to launch political talks between the government and the opposition.
According to Maria Al Makahleh, at the talks, the sides also hashed over military cooperation. "Saudi Arabia’s purchases of the S-400 systems and other Russian equipment have been discussed since the King’s visit to Moscow. However, the major problem, which makes the prospect of reaching these deals rather vague, is US sanctions, which Washington threatens to slap on any countries maintaining military cooperation with Moscow." Russia should not expect any serious breakthroughs in this direction and make plans for long-term cooperation, the expert noted.
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