MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Vladimir Putin delivers major foreign policy statements at a Valdai Discussion Club session; Russian air defenses are capable of repelling Ukraine’s potential use of US missiles; and Hamas seeks to introduce changes to Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. These stories topped Friday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Vedomosti: Putin makes key foreign policy statements at Valdai Club session

Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the features of the emerging multipolar world in his address at the annual session of the Valdai International Discussion Club. He spoke harshly of European countries and stressed the need to revive relations with the US, noting, however, that if Washington sent Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, another round of escalation would follow, Vedomosti reports.

Putin’s criticism of European politicians and a lack of similar direct criticism of Donald Trump shows his understanding of the special responsibility for maintaining global security that Russia and the United States share, Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Director Ruslan Pukhov noted. This gives hope that Moscow and Washington will be able to prevent negative scenarios in Europe that its current leaders may create, the expert added.

There are no real prospects in sight to overcome the crisis in relations between Russia and the EU during the current European electoral cycle that will last until 2027, when France is set to hold its presidential election, political scientist Alexey Makarkin said. "Moscow’s relations with European capitals are very bad, and they cannot be mended in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the United States is unwilling to cut off dialogue with Russia, regardless of the statements that Trump made recently," the analyst observed.

Even setting aside the Ukraine crisis, Moscow and Washington have a common agenda for consultations at the level of diplomatic workers, which particularly includes the issue of Russian property on US territory. As for Europe, discussions of both political matters and technical aspects have been shut down, Makarkin emphasized.

Putin paid much attention to the issues related to a multipolar world because he sees the positive trends of strengthening cooperation between countries, Alexander Kamkin, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, pointed out. BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are examples of such trends, but even outside of them, political processes are entering a completely different phase. According to Kamkin, the unipolar world has become a thing of the past and it’s not only Russia but also China and India that don’t want a return to a confrontation between two superpowers. That said, the "civilization states" are taking center stage in shaping the development of the global community in the coming centuries, the expert concluded.

 

Izvestia: Russian air defenses ready to counter Ukraine’s potential use of US missiles

Russian air defenses are capable of repelling all types of US missiles, experts told Izvestia, commenting on reports that the United States might approve the transfer of long-range Tomahawk and Barracuda missiles to Ukraine. Washington’s increasingly hostile policy towards Russia could be linked to its desire to exert pressure on Moscow.

Konstantin Sukhoverkhov, program manager at the Russian International Affairs Council, noted that discussions of missile deliveries should be viewed both in military and political terms. "Washington realizes that the cruise missile issue involves not only military operations but also its bilateral ties with Moscow. This is why the US military and political advisors are assessing all possible risks," the expert explained.

The Ukrainian armed forces are unlikely to obtain the advanced Barracuda systems in the near future, military expert Dmitry Kornev believes. "Neither launchers nor the Barracuda missiles themselves are produced on a large scale at the moment, as trials aren’t completed yet. They haven’t even been adopted by the US army," he said. As for the Tomahawk cruise missiles, "launchers are scarce and the US itself has not yet started the full-scale deployment of these systems, so Washington is unlikely to export them at the expense of its own forces," Kornev added. Meanwhile, Europe could support the US initiative by expanding the supplies of British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles, the expert noted.

Russian air defenses can effectively destroy both US and European missiles, said military experts. "Cruise missiles are troublesome targets," military expert Yury Lyamin admitted. "The main difficulty in intercepting them is their low flight altitude, which complicates detection by radars, as well as their ability to follow complex routes to the target and bypass air defense systems. This is what the Ukrainian army needs US intelligence for. However, we know how to deal with them. In particular, air defense forces will more frequently change their positions, and also employ other methods. This is the adversary our systems have been built against since the Soviet era," he explained.

Russian air defense forces will face a difficult challenge if such missiles are delivered to Ukraine in large numbers, but it will not alter the situation on the battlefield, experts emphasized.

 

Izvestia: Hamas seeks to make adjustments to Trump’s plan for Gaza

The prospects for a peace agreement on the Gaza Strip are once again uncertain. Hamas members disagree with US President Donald Trump’s plan to resolve the situation in the enclave and want to introduce modifications, which Israel is certain to reject. The group insists on a staged release of Israeli hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the entire strip, except for the buffer zone on the border with Israel, and the transfer of its weapons to Arab mediators, Izvestia writes.

"The problem is that the longer the conflict lasts, the more polarized the positions of the sides become. The only option is that the countries backing Hamas and its sympathetic governments cease their support for the group," said Middle East expert Andrey Ontikov. According to him, if Hamas feels isolated, some diplomatic progress may be achieved.

