MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. The EU is weighing counter-tariffs and other measures as Washington pressures Europe over Greenland; the United States has invited Russia and several other countries to join Trump’s proposed "Board of Peace" to address global conflicts; and the IMF raised its global growth forecast to 3.3% for 2026 while lowering its outlook for Russia’s economy. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: Facing litmus test over Greenland, EU struggles to put up unified front against US pressure

Europe is preparing countermeasures against the United States amid Washington's pressure campaign against it over Greenland. On January 19, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met in Brussels with Denmark’s defense minister and Greenland’s foreign minister to discuss security measures in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. At the same time, US President Donald Trump once again stated that he would accept "nothing less than ownership of Greenland," while the White House threatened a "tariff ladder" against a number of European countries. However, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that any EU response is unlikely to be felt strongly in the United States. As the Europeans are divided, each country is expected to navigate the situation on its own.

Brussels is already preparing a counter-tariff scenario - one option under consideration is the introduction of duties totaling 93 bln euro, which could automatically take effect on February 6 after a six-month pause. However, the EU risks doing heavy damage to its own economy if it pulls the trigger with the move.

Member of the European Parliament Thierry Mariani believes that the European Union’s retaliatory tariffs could significantly hurt Trump, especially ahead of the US midterm elections, but would also harm the bloc itself.

"Who seriously believes that the European Union will go toe to toe with Washington? Certainly not those who for years have methodically ‘strapped’ Europe to the United States: energy dependence on American gas, strategic subordination to NATO, acceptance of the dollar and extraterritorial sanctions," the French politician told Izvestia.

At the same time, Europe is discussing an instrument that has never been used before — the Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI), which allows for restricting access to public tenders, investments, or banking activities, as well as limiting trade in services where the United States has an advantage, digital services being a key one.

"Greenland is not just a territory. It's a litmus test. And this test shows one thing: Europe is dependent, divided, and incapable of choosing between political survival and strategic subordination," Mariani said.

"This would be the largest territorial acquisition ever for the United States — larger than any previous one. This territory is larger than France, Germany, Italy, and the UK combined," military expert Andrey Klintsevich told Izvestia.

 

Izvestia: US invites Russia to join Trump’s 'Board of Peace'

The "Board of Peace" on Gaza will not replace the United Nations, experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. What it will do, however, is place its participants in a position of dependence on the United States. At the same time, Washington is inviting leaders of various countries to join the council as in the future, it hopes to use the platform to address issues of war and peace not only in the Middle East, but also around Venezuela and Ukraine. Russia has also received an invitation to become a founding co-member and is considering it, the Kremlin reported.

It makes sense to invite Russia to the council, as Moscow has a running dialogue with all parties to the crisis, including Israel and Palestine, Middle East specialist Leonid Tsukanov told Izvestia. According to him, Russia’s participation in the organization would be a big benefit for the United States, but not so much for Moscow. Russia maintains close dialogue not only with the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, but also with Hamas.

In addition, Russia has good relations with Iran’s current authorities, which for obvious reasons did not receive an invitation from the Americans — Washington continues to portray Tehran as one of the main threats to international security, with a potential US strike on Iranian territory remaining a strong possibility.

Invitations to become founding co-members were also extended to countries like Hungary, Greece, Egypt, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. The heads of these nations are friendly towards Trump, who wants to create an international organization composed of leaders of countries with whom the head of the White House has personally established good relations, political scientist and lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of RUDN University Farhad Ibragimov told the newspaper

"Trump wants to create a new organization and then, by the end of his term, write himself into history as the person who shaped a new world order," he said.

Trump’s desire to play a leading role in the new organization undermines the principle of equality among global players and places other actors de facto under the US thumb, Leonid Tsukanov agrees.

"This looks like going back to a state of unipolarity, which most players would prefer to move away from," the expert believes.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Canada enters into strategic pact with China in move to stave off US pressure

The global media was buzzing about a "new world order" after the Canadian prime minister announced the signing of landmark deals with China’s leadership. Canada views the agreements as a way to stave off American tariff pressure, as Beijing promises more stable and mutually beneficial trade conditions within the framework of the World Trade Organization and United Nations norms, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on China and Canada to promote the building of a new type of strategic partnership based on a sense of responsibility to history, the people, and the world. China and Canada signed a package of documents on cooperation in trade, energy, construction, culture, and public security.

China has been Canada's number two importer after the US for 17 years - volume Trump exploits via tariff threats. However, coordinated actions by trading partners could not only neutralize Trump’s tariff weapon but also create major problems for the American economy, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

According to the newspaper, Russia’s economy, due to minimal volumes of direct exports to the United States, is less exposed to direct American tariff pressure. However, secondary sanctions by the United States against buyers of Russian raw materials are still in play, and do have an impact.

