MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/. Putin makes the case at Valdai for Russia’s role in building a new, fairer, multipolar world; Turkey is preparing to host an international meeting on achieving a peace settlement to the Ukraine conflict, but Russia’s attendance is up in the air; and the EU is facing internal dissension over the migration issue, thus blocking bloc-wide reform efforts. These stories topped Friday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Vedomosti: Putin makes case for Russia’s role in building new, fairer, multipolar world

The international climate has evolved dramatically over the past 19 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his keynote speech at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, which took place in Sochi on October 2-5. The theme of the club’s 20th anniversary session was "Fair Multipolarity: How to Ensure Security and Development for Everyone." Experts told Vedomosti that the civilizational approach is the essential core component of Russia’s evolving ideology.

The president laid the blame squarely on Western elites for the deterioration in relations with the West, which has led to the showdown over Ukraine. While Russia was lending a hand of support to the beleaguered residents of Donbass, at the same time the Kiev regime "bombed, shot, and sent in the tanks over the course of nine years."

The West’s colonialist approach to the rest of the world is unacceptable to Moscow, while Russia sees itself as a distinct civilization, as is set forth in its new foreign policy concept, Putin stressed. The US and its satellites had charted a course toward hegemony from the very start, but Russia understood that such endeavors would fail, he added. However, Putin expressed confidence that this time "has passed, and our understanding of civilization is now completely different."

Putin also stated that, while the United States is unlikely to face difficulties in continuing to fund military support for Ukraine, this task may prove a challenge too far for Europe given the continent’s economic difficulties and declining GDP. In contrast, Putin assessed the Russian economy as stable, and said he believes that the country’s financial status enables it to boost spending on defense and national security while also simultaneously maintaining social spending.

The head of the Center for African Studies at the Higher School of Economics (HSE University), Andrey Maslov, told Vedomosti that the civilizational approach is the most essential, core component of Russia’s evolving ideology. In his view, understanding and appreciating the varied richness of diverse civilizational codes is a viable alternative to blindly accepting the unipolar system of values and objectives pushed by the US and its allies.

Putin recounted that the US has signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), while Russia has both signed and ratified the key arms control agreement. According to Alexander Ermakov, an expert at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS), Putin reiterated that while the US calls on everyone to ratify the CTBT, Washington itself has no intention of following its own advice and leading by example.

 

RBC: Turkey to host next meeting on Ukraine settlement, but Russia’s attendance unclear

Turkey is preparing to host the third international meeting on achieving a peace settlement to the Ukraine conflict, at which the peace plan being promoted by Kiev will be the focal point of discussion. The meeting, according to Bloomberg, will be held at the level of national security advisers in Istanbul before the end of October. For its part, however, Moscow does not recognize Ukraine’s so-called "peace formula" and, thus, the key question about the upcoming meeting is whether Russia will participate in it at all, RBC writes.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky first presented Ukraine’s peace initiative at the G20 summit in the fall of 2022. It contains ten points, including implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the world order, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, and ensuring food, energy and nuclear security.

The fact that it is Turkey that is taking the initiative to organize and host the meeting could potentially lead to an invitation for Russia. "Turkey has had very strained relations with the European Union lately, especially with individual members, in particular with France. Therefore, whatever can be done to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, even if it is from the ‘let’s just talk’ point of view, is still a big positive, because Turkey could stand to benefit from earning the laurels of a peacemaker. And Turkey really needs these bonuses now, because the country has very strained relations with the European West," Yuri Mavashev, director of the Center for the Study of the New Turkey, told RBC.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Migration issues become spoke in wheel of EU reform, future expansion

Controversy over migration matters marred the joint summit of the EU and the European Political Community, which opened in Granada, Spain, thus diverting participants away from the stated agenda of launching EU reforms and laying the groundwork for the European integration of new countries in the bloc, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Poland and Hungary came in staunch opposition to any modifications in EU migration policy, which had the effect of casting doubt upon the very idea of reforming the European Union and, consequently, the admission of new member states.

