MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. The dispute between the EU and the US over Greenland is intensifying; Trump’s Board of Peace is unlikely to replace the UN; and Russia will respond to British plans to intercept ships. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Media: Europe, US on brink of trade war over Greenland
The dispute between the EU and the US over Greenland is intensifying by the day. US President Donald Trump has already promised to impose tariffs on eight European countries that have announced plans to send troops to the island. Experts believe the tariff increase could provoke a new trade clash with the EU. Europe is developing countermeasures, including a review of the 2025 trade agreement with the US. At the same time, Europeans are trying to avoid escalation in every way, as confrontation with the Americans is not in their best interest, and they want to obtain security assurances for Ukraine at the upcoming Davos forum.
The EU is nervous about Trump's threats to impose tariffs on the eight largest European economies: the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, France, and Sweden. The tariff will be set at 10% from February 1 and 25% from June 1. Earlier, these countries announced plans to send troops to Greenland amid US territorial claims to the island. Slovenia later promised to send two officers, though Trump did not mention the country in his announcement.
"The US has the upper hand, so there is a high probability that the EU will receive new tariffs (and will be forced to accept them) and scrap its own. At the same time, disintegration processes in the EU will also intensify, and the EU’s potential collapse (albeit protracted) may also become a natural outcome of the new trade confrontation with the US," Mikhail Khachaturyan, an associate professor at the Russian Financial University’s Strategic and Innovative Development Department, told Izvestia.
In turn, Artur Demchuk, a leading researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ US and Canada Institute, noted in a comment to Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Europeans will most likely try to find a way to negotiate with the US president. "I don't yet see any serious leverage that Europeans could use to force Trump to abandon the idea of gaining control over Greenland. Another thing is how this control can be exercised. It seems to me that now the ambassadors of EU countries will consider what concessions they can make within the framework of European law that will at least minimally take into account the interests of European countries," the expert pointed out.
The Trump administration considers Europeans to be weak and disorganized, so it believes it can take the island and finalize a trade deal with the EU, Maxim Cherkashin, a research fellow at the Center for North American Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ World Economy and International Relations Institute, told Vedomosti. However, he pointed out that Trump's comments about annexing Greenland, which has already been closely linked to the US from a military and technical point of view for 80 years, may be aimed precisely at obtaining concessions from the EU in other areas, including trade.
Vedomosti: Can Donald Trump's Board of Peace replace UN?
The executive committee of the Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip, announced by US President Donald Trump on January 16, was not coordinated with Israel and contradicts its policy, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the following day. Israeli media noted that one reason for the Israeli authorities' dissatisfaction was the inclusion of representatives from Qatar and Turkey in the body, as Tel Aviv has tense relations with both countries due to the recent war in Gaza.
As a key element of Trump's peace plan to settle the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House announced the creation of a complex, three-tier governance structure for Gaza. The executive Board of Peace will sit at the top of the pyramid. It will be chaired by the US president and include his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, US Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gabriel, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, American billionaire Mark Rowan, and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also announced his invitation to the council. Presumably, each member will oversee a specific area, such as strengthening Gaza's administrative capacity, attracting investment to the region, and large-scale funding and capital mobilization.
The exact composition of the Board of Peace is not yet known. According to newspaper reports, Washington has sent invitations to participate to the leaders of 50 countries, including Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel.
However, the Board of Peace currently exists only on paper and has no real power to exert influence on the ground, experts told Vedomosti. The new institutions do not have clear functions and do not yet control the entire territory of the Palestinian enclave, Russian International Affairs Council program manager Ivan Bocharov noted. "In this territory, Hamas and other Palestinian groups do not yet have full control over Gaza. Under these conditions, I believe that in the foreseeable future, the Board of Peace and the Palestinian technocratic administration will not be able to launch their practical tasks," the expert added.
Izvestia: Russia to respond to UK’s plans to intercept ships
London's intentions to detain ships under sanctions will have serious consequences for global trade, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin stated. According to him, tankers will be escorted by security vessels, and some areas may be closed to shipping. Earlier, it became known that the UK government had prepared a legal basis for seizing ships under sanctions. Analysts believe that London will only be able to conduct joint operations with other countries. Meanwhile, Russia has the potential to prevent attacks and respond accordingly.
"This is a deliberate escalation of instability, the consequences of which for international law and order and world trade will be extremely serious. The result could be higher prices for raw materials and goods, as well as increased insurance costs for vessels. Security ships will appear," the Russian diplomat told Izvestia. "In addition, the market for services to counter illegal ship seizures will grow, as is the case in waters with an increased threat of pirate attacks. Shipping restrictions may emerge, as well as attempts to block critical straits and channels. This will pose a threat to the already unstable economies of European states," he pointed out.
