MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Kiev is set to disrupt talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict; the G20 summit in Johannesburg boosts Africa’s global role; and the White House wages a psychological war against Venezuela’s president. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Media: Kiev poised to disrupt talks on resolving Ukraine conflict

Efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict have been significantly stepped up, with Moscow and Kiev receiving Washington’s peace plan. However, the risk is quite high that the negotiation process will be disrupted. Brussels and Kiev are making no secret of their outrage at some provisions of the plan, seeking to work out their own proposals that would be more pro-Ukrainian, Izvestia reports.

Meanwhile, Kiev may carry out terrorist attacks or false-flag operations in order to divert attention from Ukraine’s corruption scandal or create a "deadly environment" for the talks promoted by the US, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-Large tasked with overseeing the Kiev regime’s crimes, told the newspaper.

The Geneva consultations between the delegations of the US, Ukraine and the EU could possibly produce another edition of the plan, which Russia would find unacceptable, Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute of Contemporary State Development, warned.

By working on their own version of the plan to settle the conflict, the Europeans are deliberately seeking to complicate or even disrupt the negotiation process, Pavel Feldman, professor at the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, believes. "London and Brussels are pretending that there are alternative proposals to the 28-point US plan, which deserve equal attention. However, in fact, they are imposing a document written to Zelensky’s dictation on the negotiators, which is absolutely out of touch with reality," the expert stressed.

That said, the negotiation process may be delayed by coordination procedures and bureaucratic red tape. This would suit the Europeans perfectly, as they are interested in prolonging the military phase of the conflict as much as possible, Feldman emphasized. Now, the Americans need to summon the will to prevent the EU from manipulating the negotiations.

A routine diplomatic process is currently underway as the negotiators have not yet fully developed the modalities of a potential agreement, Andrey Yevseyenko, deputy director for research at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, told Vedomosti. According to him, US President Donald Trump could make concessions to the Europeans and Ukrainians. "However, this will not be the case if the EU and Kiev present him with unacceptable conditions, further complicating the negotiation process," Yevseyenko said. This is why it is too early to expect even any interim results from another effort by Trump to find a solution to the conflict. Still, even if Kiev and Washington fail to reach an understanding at this stage, talks will continue, the analyst added.

 

Media: G20 summit in Johannesburg boosts Africa’s global role

Participants in the G20 summit in the South African city of Johannesburg adopted an impressive joint declaration. Meanwhile, an increase in the global role of the African continent and South Africa in particular may be described as the main result of the event, said experts interviewed by Izvestia. South Africa managed to make sure that the declaration includes provisions on the issues facing not only African nations but other countries of the Global South as well.

The G20 summit further strengthened and expanded the global role of the African continent particularly because the African Union, where South Africa also has an important role, joined the group as an observer, Russian International Affairs Council expert Leonid Tsukanov pointed out. "Combining cooperation on two platforms made it possible to more effectively promote the ideas and projects that are relevant for Africa, and also to focus on the issues related to the region’s economic development," he specified.

South Africa plays an important role for other African nations because unlike other countries, it has access to major international platforms, said Lora Chkonia, junior researcher with the program dubbed "Africa in the focus of Russian interests" at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Meanwhile, Alexey Kuznetsov, director and chief researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences, told Vedomosti that the Group of 20 is currently going through a deep crisis and cannot be seen as an effective tool for resolving global political issues. A confrontation between the so-called collective West and BRICS countries is clear on the platform. The ongoing formation of a new world order is the main reason behind the crisis, the analyst explained.

However, despite the signs of crisis, it would be too early to say that the G20 format is collapsing. In the expert’s view, although some leaders actually boycotted the South Africa summit, still, none of them is ready to withdraw from the G20.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: White House wages psychological war against Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro turned 63 on November 23. His birthday was marred by the ongoing US naval buildup in the Caribbean Sea and alarming media reports that Washington could attack Venezuela any minute, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Judging by media leaks, the US military presented several options to the country’s president, which include strikes on naval targets and operations expanded to hit land targets, which the White House would later link to terrorists and drug traffickers in order to justify the attacks. Besides, Maduro and his allies could also be targeted. Another option includes a large-scale military operation aimed at overthrowing the Venezuelan government.