The summit participants were expected to debate all common urgent concerns that, in one way or another, hampered or aided the strengthening of the EU. The meeting had been intended to give a full airing to the topic of European Union reform that would serve to facilitate the bloc’s further growth. However, after the first day of negotiations in Granada, the debate proved to be difficult as there are still too many contradictory stances between applicants for EU membership and among existing EU member nations themselves.

Those countries receiving a large number of migrants are expected to be entitled to seek financial support from their EU counterparts, but this was precisely the basis of Hungary and Poland’s discontent. On Thursday, it appeared that no compromise could be reached on the migration issue.

"Based on statements made during the Granada meeting, the migration issue may not be the sole impediment to EU enlargement. Thus, Vjosa Osmani, the president of partially recognized Kosovo, proposed that EU sanctions be imposed on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. This appears to be a new prerequisite put forward by Kosovo for normalizing relations between Pristina and Belgrade. Without this normalization, neither Kosovo nor Serbia would be able to enter into negotiations for EU membership. This is the condition of the European Union, and Brussels is unlikely to back off from it," Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

 

Vedomosti: Russia resumes coal supplies to Mexico, Argentina

Russian coal companies continue to broaden the area of their exports, with coal starting to arrive in Mexico, Argentina, and Bangladesh in 2023, Vedomosti writes, citing data from analytical company Kpler. Russian enterprises exported 314,000 tons of coal to Mexico, 73,000 tons to Argentina, and 48,000 tons to Bangladesh in January-September 2023.

The Ministry of Energy’s press department told Vedomosti that Russian companies are finding potential new clients "regardless of their location, within the framework of economic feasibility." "The return of Russian coal industry players to Southeast Asian and Latin American markets is purely commercial. If the price climate is favorable, supplies to these and other markets will increase," the ministry said.

According to Boris Krasnozhenov, head of securities market analytics at Alfa-Bank, Russian coal exporters are continuing to try new markets after consumers in unfriendly nations reduced or ceased purchases from Russia. According to Krasnozhenov, Russian coal companies have opportunities to increase supply to Mexico, as the country’s coal power generation reaches around 75%, and the Latin American country is a fairly major importer of coal in general.

According to Finam analyst Alexey Kalachev, Mexico consumes approximately 10 mln tons of coal each year, while generating around 6 mln tons. At the same time, according to him, the Mexican market is relatively close to large coal-producing countries, such as the United States (output of around 480 mln tons per year) and Bolivia (around 50 mln tons per year), while the distance between Russia’s Far Eastern ports and the coast of western Mexico is nearly 9,000 km.

 

Izvestia: Palestine, Israel facing yet another escalation of tensions

The recent escalation in Palestine is unlikely to cause a full-scale clash between Israel and radical Arab organizations, according to experts interviewed by Izvestia. Israeli troops carried out an operation in the West Bank on October 5. According to official data, more than 190 people were injured. There were also casualties on the part of the Israeli security forces.

"The Israeli government bears full and direct responsibility for the consequences of the escalation," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said. Israel's position, in turn, is that the troops are countering the terrorist threat in the region.

Palestinian journalist and former political prisoner Esmat Mansour told Izvestia that the current events show that Israel's policy is based on only one option for interaction with the Palestinians - even greater violence against them. Because of this, the situation is only getting worse, he believes.

"The ultra-right leadership of Israel pursues the most understandable goal - to annex those Palestinian territories that they can. There is the political will and the military potential for this, and there are no restraining mechanisms on the part of the international community. Therefore, as far as possible, Israel will expand its sovereignty into the territory of Palestine," Sergey Melkonyan of the Department for the Study of Israel and Jewish Communities at the Institute of Asian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences told Izvestia.

At the same time, Boris Dolgov, researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Asian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that the current escalation will not lead to a serious and widespread conflict between Israel and radical Palestinian organizations, mainly because the Arab world is split regarding the Palestinian problem.

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