Danila Krylov, researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, pointed out that neither side was willing to reconcile. "However, Hamas has been put in a difficult position, where all of its peace initiatives are being ignored, the mediation efforts of Egypt and Qatar have been cut short, and essentially, the recent attack on Doha made it quite clear to Qatar what Israel thinks about its mediation efforts," the expert stressed.

The political scientist added that in light of recent events, Hamas members were unlikely to alter anything because Trump pursued a very tough approach. "He has already threatened them with consequences. Besides, Israel maintains an absolutely categorical, unconstructive and non-negotiating stance," the specialist emphasized. In his opinion, a peace agreement may be reached but, like all previous ones, it won’t last long. "Both sides will fail to respect the agreement but will distort it, that’s for sure, simply judging by the situation on the front. In fact, it’s not that important how Hamas will view a potential ceasefire but how the Israeli authorities will handle it because if Israel supports a truce but fails to respect it, nothing will depend on Hamas’ policy," the expert concluded.

 

Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Analysts evaluate likelihood of Bitcoin price reaching $1 million

It will be difficult for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency - Bitcoin - to rise in value almost ten-fold and hit the $1 million mark, which is what Telegram messenger founder Pavel Durov anticipates. However, if the cryptocurrency succeeds in becoming part of the traditional financial system and even being included in state reserves, it could both increase in price and be at least partially freed of its image as a highly volatile asset, Rossiyskaya Gazeta observes.

Bitcoin is currently trading at about $120,000, which is quite close to the record high of $123,500 that it reached in August.

"There are actually no grounds for Bitcoin’s price to climb to $1 million at this stage, even if financial regulators establish conditions for that," said Gennady Fofanov, director general of the InvoiceCafe investment platform. According to him, Bitcoin is an extremely volatile cryptocurrency; its price has repeatedly surged and plummeted, influenced by both remarks by political figures and the overall macroeconomic climate. "Even taking into account that its present price is nearly $120,000, it is a long and challenging path to reach the $1 million level, given its volatility and sensitivity to outside factors," Fofanov underlined.

Still, the decision by leading countries to legalize cryptocurrencies could provide certain prospects for Bitcoin. The recent measures taken by the United States are an example of such gradual acceptance: in the summer, bills were adopted in the US that define the legal framework of cryptocurrencies and regulate stablecoins (digital assets linked to national currencies or other assets).

"Bitcoin is overly dependent on external influences. If the US continues a policy of legalization, it will reduce its volatility, but so far, we don’t observe any significant progress in this regard," Fofanov emphasized.

Some have started to compare Bitcoin with gold, particularly because the cryptocurrency may gain a place in central bank reserves by 2030, Deutsche Bank noted. "The issue of cryptocurrencies' integration into government reserves is becoming important as central banks aim to diversify their assets to lessen reliance on traditional currencies such as the US dollar. Still, Bitcoin’s portion will clearly remain small, about 2% of the total," the expert concluded.

 

Media: Geopolitics continues to shape oil prices

Oil prices continue to steadily decline. Experts interviewed by Izvestia agree that the factors influencing energy prices are a mix of contradictions tied to the economy, politics and market expectations.

"Geopolitical forces will keep weighing on oil prices in the remaining months of 2025, along with trade wars that alter supply chains and affect the volume of fuel used for cargo transportation, as well as restrictions on the production and export of oil and petroleum products and the potential accumulation of resources for stable supplies to local markets," said Tamara Safonova, associate professor with the Institute of Economics, Mathematics and Information Technology of the Russian Presidential Academy.

Market participants currently aren’t as sensitive to developments in the Middle East as they were a year ago, Finam analyst Nikolay Dudchenko noted. However, the issue of Iran’s nuclear program remains unresolved. In addition, Israel continues to draw other countries into an international conflict (particularly through its recent strikes on Qatar). Besides, in the expert’s view, tensions have begun to intensify around Venezuela.

The prospects for sustaining Russian oil exports look reliable at this point, said experts interviewed by Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "Sanctions against tankers have had a very limited impact on export revenues. Numerous vessels continue to openly transport Russian oil. Sanctions raise transportation costs and hinder the process, but they don’t block the use of ships. After three years of confrontation, mechanisms have been developed quite well to use such tankers," Alexander Firanchuk, senior researcher with the Laboratory of International Trade at the Gaidar Institute, remarked.

"Most major buyers of Russian oil will continue to purchase Russian energy under almost any scenario. China is in a state of a permanent trade war with the US, so the threat of Western sanctions doesn't matter much for it. India did not stop Russian oil imports even after the US imposed tariffs, and the country’s government has repeatedly stated that it will choose sources of import on its own," Finam analyst Sergey Kaufman pointed out.

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