Apart from the use of force, psychological pressure on Caracas also remains relevant for Washington. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on US plans to drop leaflets on the Latin American country in order to encourage the opposition to topple the president in an action that wouldn’t involve a direct attack on Venezuela.

Andrey Pyatakov, leading researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Latin American Studies, points out that the region is facing absolute uncertainty. "In such a situation, bogus stories and news leaks are being used as a tool in order to figure out how the other party will act," the analyst said. In his opinion, "the Venezuelan military is currently the main target of pressure as it usually has the final say in political decision-making," he explained.

According to Pyatakov, the US is in no rush to make decisions at the moment because of the political situation. "This includes the failure of an Ecuadorian referendum on the military bases that the US wanted to build in the country, and the upcoming runoff presidential election in Chile. So far, the situation in the region does not appear favorable in terms of military operations against Venezuela," the expert concluded.

 

Vedomosti: Russia can help Africa forget about hunger

Russia is ready to help Africa resolve the food issue by providing grain, other agricultural products, and fertilizers, Yevgeny Primakov, head of the federal agency responsible for promoting international humanitarian cooperation, said at a Russia-African conference on food security held in the Ethiopian capital, Vedomosti reports.

According to Moscow’s Ambassador to Addis Ababa Yevgeny Teryokhin, over 20 million metric tons of Russian food products were provided to Africa in 2024, which amounts to 14% of the continent’s food imports. Notably, Russia covers up to one-third of Africa’s wheat, barley, and sunflower needs. However, despite substantial Russian supplies, Africa still urgently needs to increase exports and its own food production capacities.

Irina Abramova, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for African Studies, noted earlier that the situation arises mainly from environmental conditions that are less favorable for agriculture than in North America, Europe, and Russia. Another key factor is the low level of technological development in agriculture, clearly reflected in the limited use of fertilizers. In addition, 50 armed conflicts — 40% of the global number — are currently underway in Africa.

The Center for African Studies at Russia’s Higher School of Economics presented a report analyzing the obstacles to the continent’s food security. The document notes that a more intensive use of fertilizers and machinery could help address low soil fertility. Still, responsibility for food security lies mostly with African countries, which should promote innovation in agriculture. The report points out that Russia’s scientific capacity could help strengthen Africa’s food sovereignty.

Africa will see mass investment once there is a situation where land ownership is guaranteed, said Ivan Stakanov, an analyst with the Africa Studies Program at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Governments need to show political will to make that happen by prioritizing food security, the expert stressed. Besides, he highlighted the need for government subsidies, which are crucial for the development of the agricultural sector and technologies. Finally, if sanctions are eased, freight costs will decrease for Russian agricultural businesses, and supplies will grow, he added.

 

Kommersant: Bitcoin loses tariff war

Bitcoin’s price continued to decline last week, falling by over 10%. Other leading cryptocurrencies were also down. Experts see macroeconomic instability as the main reason amid faded investor hopes for the US Federal Reserve gradually lowering the key rate. In order to resume growth, the market needs a strong message about major rate cuts, Kommersant notes.

"The setback Bitcoin suffered was the most notable one in the past several months, and the reasons are primarily rooted in macroeconomics," Neomarkets KZ analyst Oleg Kalmanovich said. In the expert's view, the tariff wars launched by the new US administration are the key factor pressuring cryptocurrencies. "They have accelerated inflation, actually preventing the Federal Reserve from cutting the rates as fast as European regulators," Kalmanovich specified.

Besides, the US government shutdown has also weighed on cryptocurrencies, experts note. The absence of labor market and inflation data forced the US regulator to adopt an even more cautious approach to lowering the key rate, which further hindered stabilization of the cryptocurrency market.

According to experts, if the Federal Reserve maintains the current pace of rate cuts, Bitcoin’s price could slide further to $60,000 - $65,000.

Still, market participants believe that cryptocurrencies remain a popular asset. But for Bitcoin’s price to grow, the US regulator should send investors a message about its readiness for a sharper rate decrease. Besides, stabilization in the US market and the normalization of economic relations with other countries would also accelerate the recovery of cryptocurrency prices.

Meanwhile, Kalmanovich points out, "it’s crucial to break the current downward trend" and return Bitcoin to the level of at least $106,000 to ensure a change in market sentiment and the resumption of investor demand for Bitcoin.

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