MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Moscow and Paris have restored technical contacts that could pave the way for potential Putin-Macron talks; Russian officials criticized the United States for refusing to uphold New START nuclear arms limits after the treaty’s expiration; and the EU is considering transferring frozen Russian assets from Belgium’s Euroclear to a new structure in an effort tomitigate legal risks. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: France seeks to reestablish its role in Ukraine settlement

The Kremlin and the Elysee Palace have restored technical contacts that would enable high-level talks to be organized promptly. A conversation between Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin would send a positive signal in the broader context of dialogue with the European Union, but meaningful progress would require thorough preparation, members of the Federation Council told Izvestia. Experts believe that the primary subjects of any such dialogue could include the Ukrainian conflict, sanctions, and developments in Africa and the Middle East. At present, technical contacts also exist between Russia and Germany, a European source told Izvestia. Yet Europe will not be able to sit down at the negotiating table on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi without reconsidering its current position.

Talks between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron would constitute a positive signal, but the success of such a conversation would depend on careful and in-depth preparation, Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Grigory Karasin told Izvestia.

"Any contacts are undoubtedly positive. However, for them to be productive and yield results, the initiator of the negotiations must carefully consider the subject matter and the agenda in advance so that it is clear and acceptable to the other side," Karasin emphasized.

"Current pressure points could be discussed with Macron. Naturally, this includes Ukraine. Likely the issue of sanctions as well, along with areas where our interests intersect — for example, Africa," First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexey Chepa told Izvestia.

Paris’s intention to restore contact with Moscow indicates recognition of the failure of the EU’s efforts to isolate Russia. Emmanuel Macron is seeking to adapt to the new reality and position himself as a European representative in dialogue with Russia, Head of the Department at the Diplomatic Academy of MGIMO University Oleg Karpovich told Izvestia.

"France is attempting to play a leading role in European diplomacy. However, Macron is unable to offer anything substantive that takes our requirements into account. Moreover, there is no certainty that he genuinely represents Europe’s position," the expert noted.

 

Kommersant: Strategic stability stumbles as Moscow criticizes US refusal to uphold nuclear arms limits

Senior Russian officials have reacted critically to the United States’ unwillingness to adhere to limitations on strategic offensive arms, as previously proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu told Kommersant that statements by representatives of the US administration expressing readiness to work jointly with Russia to strengthen strategic stability have ultimately amounted to nothing more than "populist slogans."

"I would like to clarify the situation. The New START Treaty initially provided for the possibility of only a single five-year extension, which was carried out by Moscow and Washington in 2021. This fact was even noted during remarks by the American delegation at the Conference on Disarmament last week. However, the media prefer not to mention this," Shoigu said in an exclusive comment to Kommersant. Indeed, when Moscow and Washington agreed in 2021 to extend the New START Treaty, representatives of the then US administration made no claims that the treaty was allegedly disadvantageous to the United States.

The current administration, as Shoigu stated, has not substantively responded to the Russian president’s proposal to mutually preserve the quantitative limitations envisaged under New START for one year following the expiration of the treaty.

"In essence, the Americans responded to Russia’s gesture of goodwill in their usual manner. Their statements about readiness to work jointly to strengthen strategic stability have remained mere populist slogans," he noted.

According to him, the United States has behaved in a similar fashion with respect to other foundational documents in the sphere of arms control.

Moscow, Shoigu continued, has never failed to fulfill its obligations in the field of strategic stability, whereas Washington contributed to the dismantling of its legal and contractual framework and is now proposing "a certain new architecture, the foundation of which would be an ephemeral multilateral document."

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that this situation once again demonstrates that Russia’s principal allies are its army, navy, and aerospace forces, and that there are currently no grounds for launching a new negotiation process with the United States.

 

Izvestia: EU weighs transferring frozen Russian assets from Euroclear to new structure

The European Union is advancing a new plan to remove frozen Russian assets from the Belgian-based depository Euroclear and transfer them to another custodian. Brussels officials believe this step would mitigate legal and financial risks for Belgium while granting the EU greater freedom of action regarding the blocked funds. However, legal experts interviewed by Izvestia warn that such a move would not eliminate risks for Euroclear, and that Russia, in this scenario, would be compelled to respond on multiple fronts.

In particular, the EU is considering establishing a separate entity. As Reuters reported, one model under consideration involves creating a special depository fund to which management rights over the assets would be transferred.

"The primary objective is to create a special buffer structure. This maneuver is intended to shield EU member states — and above all Belgium — from Russian countermeasures and from legal risks associated with the potential confiscation of the funds," Igor Kuznets, partner at FTL Advisers, explained.

