MOSCOW, July 24. /TASS/. Moscow and Kiev wrapped up a third round of talks in Istanbul, protests erupted in Ukraine over Zelensky’s new bill, and Donald Trump pushed through a sweeping trade deal with Japan. These stories topped Thursday's headlines across Russia.

 

Vedomosti: Russia, Ukraine discuss mutual memorandums, humanitarian issues in Istanbul

A third round of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev in 2025 wrapped up in Istanbul. The negotiations lasted about 40 minutes. According to Russian news agencies, the round will not be resumed. The talks were held in Russian.

Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led Moscow’s delegation, said that the humanitarian agreements concluded at the second round of the talks had been fulfilled. In particular, Russia returned to Kiev the bodies of over 7,000 Ukrainian officers and soldiers.

Ahead of the negotiations, the Kremlin said that discussions with the Ukrainian side will involve the issues related to those draft memorandums exchanged during the second round as well as the continuation of the vital process of mutual swaps. The two delegations exchanged the memorandums on June 2. On July 23, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that they are "diametrically opposing."

For instance, an immediate ceasefire demanded by Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia as Moscow considers it a pause for the Ukrainian army, Nikolay Silayev, senior research fellow at the Institute for International Studies of MGIMO University, told Vedomosti. It won’t be possible to bring closer the positions on political issues, noted Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics Dmitry Suslov. Ukraine insists on the agenda with the immediate ceasefire and preparations for a meeting between leaders in order to signal to US President Donald Trump that Moscow is unreliable.

 

Izvestia: Zelensky’s new bill displeases Ukraine, West

The Kiev regime’s Western allies will most likely link the failure of Ukraine’s summer military campaign with its domestic corruption problems. However, one should not expect that NATO and EU countries will completely halt their aid to Kiev, experts polled by Izvestia said, even though the sources of foreign media outlets insist that the bill that restricts the authority of anti-corruption agencies approved by Vladimir Zelensky would undermine the West’s intention to sponsor Ukraine.

This decision has already triggered widespread public backlash in Ukrainian society, as well as sharp criticism by European officials.

According to the law that came into force on July 23, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has jurisdiction over prosecutors from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, which allows him to influence the activities of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Additionally, the law lifts the ban on transferring cases from the Bureau to other agencies, meaning the prosecutor general can now reassign cases to other prosecutors. This effectively weakens the independence of both agencies.

Zelensky’s actions will have major consequences for him and his regime when it turns out that the summer-fall military campaign was a failure, believes former Verkhovna Rada deputy Spiridon Kilinkarov.

"It is obvious that Western partners do not want to take on responsibility for Ukraine’s failure and one of their arguments as to why it lost will be, most likely, the issue of corruption. Politically, Zelensky even played up to his Western partners because it will be very difficult for them to just pin the blame on someone. This will also affect Ukraine’s chances of joining the EU," Kilinkarov explained.

However, cash flows from the West to Ukraine will not instantly stop.

"This is because they are supporting not so much specifically Zelensky, but the pro-Western, anti-Russian regime," researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries Alexander Dudchak told Izvestia.

The resolution of strategic problems is more important for Western countries than fighting corruption in Ukraine, believes Alexey Fenenko, professor with Moscow State University’s Faculty of World Politics.

"Ukraine for the West is the guarantee of the Soviet Union not being restored. They will continue to help regardless of Zelensky’s decisions. This is our great misperception and mistake - to hope that over such trifles the West would abandon supporting Ukraine," Fenenko noted.

According to the expert, in this situation, Kiev’s allies will limit themselves to verbal condemnation yet will not radically change their policy course with regard to support for Ukraine. As for its accession to the EU, the expert is certain that in any case, this issue is not on the table for the European Union in the foreseeable future.

 

Vedomosti: Trump secures Japan investment in lopsided trade agreement

US President Donald Trump has announced the conclusion of a "massive deal" with Tokyo on his Truth Social network. According to him, Japan will invest $550 billion in the US "which will receive 90% of the profits," while tariffs on goods from that country will amount to 15%, instead of 25% that Japan was potentially facing beginning on August 1. "This deal will create hundreds of thousands of jobs," he emphasized. The US leader specified that Tokyo will open its economy for trade, including cars and trucks, rice, and other goods.

