MOSCOW, January 22. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on a possible Ukraine settlement; Donald Trump told the World Economic Forum that Europe is moving in the wrong direction; and Moldova plans to leave the CIS by spring 2027. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Russia, US prepare for high-level talks as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrive in Moscow
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin. The talks will take place on January 22, the Kremlin confirmed to Izvestia. Russia expects that the US administration’s representative will clarify Washington’s position on the Ukrainian settlement, members of the Federation Council told Izvestia. In addition, Witkoff may present the latest developments on a peace plan that the United States has coordinated in recent weeks with Ukraine and its allies.
"I personally hope that Witkoff will explain how the situation is evolving. There is evidently some kind of evolution in their (the United States) approaches," Grigory Karasin, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia. "It is no coincidence that the forum in Davos is unfolding in a highly dynamic manner - we are witnessing a clash of fundamentally different views on the future of international law," he added.
Following Steve Witkoff’s talks with Vladimir Putin, the US delegation will travel to the UAE to continue discussions in working-level groups. Oleg Karpovich, vice-rector of the Diplomatic Academy, believes the sides are approaching a critical stage in the diplomatic process.
"The most contentious issue appears to be the territorial question. But there are also significant differences on many other matters, including the so-called security guarantees for Ukraine. Serious work will be required to bring the positions closer together. There are certainly opportunities for progress if the United States is prepared to apply pressure on Ukraine to secure the necessary concessions," he said.
Europe is closely monitoring the Russia-US talks on Ukraine. The EU continues to refuse to resume dialogue with Moscow.
"In close coordination with our European partners and the United States, we advocate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. However, we still do not see any serious readiness for negotiations on the part of Russia," the German Embassy in Russia told Izvestia.
At the same time, German affairs expert and senior research fellow at the Institute of International Studies of MGIMO University Artyom Sokolov told Izvestia he believes a resumption of political dialogue between Russia and Germany under Chancellor Friedrich Merz is unlikely. "For the German authorities, the ‘Russian threat’ serves as a tool for mobilization and a way to explain the challenges facing the German economy," he told Izvestia.
Vedomosti: Donald Trump signals tougher stance toward Europe at Davos
US President Donald Trump said he "loves Europe" and acknowledges its "civilizational ties" with the United States, but believes the continent is moving in the wrong direction. He made the remarks while addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21. According to sources interviewed by Vedomosti, Trump is using tough rhetoric and pressure on Europe - particularly over defense spending and strategic priorities like Greenland - to gain time for the US to address domestic and economic challenges and refocus on competition with China.
Trump also talked about Greenland - the US president reiterated his previously stated arguments about Denmark’s inability, and that of NATO more broadly, to defend Greenland. He also addressed the conflict in Ukraine, largely repeating his earlier positions on the issue: that it is not his conflict, that former US President Joe Biden is to blame, and that both Ukraine and Russia want peace.
Trump’s speech in Davos once again made it clear that he not only seeks to maintain uncontested dominance in the Western Hemisphere, but is also prepared to keep pressuring Europe to increase its own defense spending, Vladimir Pavlov, research fellow at the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO, told Vedomosti.
The expert added that, in the US president’s view, such measures are necessary for two reasons. First, they would give the United States time and resources to tackle domestic issues, including economic challenges. Second, they would allow Washington to focus more fully on competition with China.
Pavel Koshkin, senior research fellow at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies, also noted a "rollback" in the aggressive tone of Trump’s remarks about Greenland. However, Koshkin noted that Trump could at any moment return to discussing a forceful incorporation of the island. One of his goals in doing so, he said, is to confuse both domestic and foreign political opponents and to demonstrate his willingness to take extreme measures if necessary.
"With regard to Russia, the rhetoric has not changed. He adheres to diplomacy. At the same time, it is hard to miss that he is trying to show there are other issues on the international agenda besides the Ukrainian conflict," Koshkin told the newspaper.
Izvestia: Moldova heads toward formal exit from CIS by spring 2027
Moldova will not leave the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) before 2027. A parliamentary vote to denounce the core agreements is expected in late February or early March, lawmakers told Izvestia. However, a further 12 months will be required to fully complete the procedure for cutting ties with the organization. Moldova began scaling back its participation in CIS activities in 2022, in line with the government’s course toward European integration. The opposition, however, argues that leaving the Commonwealth will result in colossal losses for Moldova, while any gains remain far from evident, Izvestia writes.
A parliamentary vote on withdrawing from the organization may take place in late February or early March, a deputy from the Patriotic Bloc, Bogdan Tirdea, told Izvestia. "The parliament begins its session around February 2. Lawmakers are returning from recess, and there is not yet an agenda - it must be formed by the Standing Bureau of the Moldovan parliament," Tirdea noted.
