MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. The US avoids direct involvement in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, Israel seeks to establish full control over the Gaza Strip, and BRICS is reshaping its trade ties in response to tariff pressure from the US. These stories topped Friday's headlines across Russia.
Media: US avoids direct involvement in security guarantees for Ukraine
Washington is steering clear of direct participation in the discussion of guarantees for Kiev. Meanwhile, the European Union is seeking to stall the settlement process that began in Anchorage, Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s committee on international affairs, told Izvestia. When discussing security guarantees for Ukraine, proposals were reiterated to deploy military contingents there, which is unacceptable for Moscow. Additionally, Sergey Lavrov said that no guarantees can be discussed without the Russian Federation. That said, the Kiev regime is already dictating its terms to the allies: it expects their specific proposals by the end of August. At the same time, Ukraine is doing everything to disrupt the peace process: it is increasing pressure on Eastern Orthodox believers, calling for the destruction of all things Russian and delaying the transfer of detained residents of the Kursk region. The EU, like Ukraine, is trying to negotiate better terms for itself, experts say.
By dragging out the settlement process, Europe is trying to ensure that the conflict ends on its terms, Kamran Gasanov, an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council, told Izvestia.
"Three aspects are important for Europe. First of all, not breaching transatlantic solidarity, secondly, Russia not appearing victorious after this peace, and thirdly, Ukraine ending the conflict without losing face, being, essentially, a European project after the Euromaidan," he said.
"Zelensky is demonstrating that he has made a choice. After some period of reflection and meetings with his European accomplices, he decided not to comply with the requirements and conditions that were put forward by Putin and Trump in Alaska," Gevorg Mirzayan, associate professor at the Department of Mass Communications and Media Business of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.
"Certainly, there are many forces in Ukraine that are interested in disrupting the negotiation process. Zelensky's regime is clinging to power with all its might. A whole coalition has formed around the idea of a ‘war to the last Ukrainian,’ extracting political and economic dividends from the continued escalation," Diplomatic Academy Vice Principal Oleg Karpovich told Izvestia.
Russia has never rejected the provisions of the 2022 Istanbul Accords except for the territorial part, Nikolay Silayev, leading researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said in a conversation with Vedomosti. In his opinion, at the Anchorage summit, an option may have been voiced where Russia proposes that the Ukrainian army leave the part of Donbass remaining under its control and additionally concurs with security guarantees to Ukraine from the Istanbul Accords. The expert believes that the US side, in turn, "picked up" that idea and began discussing it with the Europeans and Zelensky. "That said, had Trump wanted to abandon support for Ukraine, he would have done so already. He cannot do so because the issue of the US military presence in Europe is tied to this, which is the cornerstone of the US foreign policy and international influence," he explained.
At the instigation of the Europeans, the issue of security guarantees has turned into some sort of wish list when, disregarding what Russia and the US are saying, they began to enshrine their desires, Silayev added. At the Washington summit, the Americans discovered that if Russia’s stance is flexible, that of the Ukrainians and Europeans is not, and they continue to put forth demands as if they are about to win. However, the US has neither accessible ways, nor, apparently, any desire to make them accept Russia’s position, the expert believes. "When the Europeans and Ukrainians began listing their wishes, the Russian Foreign Ministry should have reiterated that Russia’s stance completely diverges with theirs. As a result, the possibility of a compromise was perceived only by the US after Alaska," Silayev concluded.
Izvestia: IDF announces taking control of Gaza City outskirts
Israel has announced its intention to establish full control over Gaza City and eliminate Hamas. It has already launched an offensive on the largest settlement of the exclave, with the outskirts of the city now under the control of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The operation is accompanied by the mobilization of tens of thousands of reservists and threatens serious consequences both for the military structures of the Palestinian movement and the civilian population. That said, even with military losses, Hamas is able to regain strength, and a humanitarian catastrophe will only increase international pressure on the Jewish state. A new operation in a densely populated city may also lead to casualties among the living hostages.
According to Palestinian political analyst Hani Salah, Israel has effectively moved from discussing partial agreements to seeking a comprehensive accord.