Any profit for Japan can only be seen if one compares 15% tariffs with hypothetical 25%, but not with 2.5%, including motor vehicles, as it was before Trump’s arrival in the White House, noted Viktor Kuzminkov, leading researcher at the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Japanese ended up conceding on this deal, the expert believes.

He noted that, so far, it is absolutely not obvious which benefits Tokyo may obtain in return for its concessions. Additionally, the White House is increasing pressure on Japan in order to raise its military expenditures to 3.5% of GDP while currently, it is planning to bring them to 2% by 2027. In the current fragile economic situation, the country simply has no funds for this, while the opposition demands to lower taxes. Overall, Japan is currently at a crossroads before major changes in its domestic and, most likely, foreign policy, Kuzminkov concluded.

In the case with the Philippines and Japan, Trump very skillfully transformed a military factor into the economic one, believes Vladimir Vasilyev, senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies. And, possibly, by concluding not the most lucrative deals for themselves, the Japanese tried to "buy their way out" of additional expenses, including those in the containment of China. It still remains to be seen whether this works, as this issue will not become less pressing for the US with time, and it will continue using all possible pressure tools on China, including fostering wary attitudes toward the Chinese in Indonesia and boosting the Asia-Pacific region’s military infrastructure, the expert explained.

 

Kommersant: UN approves obligatory nature of climate treaties

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, issued its advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change on July 23.

Essentially, the UN’s principal judicial body ruled that the treaties in this sphere must be implemented and are not of the advisory nature. Thus, the climate agenda has been taken to a global level. At unprecedented preliminary hearings with the participation of 96 countries at once, Russia stood against establishing any binding decisions in the climate sphere. The UN court de facto disagreed with this stance. According to experts, its decision, for instance, will provide an opportunity to raise claims against the countries that do not fulfill their obligations or completely reject them. That said, risks emerge that, instead of joint actions on climate, the countries may begin litigating with each other.

Mikhail Yulkin, an expert at the International Sustainable Energy Development Center under the auspices of UNESCO, told Kommersant that although the UN court’s decision is not legally binding, it nonetheless introduces a document that establishes legal consequences for countries that violate climate commitments.

Specifically, it opens the door to legal challenges over the absence of national climate legislation, the lack of clear goals in this area, or the absence of mechanisms for regulating emissions. It also enables countries to file claims against others that fail to meet their obligations, particularly within the framework of joint climate initiatives.

The expert cautions that under such circumstances, the risks of the countries presenting mutual claims emerge. Instead of taking steps to lower the collective impact on climate, the countries may start suing each other. According to the expert, another risk is that certain countries, including Russia, may refuse to implement the UN court’s decision and the consequences of such isolation will hinder incoming investment and foreign trade.

 

Kommersant: Global diamond industry to rebound within 18 months amid growing shortage

The recovery of the diamond market, currently undergoing a downturn, is anticipated within a year or a year and a half, while the price hike is expected in two to three years. The shortage of stones on the market will stimulate this. However, the positive trend may involve only the diamonds from 1 karat. A mass segment will remain under pressure due to growing sales of synthetic stones and problems with production and geological prospecting.

"India’s demand for diamond raw materials alone is annually assessed at 110-115 million karats. That said, new lapidary centers are being developed, deferred demand is being shaped by clients at the developing markets getting wealthier amid tightened trade restrictions," Head of Equity Market Research at Alfa-Bank Boris Krasnozhenov explained. Russia’s diamond industry will also benefit from this tendency, as the market capacity of friendly China will allow Russia to deliver all these products in that direction.

The lack of diamonds will also trigger rising prices. "One should not expect a sudden hike, but the prices will stabilize within two-three years," believes Vladimir Loshkarev of Finam Management. According to Kept’s assessments, by 2027, the price of a jewelry-grade rough diamond may grow by 51% from current levels, up to $189 per karat.

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