MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. France and other Western states have backed a wave of recognition of Palestine at the UN General Assembly; Russia may continue adhering to New START nuclear limits for one year after the treaty lapsing in 2026; and Moscow and Washington are preparing a third round of talks to reduce bilateral tensions. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Vedomosti: Israel under diplomatic strain as Western nations acknowledge Palestine
On September 22, France became another nation in the latest wave to join the recognition of the independent State of Palestine on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, with the announcement made by French President Emmanuel Macron. According to Ofer Bronstein, special adviser to the French leader on Middle Eastern affairs, such recognition is expected to spark a "small diplomatic tsunami," prompting more states to acknowledge Palestine. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti believe that Western recognition of Palestine is mainly symbolic, but could paradoxically obstruct the creation of a viable Palestinian state while pushing Israel to expand settlements rather than engage in peace negotiations.
According to Politico, Macron’s goal is indeed to motivate other Western states to grant recognition. The French move is based on Macron’s personal stance, head of the Section for Regional Issues and Conflicts in the Department of European Political Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Pavel Timofeev told Vedomosti.
Recognition from the UK, France, Canada, Australia, and Portugal is largely symbolic - while it may slightly boost the international standing of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), it is unlikely to produce major changes "on the ground," research fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Lyudmila Samarskaya told the newspaper.
Pavel Timofeev agreed that the step is mostly symbolic. "According to France’s concept, if moderate groups win elections in Gaza and Hamas is sidelined, this will enable Western nations to deliver financial and other backing to a 'democratic Gaza', steering it toward dialogue with Israel under a two-state framework," the expert noted.
Samarskaya added that "this new recognition wave also shows the decline of Israel’s foreign policy standing, particularly among European states. While personal sanctions carry little influence, any EU economic restrictions against Israel would be highly sensitive, since the union is one of Jerusalem’s top trading partners. Yet such measures are unlikely to be serious. The psychological effect would be far greater."
At the same time, Samarskaya stressed that the ongoing wave of recognition complicates the chances of building a viable Palestinian state, giving grounds for implementing the Knesset’s decision to annex the West Bank. Although extending Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank or even part of it appears too risky given the Abraham Accords with Arab states, expanding settlements in response may well be the path Israel opts for, she suggested.
Izvestia: Russia shows readiness to maintain New START limits for one year after expiry
Russia is willing to adhere to the key restrictions of the New START Treaty for one year after its expiry in February 2026, President Vladimir Putin announced during a meeting with members of the Security Council. According to the president, Moscow is prepared to take this step in order to avoid provoking a strategic arms race. At the same time, Putin acknowledged that the situation in the field of strategic stability keeps worsening. Experts believe the Russian leader’s remarks are a signal of intent to preserve New START and negotiate new agreements. However, further dialogue will depend on Washington’s willingness to consider the arsenals of NATO allies - namely, France and the United Kingdom.
"Russia is ready, after February 5, 2026, to continue for one year to uphold the central quantitative limits of the New START Treaty. Thereafter, based on an assessment of the situation, we will make a decision regarding the future maintenance of these voluntary self-restrictions," Putin declared.
In early 2021, the two sides prolonged the treaty until February 5, 2026. It was expected that during this period, Russia and the United States would develop a document or a set of documents on strategic stability to succeed New START. Until February 2022, Moscow and Washington indeed held consultations, but with the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, that dialogue was suspended at Washington’s initiative.
Putin’s latest remarks represent a clear sign of readiness to resume such dialogue, research fellow at the Center for International Security of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Vasily Klimov told Izvestia. "Putin’s statement indicates readiness, taking into account the requirements set out in 2023, to preserve this vital arms control agreement and to begin negotiations on arrangements that would replace New START," the expert said.
Nevertheless, rapprochement between Russia and the United States on issues of strategic stability is still distant, Director of the Center for Military and Economic Studies at the Higher School of Economics’ Institute of World Military Economy and Strategy Prokhor Tebin said. "Tense relations between Russia and the West remain. As for the United States, there are certain hopes for improvement, but they have not yet led to a substantial change in the situation," the expert emphasized.
Unless the United States agrees to include the nuclear arsenals of the United Kingdom and France and acknowledges the link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons, speaking of convergence in the sphere of strategic stability is premature, Vasily Klimov stressed.
Izvestia: Moscow and Washington seek to resume talks on easing bilateral tensions
Russia and the United States are currently coordinating the time and venue for the third round of consultations aimed at removing "irritants" in bilateral ties, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. The ministry stressed that it expects the meeting to occur soon. Following two previous rounds of talks, Moscow and Washington managed to resolve the most pressing issues, with the resumption of direct air service now priority on the agenda. Experts told Izvestia that the pause in negotiations has lasted too long and that a new impetus is necessary to revive the Russia-US dialogue.
"The timing and location of the third round of consultations on the so-called irritants in Russian-American relations are currently being coordinated. We expect them to take place in the near future," the Russian diplomatic service told Izvestia.
