MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Russia-Africa Summit highlights extensive reach of Russia’s global influence; Saudi Arabia planning conference to bring Kiev, Global South together; and US to arm Taiwan using Ukrainian model of fast-track weapons aid. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Vedomosti: Russia-Africa Summit highlights extensive reach of Russia’s global influence
The global importance of the second Russia-Africa Summit, held in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, continued to reverberate over the weekend. On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held meetings with several counterparts from the continent. As well, St. Petersburg native Putin hosted four African leaders at his hometown’s annual Navy Day parade on July 30 along the Neva River, Vedomosti writes.
Putin said at his final press conference on July 29 that, "in general, the African continent is friendly and positive towards Russia." A 74-point declaration was the principal document to come out of the summit, where the signatories spoke out in particular against ethnic and racial discrimination and announced plans to coordinate a range of joint political activities, including within the United Nations Security Council.
On July 28, the Russian president and the heads of several African nations discussed the peace initiative for resolving the Ukrainian conflict that was put forward jointly by seven countries on the continent in June. Its provisions emphasize the need to achieve peace through diplomatic means, ensure the sovereignty of individual countries, formulate and extend security guarantees, work out arrangements for the movement of vital grain and fertilizer exports, exchange prisoners of war and carry out post-war reconstruction.
Regarding the prospects for implementing the African peace initiative, it is just a matter of time, said Andrey Maslov, director of the Center for African Studies at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University). Declaring a ceasefire is the key point of the African plan, and it is Ukraine that is not ready to accept such a precondition, the expert noted. Once Ukraine’s potential for offensive action is exhausted, however, the plan will be in demand because African countries would be appropriate mediators given that they are members of neither NATO nor the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Africa is neutral but it also has a strong interest in bringing the conflict to an end, and it would not be an easy task to find other countries offering such qualifications, Maslov emphasized.
The African initiative fully satisfies the interests of neither Russia nor Ukraine, Alexander Beltser, associate professor at Korolev Samara University, pointed out. Meanwhile, in his words, the Russia-Africa Summit demonstrated once again that Moscow is far from isolated in the world. On the contrary, Russia is seeking to declare itself a great power that has interests in other parts of the world, including a region offering such abundant promise as Africa.
Media: Riyadh intends to bring Kiev, Global South together, minus Moscow’s participation
Saudi Arabia is gearing up to host talks on Ukraine, where developing countries (collectively known as the Global South) are expected to be the main guests. According to the Western media, however, it does not appear that Russia will be participating in the Saudi-hosted confab. Despite this, an Arab diplomatic source told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the event was unlikely to affect relations between Riyadh and Moscow.
International relations expert Vladimir Frolov believes that Saudi Arabia’s role with regard to Ukraine is to "play a near-ally of the US and promote the made-in-America vision of a settlement," thus helping Washington "win over India and Brazil."
Russian International Affairs Council expert Kirill Semenov, in turn, said that Saudi Arabia’s efforts to convene such a meeting were a continuation of its mediation activities. "The fact that Russia might not be invited does not mean anything," he explained. "Of course, the situation paves the way for reflection, but it’s either Ukraine or Russia. Besides, we don’t know how the situation will unfold. There may be a meeting involving Ukraine, while another event may be arranged for different participants on another platform, which Moscow will attend and Kiev will not. Perhaps it marks the start of a process that Saudi Arabia wishes to launch," the expert added.
It is too early to predict the outcome of the talks, but one thing is already clear: The West is attempting to make sure that it has the last word in relations with countries friendly to Russia, Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told Vedomosti. Even though the objective chances of succeeding are low, Ukraine’s Western allies still keep trying to tear South Africa and China away from Russia and take them out of the BRICS system of relations, the expert concluded.
By holding this kind of talks, which, in fact, are nothing more than consultations, the West and Ukraine are seeking to put increased pressure on Russia, Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, noted. However, this attempt to show that it is possible to resolve strategic issues without Moscow will hardly garner any success. As for the presence of China and South Africa, it should be considered as another Western attempt to influence those countries that maintain a position of benevolent neutrality toward Russia, Denisov stressed.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: US to help Taiwan using the Ukraine model of fast-track weapons aid
Washington and Beijing now have another reason for mutual grievances. US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order announcing a $345 mln weapons package for Taiwan. It marks the first military aid tranche to be provided to the island under a simplified procedure, which had previously applied only to Ukraine. China has taken the move as proof that Washington plans to enflame tensions in the region, Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes.