Moldova’s withdrawal from the organization is the result of a long-standing policy of distancing from post-Soviet structures, Izvestia writes. The decision by the republic’s authorities did not come as a surprise to Russia, as Moldova’s participation in CIS activities has long been effectively frozen, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Moldova will be excluded from customs agreements involving CIS member states, meaning that no preferential terms will be granted to Chisinau, which would deal a serious blow to the republic’s exports. In addition, leaving the CIS would automatically entail the loss of logistics corridors, including those connecting Moldova with China, as well as with other countries in Central and Southeast Asia.
Domestic perceptions of the issue of withdrawing from the CIS remain mixed, according to Artyom Perchun, a researcher at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. He told Izvestia that part of the electorate oriented toward European integration views a possible exit as the logical conclusion of the post-Soviet stage. At the same time, representatives of the pro-Russian and politically neutral segments perceive it as a symbolic break with the country’s previous political course.
Vedomosti: Outlook for gold’s rally as prices hover near $4,900 in 2026
Global gold prices in 2026 continue to set new record highs: on January 21, the metal’s quotations rose above the $4,800-per-ounce mark for the first time. The February gold futures contract on the New York Commodity Exchange (COMEX) rose by 2.31% in trading by the Moscow evening session, reaching a high of $4,875.95 per troy ounce. Over the past two days, gold prices have climbed by more than 6%. Analysts interviewed by Vedomosti believe gold’s rally is being driven by central banks diversifying reserves away from the dollar, with rising geopolitical uncertainty and a weaker dollar potentially pushing prices beyond $5,000 per ounce in the near term.
In previous years, the US dollar accounted for the largest share of central bank reserves worldwide relative to other currencies and assets, an analyst at Finam, Alexander Potavin, told the newspaper. However, over the past decade, the dollar’s share has fallen by 18 percentage points, while the share of gold has risen to 28% - its highest level since the early 1990s. As a result, investments in gold now make up a larger portion of global currency reserves than the euro, the yen, and the pound combined.
An additional driver has been investment demand from crypto infrastructure, according to head of the wealth management department at AF Capital Management Company Ruslan Klyshko. In 2025, trading volume in tokenized gold exceeded $170 bln, and the segment’s market capitalization nearly tripled from $1.6 bln to $4.4 bln. In terms of trading activity, tokenized gold is already comparable to the largest ETFs and has become an independent source of demand for the metal, Klyshko believes.
In the short term, Gazprombank does not rule out that, if uncertainty continues to rise, gold prices could surpass the $5,000-per-ounce threshold, especially since the current price is only about 5% below that level.
In 2026, Finam expects a moderate increase in gold prices and trading in the range of $4,800-5,000 per ounce. January is traditionally one of the strongest months of the year for precious metal prices, but if geopolitical risks intensify and the dollar weakens, prices could potentially climb into the $5,300-5,400 range.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Stronger ruble alters Russia’s economic balance
Too many economic and even political interests are now converging at a single point when it comes to the exchange rate - for the Central Bank, a stronger national currency is a disinflationary factor; for consumers, a firm ruble makes imported goods more affordable; the Finance Ministry, however, has drafted the budget on the basis of a weaker ruble, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Big business, represented by head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin, described the roughly 20% strengthening of the Russian currency as excessive volatility. According to experts, a stronger ruble lowers costs for import-dependent industries and consumers but reduces export revenues, especially for oil producers.
According to Alexander Shokhin, the issue of elevated volatility of the national currency’s exchange rate, which strengthened by more than 20% over the year, was raised at the annual meeting of business leaders with President Vladimir Putin. An overly strong ruble, Shokhin noted, leads to a shortfall of nearly 20% in expected revenues not only for exporters but also for the state budget.
Expert at BCS World of Investments Alexander Shepelev told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that for representatives of the manufacturing sector, mechanical engineering, the defense industry, the automotive industry, and the agro-industrial complex, a stable and relatively strong ruble can ensure reduced production costs for goods that rely on imported components.
"Imported goods and raw materials account, by various estimates, for between 20% and one-third of the consumer basket. Therefore, a weaker ruble is always felt by households," he said. A stronger national currency usually makes imported goods cheaper and also makes foreign travel more affordable.
"A strong ruble means that Russian oil producers earn less on every barrel of oil sold. Their profits are now almost 30% below the level at the beginning of 2025, while since the start of the year the ruble price of a barrel of oil has fallen by nearly 40%," analyst at Finam Alexander Potavin told the newspaper.
However, analyst at Freedom Finance Global Vladimir Chernov believes that although the downsides of a strong national currency in the form of pressure on export revenues do exist, they are concentrated in a limited range of industries and are partially offset by budgetary and tax mechanisms.
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