Izvestia: Putin, Trump agree to continue communication
The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice and the opening of the Paris Peace Forum on November 11 has important humanitarian and political implications, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev told Izvestia. More than 70 leaders participated in the event, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
The celebrations in Paris are vital both for France and for the guest participants, former Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov told Izvestia. "This event is also important for us, as you remember, because of the February Revolution, Russia left the war, and despite the fact that it lost more than 3 million people, it was excluded from the list of winners. The fact that President Putin has arrived today for these celebrations to some extent restores historical justice," the Russian diplomat said.
In the corridors of the Elysee Palace, the leaders of Russia and the US managed to find a couple of minutes to talk. According to Putin, the conversation went well. Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that the heads of state agreed to meet in Argentina at the coming G20 summit, which will be held in Buenos Aires on November 30-December 1.
According to Kosachev, many conversations at such forums are being held "on the go". "The Russian leader had such contacts as well - for lunch. He sat with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and EC President Jean-Claude Junker. I am sure that these were very informative and productive talks about the role of the UN in the modern world, and about Russia's relations with the European Union, the topics of which are also huge and problematic," Kosachev told Izvestia.
Conferences like the one on Sunday in Paris do not imply full-fledged negotiations on key issues of world politics, Orlov noted. "There can't be any great expectations here. First, an unprecedentedly large number of leaders assembled for the celebrations, and secondly, the program was very brief and rigid," the diplomat told Izvestia.
According to him, important issues must have been raised during the "on the go" meeting, however this event is rather symbolic in nature and is a call to the global community that the events from 100 years ago should not be repeated.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: White House split makes negotiations with China difficult
The United States and China are preparing for a meeting between the leaders of both countries in Argentina. Washington will not allow China to get ahead in the hi-tech field, and will reject its claims to the South China Sea, Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote. Meanwhile, Beijing's representatives made it clear that they would not succumb to pressure, but left the door open for a trade compromise. According to the newspaper, its prospects are obscure, especially given the domestic political struggle in the United States.
The US is not satisfied with the Chinese Strategy-2025, according to which Beijing should become the main economic power of the world, overtaking America. The newspaper reports that Trump promised not to let this happen. As a result, the United States told China they were waiting for them to make concessions on trade, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and on Taiwan.
Washington is also trying to ensure that Beijing will cease making off with intellectual property from the US, and will stop forcing US companies operating in China to transfer technology and create joint ventures with Chinese companies.
According to Chief Researcher of the IMEMO RAS Alexander Lomanov, "Trump said that China is ready for concessions on the 2025 Program. However, both parties can pretend that they have ceded to save face and come to an agreement. After the trade war broke out, Chinese propaganda was instructed not to push this topic. If you look at the Chinese media over the past few months, it turns out that the program has faded into the background." If Trump is satisfied that China pretends to have abandoned the program, then an agreement between the two countries is possible, the expert concluded.
However, not only the United States and China, but also the American administration faces a trade struggle. Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer strongly doubt that China will make the concessions that the Trump administration wants and call for additional tariffs. At the same time, other officials are trying to make the deal happen. The US leader sometimes gives preference to one group, sometimes to another.
Izvestia: Putin plans to partake in ceremony to wrap up offshore section of Turkish Stream
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to participate in a ceremony to complete the construction of an offshore section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told Izvestia. The first deliveries of Russian gas to Turkey and other countries in the region are expected to begin in 2020.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also join the event, scheduled to occur in Istanbul on November 19, Yury Ushakov told the newspaper.
Putin announced his intention to develop a gas pipeline project along the Black Sea for the supply of Russian gas to Europe at the end of 2014 at a press conference following his visit to Ankara. The Turkish Stream venture has become an alternative to the South Stream project since Bulgaria refused to participate in it.
This will be Putin’s second recent visit to Istanbul. On October 27, President Putin attended the quadrilateral summit between the leaders of Russia, Turkey, France and Germany on Syria, which also took place in this city.
Turkish Stream involves the construction of a gas pipeline on the seabed to the European part of Turkey and further to the border with Greece. The pipeline consists of two lines with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters each. The first is intended for gas supplies to Turkey, the second is for supplying gas to the countries of South and Southeast Europe. The first deliveries of Russian gas via the new pipeline are expected in 2020.
Kommersant: Donetsk-Lugansk elections to widen rift between Russia and West
Elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics (DPR and LPR) were held on Sunday. On November 11, Moscow called the balloting a necessary step, but in the West the elections were condemned. The Russian authorities and sources among Ukrainian and Western diplomats told Kommersant that the Donbass negotiations are deadlocked. At the same time, Kiev continues to demand the introduction of UN peacekeepers in the region. Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko discussed it with the leaders of France and Germany on Sunday.
The reaction of all parties to the elections was predictable, Kommersant wrote. Moscow supported the voting, all Western countries and organizations, such as the OSCE and NATO, criticized it, calling the elections a threat to the peace process. Answering a question from Kommersant about what Russia could do to avoid destabilization, US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the best thing Russia could do was to comply with the Minsk agreements.
"We hoped that some progress in the peace settlement could happen after the presidential elections in Russia," a source in the US Embassy in Kiev told Kommersant. "But this did not happen. Now there is a feeling that Russia is waiting for the presidential elections in Ukraine, which will be held in March next year. Meanwhile, winter is approaching - the most difficult part of the year in terms of a humanitarian crisis," the source added.
According to the newspaper, Moscow is calm amid Western criticism and understands the possibility of a further worsening in relations. "Sanctions by Western countries are possible. They may impede the peaceful process," political scientist Alexei Chesnakov told the newspaper. However, the expert is not certain that the newly elected officials in the self-proclaimed republics would come to a peaceful solution to the conflict. "It depends on Kiev’s implementation of the Minsk agreements," he explained.
Kommersant: Russia to retain stake in Alrosa until 2023
The Russian Federation represented by the Federal Property Management Agency and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) will keep its more than 50% stake in diamond mining company Alrosa until 2023, Kommersant wrote. However, this does not prevent the sale of 8% in Alrosa in 2019, which was part of the government’s privatization plan, although analysts believe that suitable conditions will be available only at the end of the year.
The state retaining its stake is included in the terms of the shareholder agreement of November 18, 2013, which expires this week. The agreement is automatically extended for five years, "unless the parties agree otherwise," the newspaper quoted the document. The Russian Ministry of Finance told Kommersant that "discussions on revising the agreement are not being conducted."
Andrey Lobazov from Aton told Kommersant he does not see any reasons why it would now be beneficial for the state to reduce the share in Alrosa below the control stake. "This is the industry leader, a unique company in Russia that pays high dividends with profitability of 10-12% and payments are important for the budget of Yakutia," the expert said.
According to him, the market is not in its best shape right now because of the looming threat of new sanctions against Russia, therefore, it is unlikely that the planned privatization of 8% of Alrosa will take place in the near future. However, the government may return to plans to sell a small package of Alrosa at the end of 2019, Lobazov added.
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