"Without delving into technical details, we would like to point out that the current agenda includes genuinely important matters, the resolution of which requires time, political will, and a certain sensitivity in conducting negotiations. This is why logistical parameters inevitably take a back seat," the Foreign Ministry underlined.
The pause in negotiations has been lengthy, and the initial drive toward restoring Russia-US relations that was visible earlier this year has faded, Valdai Club expert Andrey Kortunov told Izvestia. "Although these are technical issues, they depend on the overall climate of bilateral relations and on decisions made at the highest level," the expert noted.
Despite the difficulties of the Ukrainian settlement process, Moscow and Washington have already signaled interest in cooperation in several areas. Direct flights between Russia and the United States could be restored by the end of 2025, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Special Presidential Envoy on Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, suggested in mid-June.
A second promising area is space cooperation. Joint manned flights to the Moon with the United States are feasible, Deputy Director General for manned space programs at Roscosmos Sergey Krikalev told Izvestia.
Opportunities also remain open in the economic sphere. Putin previously declared Russia’s readiness to cooperate with the United States in the extraction of rare-earth metals. In March, Dmitriev told Izvestia that Moscow and Washington were holding discussions on joint projects in this sector.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Arab 'NATO' falters at start amid sharp splits, reliance on Israeli security ties
The concept of an "Arab NATO," proposed by Egypt in response to Israeli strikes on Qatar earlier this month, has collapsed at the stage of initial discussions. Experts doubt that Gulf states will abandon the Abraham Accords, noting that Israel’s supply of advanced surveillance technologies has made regional security structures heavily reliant on Israeli intelligence, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Sources from the Emirati newspaper The National reported that the recent summit of the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Qatar was expected to focus on the idea of an "Arab NATO." According to their information, the proposal was submitted by Egypt in response to the Israeli strikes on Qatar on September 9. Under this project, a military bloc based on the LAS could have been formed, with forces able to operate on land, in the air, and at sea, in order to counter existential threats.
Middle Eastern and North African states were unable to reach consensus on the idea of an "Arab NATO," sources told the Qatari portal The Middle East Eye (MEE). According to them, the process stalled due to several factors, including disputes among Arab actors over who could take command of the bloc’s forces. Egypt, as one of the key architects of the idea, maintained that it should oversee the military mechanism, while Saudi Arabia sought the same role, MEE’s sources said. Another version, previously circulated, claimed that the creation of the bloc was blocked by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who preferred an "Arab NATO" under Gulf leadership.
As a result, Arab states opted for the idea of diplomatic pressure on the administration of US President Donald Trump, which they believe wields the greatest influence over the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Contacts at Le Figaro within French intelligence working with the Persian Gulf expressed skepticism about the ability of Gulf players to fully give up the Abraham Accords. According to a Le Figaro source, the transfer of advanced Israeli spyware to Arab countries had been a central element of Israeli diplomacy for over a decade. The source warned that Israeli intelligence services had invested so deeply in the security framework of the Gulf that regional players are now completely dependent on them.
Vedomosti: Gold hits record peak of over $3,750 as Fed relaxes policy and dollar weakens
The price of gold futures on the New York Comex exchange on September 22 climbed past $3,750 per ounce for the first time in history, rising 1.23% in Monday morning trading to $3,751.5. Previously, the precious metal had set a record on September 17, when it rose above $3,744 following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time this year by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 4-4.25% annually. Analysts interviewed by Vedomosti agree that gold’s rally is driven by Fed easing, declining faith in the dollar, central banks’ reserve diversification, and geopolitical risks.
The upward movement in gold prices has persisted for three years and is being supported by three key factors, Alexander Golovtsov, head of the analytical department at PSB Asset Management explained. First, the global cycle of monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve has ended, giving way to monetary easing: interest rates in advanced economies and in China are approaching zero, heightening inflation risks and increasing the appeal of gold as a store of value. Second, the situation with Russian currency reserves has pushed many central banks to boost their gold holdings while cutting their exposure to the dollar and the euro. Third, concerns over fiscal stability in the US and other advanced economies have undermined confidence in paper currencies overall and strengthened the desire of investors to diversify into tangible assets, the expert concluded.
Gold prices are rising primarily due to expectations of further Fed rate cuts, as the US economy shows signs of cooling, senior analyst at Sinara Investment Bank Sergey Krivokhizhin told the newspaper. This is happening against the backdrop of a weakening US dollar, which typically supports commodity markets and gold.
Analysts at Finam also identified geopolitics as one of the factors bolstering gold’s appeal as a safe-haven asset. The conflict in the Middle East is far from resolved, while tensions surrounding Venezuela are also escalating, Finam analyst Nikolay Dudchenko noted.
The current price reflects waning trust in the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency, director of the wealth management department at AF Capital Ruslan Klyshko said. Accordingly, the forecasts of major banks anticipate a price range of $3,800-4,000 per ounce by the end of the year, with the possibility of surpassing these levels under favorable conditions, the expert believes.
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