Kommersant: Top Slovak diplomat highlights importance of dialogue with Russia
Russia has historically been one of Slovakia’s most important trading partners, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak told Kommersant.
"The trade and economic area requires greater attention. The point being that a gradual decrease in Russia’s share of Slovak trade exists. This is due to the current international political climate, as well as Slovakia’s accession to the EU and the fact that we use the potential offered by the free European market," he explained.
In addition, the minister who speaks excellent Russian said he was proud to be a graduate of the Moscow-based MGIMO University (the Moscow State Institute of International Relations), describing it as one of the best universities in the world. He added that even though he studied at MGIMO, this does not prevent him from pursuing a policy independent of Moscow.
Lajcak noted he considers himself to be a proponent of dialogue with Russia.
"The position that Slovakia presents to its partners from third countries are the general stances, more precisely, the positions of the Slovak Republic as a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. I have always been in in favor of dialogue. The fact that I have met with my counterpart Sergey Lavrov five times over the past four years proves that," he pointed out.
Commenting on the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project, he stressed that the energy security of Slovakia and other EU members was a top priority. "The key element of gas supplies is preserving the Ukrainian route for Russian gas supplies to the EU and transit through Slovakia. In light of this, we welcome the Russian authorities’ statements on the importance of preserving Ukraine’s role as a transit country for Russian gas," he noted.
RBC: Libyan bridgehead
Russia has deployed dozens of commandos and officers of the General Staff’s Main Directorate (formerly the Main Intelligence Directorate or the GRU) to the eastern part of Libya, the British tabloid The Sun has asserted citing unidentified Downing Street sources. The paper claimed that Russian specialists are training personnel for the military of Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar. Besides, Russia has set up two military bases on the country’s northeastern coast, The Sun alleged.
A source close to the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed to RBC the presence of Russian military in Libya. According to the source, the Russian contingent in the North African country includes elite airborne units, which have been deployed there in recent months, he said.
The Sun’s report on Russia’s alleged military presence in Libya has nothing to do with reality, Lev Dengov, Head of the Russian Contact Group on the Intra-Libyan Settlement, told RBC. "This is not the first time that attempts have been made to depict Russia’s interaction with one of the players as a policy of support for one of the parties [to the conflict]. To date, Russia has shaped its national policy with respect to Libya. There are specific goals related to restoring economic ties between Russia and Libya. An objective outlined by the country’s leadership is to cooperate with all parties to the Libyan conflict. In addition, Russia interacts with those key international actors who are interested in resolving the crisis, that is, Italy, France and regional countries," he explained.
The UN embargo on supplying arms and deploying military personnel to Libya is currently in effect, Vasily Kuznetsov, Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences" Institute for Oriental Studies, told the paper.
"Russia provided military aid to Syria at the invitation of official authorities. However, in Libya the official government is the one in Tripoli, which was recognized by Moscow," he recalled. According to the expert, Italian and French private military companies, which guard private businesses and mercenaries from some African countries, specifically Sudan, are currently present in Libya, Kuznetsov added.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Washington dragging China into ‘Cold War’
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stated that he had made progress in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament during his meeting with Kim Jong Un. However, a potential agreement depends on China, whose relations with the United States have deteriorated after Washington accused Beijing of meddling in American elections and trying to dominate the high-tech market. Therefore, the prospects for a Korean settlement remain rather vague, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Alexander Lomanov, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained in an interview with the paper that during Pompeo’s meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Beijing clearly showed its rejection of Washington’s policy to pressure China. "Of course, the current situation is a far cry from the Cold War era of the 1970s and 1980s. Previously, only Russia was concerned about the possible return of the Cold War. Now China is entering the historical period when America starts using its Cold War rhetoric against Beijing in both politics and economics. What’s more, the US is beginning to forge anti-Chinese blocs. Beijing has not been involved in a real standoff with the West for a long time. Despite its statements on rejecting Western hegemony, China tried to fit into the global economic scheme, while its statements were an overture to negotiating and tailoring the rules to China’s interests."
In his view, it is essential to recognize that Washington’s policy of containing Beijing is long-term. "Despite its reluctance to be dragged into a standoff with the US, China will have to retaliate, because it has no choice. The situation is quite dangerous. Trump has failed to take into account the fact that the two powers’ economic interdependence prevented them from taking drastic steps," he said.
Izvestia: What are the consequences of Constantinople’s actions in Ukraine’s church crisis?
The Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has begun its three-day meeting, which is expected to make a formal statement on providing independence (autocephaly) to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
A dangerous process is underway, that is, the emotional buildup in Ukrainian society, Spokesman for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Priest Alexander Volkov, said at an Izvestia roundtable. "It is unpredictable what is going to happen next, and this is the main danger, because Ukraine’s authorities are unable to control the radical nationalists. All that, with a high degree of probability, can quickly spiral into a very unpleasant scenario," he stressed.
According to historian Sergei Volkov, once the Ukrainian Church’s autocephaly is declared, the supporters of a schismatic church will gain confidence. "So far, it is hard to imagine that there will be a massive seizure of parishes that are constituents of the Moscow Patriarchate. However, individual parishes in some cities could be seized," he noted.
Commenting on the possible aftermath of Ukraine’s imminent religious conflict, Sergei Volkov noted, "The church schism will automatically exacerbate the standoff in Ukrainian society. If a schismatic church in Ukraine gained autocephalous status, nothing would change essentially, because it does exist, and there are people who are committed to it. However, if self-determination is required of people, this will intensify the schism and affect society, because all believers have irreligious relatives and people they communicate with," he stressed.
According to the expert, the church schism in Ukraine has, first and foremost, a purely political motive behind it, specifically, "the territorial disintegration of the single state and the determination of the Ukrainian regime, which initiated that schism, to distance itself from the common cultural space."
Vedomosti: Russia’s Central Bank reports unprecedented drop in imports
Commodity imports in the third quarter dropped from $63.8 bln to $63 bln in the same period a year earlier, Russia’s Central Bank has reported. Imports are affected by seasonal factors, Vedomosti quotes Oleg Solntsev, Head of Research at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, as saying. According to the expert, as a rule, imports tend to grow at an accelerated pace during the second half of any year.
However, this time the situation is different, with imports dropping year on year and Solntsev warned that this was an anomaly. If these are not statistical errors, that means that the markets "are not accepting" imported goods, he added.
Imports are supposed to grow against the backdrop of economic growth, according to Natalia Orlova, Chief Economist at Alfa Bank. This decline can result in a slowdown in final demand, she pointed out. According to Orlova, imports of investment goods could drop due to the completion of major domestic construction projects, for example, the bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia.
Imports historically fell during crises when the ruble devaluated and demand declined, says Kirill Tremasov, Director of the Analytical Department at Loko-Invest. This is due to falling domestic demand, both in investment and by the consumer, he noted.
The Russian currency’s April devaluation, triggered by US sanctions, could also have its effect, he said, adding that so far it is unclear which of the two factors - devaluation or demand - affected imports more.
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