For Russia, the most well-founded strategy appears to be one of "hybrid development," which combines targeted imports of accessible foreign solutions for operational needs with the priority development of domestic competencies in strategically important segments. Full import substitution of advanced computing architectures in the short term is objectively unattainable. However, the creation of sustainable national competencies in niche areas — such as specialized processors or software ecosystems — is a realistic and economically justified task, experts at the Higher School of Economics posit. Amid growing fragmentation of global technological chains, sovereignty is defined by the ability to both participate in international processes and minimize strategic vulnerabilities, the experts noted.

 

Vedomosti: IMF raises global growth forecast while downgrading Russia’s outlook

Global economic growth will remain resilient at 3.3% in 2026, the same figure as in 2025, according to the January edition of the World Economic Outlook prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The forecast for this year was raised by 0.2 percentage points from the 3.1% projected in October. For next year, IMF experts continue to expect growth of 3.2%. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti say global growth will be supported by technology investment and supportive policies but constrained by tighter fiscal and monetary stances and geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile, Russia’s outlook was slightly downgraded, with the potential to improve with higher oil prices or geopolitical de-escalation.

Adverse factors related to changes in trade policy are being offset by favorable ones, such as increased investment in technology, including AI, the experts noted. Fiscal and monetary policies, as well as generally favorable financial conditions and the adaptability of the private sector, are expected to support the global economy.

Amid their improved outlook for the global economy, the experts lowered their expectations for Russia’s GDP growth in 2026 to 0.8% (from 1% in the October forecast) and to 1% in 2027 (from 1.1%). This is below the expectations of the Russian government.

The overall direction of monetary and fiscal policies in the world’s largest economies in 2026 will be more likely to restrain economic growth, Dmitry Kulikov, senior director of the regional ratings group at ACRA, told Vedomosti. Combined with heightened uncertainty in international relations, this could push global growth below its potential and below 2025 levels, he believes.

The IMF is regularly pessimistic in its assessment of the Russian economy, professor at New Economic School Oleg Shibanov believes. For example, in January 2023, the IMF projected a 2.2% contraction in Russia’s GDP, whereas the actual decline was smaller at 1.4%. In this regard, the expert considers the expected 0.8-1% growth to be conservative. According to him, moderately conservative scenarios put Russia’s economic growth at around or slightly above 1% in 2026, taking into account all factors, both local and global, Kulikov added.

"The difference in the GDP growth forecast from 1% to 0.8% can be considered a margin of error; the difference is negligible," Alexander Golovtsov, head of the analytical department at PSB Management Company, told Vedomosti as he offered a more optimistic outlook, pointing out that if global oil prices rise or if there is geopolitical de-escalation, Russia would benefit.

 

Vedomosti: Russian gas exports to EU via TurkStream near record highs

Supplies of Russian gas to European Union (EU) countries via the TurkStream gas pipeline from January 1 to January 18, 2026, increased by 10% compared with the same period last year, reaching 993 mln cubic meters, according to calculations by Vedomosti based on data from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG). Experts told Vedomosti that elevated TurkStream flows reflect Europe’s continued reliance on short-term market conditions, with Russian gas priced more attractively than spot alternatives.

The average daily volume of deliveries over this period amounted to 55.2 mln cubic meters per day. A higher level of supplies was recorded only in December of last year, when it reached 55.9 mln cubic meters per day. Since January 13, throughput has been running at 56.7 mln cubic meters per day. The historical daily maximum was recorded on December 11 of last year at 56.72 mln cubic meters.

In 2025, supplies of Russian gas to European Union countries via TurkStream increased by 8% compared with the previous year and reached a record level of 18 bln cubic meters, according to Vedomosti calculations based on ENTSOG data. In December, exports also reached a historic high, totaling 1.73 bln cubic meters, up 14% year-on-year.

The price of Russian gas, especially that sold under long-term contracts, is currently more attractive for European buyers than the cost of fuel on the spot market, Maria Belova, director of research at the consulting company Implementa, told Vedomosti. The cost of Russian gas is linked to spot prices but with a lag of one to seven months, according to analyst at Finam Financial Group Sergey Kaufman.

The significant increase in Russian gas throughput via TurkStream in January shows the European gas market’s continued dependence on short-term market conditions, despite the EU’s long-term policy of diversifying imports, Belova noted. According to Kaufman’s forecast, in January and early February, supplies to the EU via TurkStream may remain at a high level of 53-55 mln cubic meters per day. This will be driven by the need to conserve underground gas storage reserves.

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