"As far as we have been able to examine them, the hypothetical applicability of the parliamentary acts mentioned in this connection is not yet clear. In any case, whatever legal justifications the UK government's legal advisers come up with, stopping and seizing peaceful ships on the high seas, including under the pretext of their presence on illegitimate 'sanctions lists', is a gross violation of the fundamental principles and norms of international maritime law and the freedom of navigation," Kelin emphasized.
Russia has sufficient naval capabilities to prevent such hostile actions. Therefore, if necessary, the military could provide a similar escort for merchant ships as was done with convoys during World War II, Moscow Pedagogical State University’s History and Politics Institute Deputy Director Vladimir Shapovalov told Izvestia.
In addition to the UK, Sweden and Finland are demanding that the maritime transport of Russian oil and gas be made as difficult as possible. Both countries have asked the European Commission to include new restrictions in the upcoming 20th sanctions package. Stockholm and Helsinki are disrupting the comprehensive security system for shipping in the Baltic Sea with such actions, the Russian embassy in Sweden told Izvestia.
Izvestia: Canadian authorities prohibit businesses from any interaction with Russia
Ottawa is effectively prohibiting Canadian businesses from interacting with Russian counterparts, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov said. According to him, due to the actions of the Canadian authorities, trade between the countries has fallen to $98 million. Analysts believe that Ottawa may completely halt trading with Russia in the future. Against this backdrop, the US Congress has returned to considering a bill to impose prohibitive tariffs on Moscow's main trading partners. Experts consider the implementation of this initiative unlikely, as it would disrupt supply chains and cause a sharp rise in inflation in the US itself. The bill aims to exert pressure ahead of a new round of negotiations on Ukraine.
"The Canadian authorities are consistently and purposefully putting pressure on their own economic operators, de facto prohibiting any interaction with Russian counterparts. Entrepreneurs are being intimidated by equating any business contacts with Russia with ‘supporting the aggressor’," the diplomat told Izvestia.
In 2022, Ottawa began curtailing bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Russia by imposing a 35% tariff on Russian goods. Last year, Mark Carney's government restricted about 1,000 Russian goods. As a result, trade between Russia and Canada plummeted from $2.2 billion in 2021 to just $98 million in 2024, Stepanov recalled.
"Everyone in our country understands that the Canadian sanctions are mere fiction. They have no practical effect. It's political posturing aimed at part of the domestic audience and a demonstration of solidarity within the Russophobic Western club. Bilateral relations between us are already frozen. The responsibility for the consequences of this shortsighted policy lies entirely with the Canadian leadership," the Russian ambassador emphasized.
"If it chooses, Canada will be able to completely stop trading with Russia in the foreseeable future. However, given the currently minimal trade turnover, this step will be more symbolic than practical," Yevgeny Khoroshilov, head of the economic research department at the US and Canadian Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted.
Vedomosti: Russia’s 2025 inflation falls below Central Bank forecast
According to data published by the Federal Service for State Statistics, inflation in Russia was 5.59% at the end of 2025. This is the lowest figure in the last five years; inflation was lower at the end of 2020, at 4.9%. Price growth was 9.52% in 2024 and 7.42% in 2023. Inflation peaked at 11.94% in 2022.
The final figures for 2025 were significantly lower than expected. In October, the regulator predicted year-end price growth in the range of 6.5-7%. The Economic Development Ministry expected a figure of 6.8%. Later forecasts by the authorities were also slightly above. By the end of December, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov expected prices to increase by 5.6-5.7%. President Vladimir Putin cited figures between 5.7 and 5.8%.
The low results were recorded due to the high base and the local effect of deflationary factors, Ilya Fyodorov, chief economist at BCS World of Investments, told Vedomosti. He pointed out that in monthly terms, the figure is four times lower than in December 2024. Growth rates were lower due to the shift in price growth to January, Fyodorov added. He explained that due to the VAT increase, importers were more active in selling goods from their warehouses, and the strong ruble supported this trend.
Monetary policy was the main factor in slowing inflation last year, contributing to both a cooling of aggregate demand and a strengthening of the ruble, VTB Group chief economist Rodion Latypov noted. The Bank of Russia's tough policy has proven to be clearly effective in combating high inflation, and a significant part of the path to returning inflation to target levels has been completed, the expert stressed. Fyodorov, in turn, noted that the Central Bank "did an excellent job" last year.
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