"Israel's stance, promoted through intermediaries, contains nothing fundamentally new except the demand for the disarmament and surrender of Hamas, and negotiations do not yield real breakthroughs," the expert told Izvestia.
Salah emphasized that current discussions are being conducted in line with Israel's desire to reach the goals that it failed to achieve militarily. In his opinion, a plan agreed with Israel and the United States to train police forces in Egypt for subsequent control of Gaza is currently being considered.
According to Eastern studies expert Leonid Tsukanov, the main task that Netanyahu presents to society is to completely end the conflict in Gaza on Israeli terms. That said, the country will actively use diplomatic channels, leaving Hamas the opportunity to make concessions without combat, the expert noted.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: BRICS reshapes trade in response to US tariffs
Reacting to tariff pressure from the United States, BRICS countries are reorganizing their trade and economic ties. China’s rapid switch to buying Brazilian soybeans instead of American supplies is a clear example. Now, US agrarians are beginning to realize that they will have no buyers for their harvest.
Washington has quickly secured a profitable deal on European imports of energy products. However, it is not working out with China, India and Russia. In addition to new terms on oil purchases, Russia has proposed several new projects to the Indians.
Russia continues deliveries of oil, petroleum products and coal to India, while exploring the potential of supplying liquefied natural gas, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said. Since June 2022, Russia has been a leading supplier in oil exports to India.
India’s participation in developing new transport corridors, such as the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), will boost the further expansion of Russian-Indian trade ties, Manturov stated.
It is possible that industrial cooperation will grow as well. For instance, the Russian first deputy prime minister spoke about a project for a Russian-Indian high-speed train that will be manufactured at Indian enterprises within the framework of the Make in India initiative "specifically for national railways."
He pointed out that Russian-Indian trade turnover has increased seven-fold over five years, with the country "being in the top three of our major foreign trade partners."
Vedomosti: Trump’s party attracts more new members than Democrats
In 30 US states where the registration of members of the two main parties is monitored, Republicans are ahead of Democrats in terms of new members, the New York Times (NYT) reported, describing the 2020-2024 period. During this timeframe, the Republican Party has attracted 2.4 million new members, while the Democrats have lost 2.1 million registered members over these four years.
Today, the Republican Party represents normalcy compared to what the Democrats are offering, as well as a systemic approach and a vision for the future, said Pavel Dubravsky, head of Dubravsky Consulting. The Democrats cannot explain to voters how the country will develop going forward, he believes. Pandering to minorities instead of promoting unity, the inconsistent nature of economic policy, ignoring US foreign interests and dragging the country into international conflicts, in Dubravsky’s opinion, brought the Democrats down. "In turn, the Republicans learned to use propaganda instruments," he said.
In terms of midterm elections, the Republicans have a chance to maintain a majority in both houses of US Congress. Traditionally, at midterms, the presidential party almost always loses seats in the House of Representatives but keeps a majority in the Senate. And the Republicans will do everything to retain power, believes Vladimir Vasilyev, a senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies. In his opinion, to this end, the Republicans will use administrative resources, try to ban mail-in voting and redraw electoral district borders in their states to maximize their advantage.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russian apps become multiservice platforms
More messaging services are introducing additional options such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI), payments or access to content. Some banks have already launched money transfers via Russia’s Faster Payments System (SBP) over MAX, while WhatsApp (belongs to Meta, which has been designated an extremist organization in Russia) is testing a function that allows AI to write a text for a user.
Yevgeny Osadchuk, director for the artificial intelligence track at the Digital Economy autonomous non-profit organization, noted that Russia is now transitioning to developing "superapps" and multiservice AI platforms.
On domestic platforms, the range of services continues to be fine-tuned and expanded, with systems created encompassing various spheres of users’ daily life. That said, both business services and platforms providing state services are evolving, Osadchuk pointed out. According to the expert, Russia is becoming one of the leaders of this shift, both in the commercial and the state sectors.
Valery Konyavsky, head of the information security department at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), noted that the protection level of personal data may decrease if AI is simply added mechanically. "But that does not mean that one cannot use AI in messaging services. It is definitely necessary because its introduction can substantially increase the quality of information interaction. Information flows are more important than protection, while the necessary security level must be ensured by information security specialists," the expert explained.
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