Biden’s order had been long expected. The 2023 US budget provides for $1 bln worth of weapons aid for Taiwan through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which gives the president the power to deliver excess weapons from US Defense Department stocks to foreign countries without congressional approval, thus accelerating arms supply pipelines. This was how the US was able to so rapidly become the Ukrainian armed forces’ principal weapons supplier.
Beijing took the news of speedy US weapons supplies to the island highly negatively. It was hardly a coincidence that six Chinese warships appeared near Taiwan on Sunday, signaling that Beijing had decided to once again show its strength by conducting an impressive demonstration of its military capabilities in the potential conflict zone.
Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military and Political Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, said that the use of "the Ukrainian model" for providing weapons to Taiwan makes the White House’s foreign policy priorities clear. "This makes it clear, albeit indirectly, that for Washington, confrontations with Russia and China are of the same order," the expert said.
"Biden’s executive order can be seen as further proof that the US believes that Ukrainian developments are gradually coming to an end. This means that the United States intends to act in accordance with its National Security Strategy adopted last fall, which unequivocally names China, not Russia, as enemy No. 1," Batyuk noted.
Izvestia: EU looking for ways to seize frozen Russian assets
The European Union intends to prioritize creating a legal basis for seizing the frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia in developing its latest package of sanctions against Moscow, members of the European Parliament (MEP) told Izvestia. They acknowledged, however, that such a move would mark a serious further step on the path toward escalating the conflict.
After the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Western countries, and the European Union in particular, embarked on a policy of imposing tough sanctions on Moscow. Apart from adopting 11 packages of sanctions targeting both entities and individuals, the EU also moved to freeze the assets of the Central Bank of Russia. According to the European Commission’s estimates, over 200 bln euros were frozen. Brussels appears to be perturbed by the thought that these funds are lying idle, and so it is actively seeking to devise a way to legally confiscate the Russian assets. Brussels is currently working on the 12th package of EU sanctions that may well include such measures.
Sanctions may now be aimed at creating a legal basis for confiscating the Central Bank of Russia’s assets frozen in the EU, German MEP Gunnar Beck pointed out. He emphasized that the seizure of such Russian assets would be a step that leads only to a further escalation of the conflict.
EU officials stated earlier that new restrictions against Moscow could be adopted before the end of the year. Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned, at a finance ministers’ meeting in mid-July, that the plan to introduce a windfall levy on profits would threaten the financial stability of the eurozone and currency liquidity. The initiative’s critics believe that it may drive other central banks with large currency reserves to turn their back on the euro.
The EU already has a directive easing the seizure of assets, Estonian MEP Yana Toom told the newspaper. However, the document concerns criminally obtained funds, including those earned from a conflict. Meanwhile, however, if the funds in question have nothing to do with the conflict, any attempt to confiscate them will encounter major problems.
Kommersant: Russian companies set to boost fertilizer supplies to Africa
Russian chemical companies intend to step up supplies to African countries, even amid the current sanctions regime, with plans to significantly increase Africa-bound exports over the next five years. In the meantime, African governments expect not only to import goods but also to establish their own production facilities in partnership with Russian suppliers, Kommersant writes.
Russia’s Uralchem plans to increase fertilizer supplies to Africa by ten-fold, Director General Dmitry Konyayev said at the Russia-Africa Summit. PhosAgro CEO Mikhail Rybnikov, in turn, pointed out that the company intended to double its exports to Africa in the course of three years. Last year, Russian companies exported a total of 1.6 mln metric tons of fertilizers to Africa, occupying about ten percent of the market.
In the meantime, officials from several African countries said during the summit that they were ready not only to import but also to produce fertilizers in their respective jurisdictions. In particular, Angolan Minister of Economy and Planning Mario Augusto Caetano Joao stated, following a meeting with a PhosAgro delegation, that Luanda was considering the possibility of building a chemical plant in the long term. Uganda also expects Russian fertilizer manufacturers to localize production. A similar proposal came from Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, who said that the country had the necessary gas reserves.
Independent expert Leonid Khazanov views Africa’s fertilizer market as very promising, saying that the Russian companies’ plans to boost exports are quite feasible. According to him, fertilizer supplies may grow to a total of four mln tons, given major financial support for agriculture. However, there is a need to increase the level of knowledge of local farmers who currently do not take into account significant soil differences depending on terrain when using fertilizers. Khazanov added that the African market was highly fragmented and countries had different capabilities in terms of fertilizer purchases. He also pointed out that, before setting up their own fertilizer production facilities, African countries would need to resolve the issue of providing them with the necessary power supplies.
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