"It is necessary to verify whether an appropriate mechanism is provided at the level of the contract between the Bank of Russia and Euroclear or throughout the entire custody chain, if the Bank of Russia operates through a custodian. Hypothetically, the EU could adopt a legal act transferring the frozen assets into a different accounting perimeter. However, without the consent of the Bank of Russia, the principal risk remains unchanged: a possible violation of central bank property immunity under international law," senior lawyer at consulting company ITSWM Veronika Siverova told Izvestia.

The segregation of Russian assets, as envisioned by the EU, would allow Euroclear to tell its global clients, including countries in the Middle East and Asia, that it remains a "neutral infrastructure," and that decisions regarding the handling of Russian funds are purely political decisions taken by supranational EU bodies, Kuznets explained.

Moreover, any attempt to carry out such a transfer would still cast a shadow directly on Belgium.

"A significant share of the responsibility and legal ambiguity may remain with Belgium as the jurisdiction where the principal stage of the transfer occurred. As a result, the new scenario largely preserves the previous vulnerabilities and is unlikely to provide Belgium with a sufficient level of legal comfort to proceed with such a step," Siverova stated.

 

Vedomosti: As Trump intensifies pressure, experts debate how long Cuba can endure US sanctions and political strain

The humanitarian situation in Cuba is deteriorating: according to local media, the country is experiencing shortages of energy resources and essential goods. On January 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order "addressing threats to the United States posed by the Government of Cuba." Under this document, trade tariffs will be imposed on countries supplying (directly or indirectly) oil to the island. Experts told Vedomosti they believe that while US pressure is significantly worsening Cuba’s energy and economic situation, it may eventually force Havana to negotiate.

The United States has always sought to constrain Cuba’s economic capabilities, but in the past, it did not attempt to completely "cut off the oxygen" or closely monitor the sanctions regime, expert at the Financial University Igor Yushkov told the newspaper. According to him, the fear among potential oil suppliers to Cuba of US tariffs is compounded by Havana’s lack of financial capacity to secure supply transactions.

"There are numerous additional risks, for example regarding the safety of tankers. Havana cannot mitigate these risks for its partners," Yushkov emphasized. Another major problem for Cuba, he added, is its electricity infrastructure, which requires extensive modernization.

Trump harbors the ambition of carrying out regime change in Cuba by the end of 2026, but this effort is unlikely to succeed, senior research fellow at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Pavel Koshkin believes. Havana, he argues, for the time being maintains economic and political resilience, unlike Venezuela.

Cuba finds itself in a stalemate and will ultimately have to negotiate with the United States, editor-in-chief of the journal Latin America Viktor Kheifets told Vedomosti. According to him, regional players are unable to mount any real opposition to Washington, while other countries are unwilling to jeopardize their relations with the Trump administration. However, the expert stressed that Washington is unlikely to be preparing for a ground operation in Cuba - the United States appears to be seeking either to fuel public discontent that could theoretically lead to regime change or to leverage such unrest to extract concessions from the Cuban government.

 

Vedomosti: Russian nickel exports to China nearly double in 2025 amid supply reorientation

Exports of unwrought nickel from Russia to China in 2025 rose 1.9 times compared with the previous year, reaching 87,190 tons, according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China reviewed by Vedomosti. Experts attribute the sharp rise in Russian nickel exports to China to increased Chinese stainless steel output and Moscow’s reorientation toward Asian markets after Western restrictions.

In December, exports increased by 31% year-on-year to 12,380 tons, according to the statistics. For comparison, the record monthly level of deliveries was recorded in September of last year at 19,340 tons.

In monetary terms, supplies of Russian nickel to China in 2025 grew by 1.7 times to $1.4 bln. In December, export revenues amounted to $188.8 mln, a quarter higher than in the same month of 2024. As in physical volume, the record level of supplies in value terms was also recorded in September 2025, at $302.3 mln.

The increase in China’s nickel imports in 2025 was driven by rising demand for the metal for stainless steel production, senior analyst for the metallurgy and mining sector at Euler Nikanor Khalin told the newspaper. Boris Krasnozhenov, head of equity market analytics at Alfa-Bank, shares this view. He noted that China accounts for more than 60% of global stainless steel production. According to the China Iron and Steel Association, stainless steel output in China grew by 4% in 2025 to 40.9 mln tons.

For its part, Nornickel is redirecting supplies to Asian markets following restrictions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom, leading analyst at Veles Capital Vasily Danilov told Vedomosti. In April 2024, the governments of the US and the UK introduced a ban on the import of Russian nickel and prohibited its trading on their exchanges — the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the London Metal Exchange (LME). The European Union has not yet imposed direct restrictions on imports of Russian nickel, but discussions are ongoing. Therefore, Nornickel is also redirecting supplies away from the European market, Danilov said. Exports to the EU are also falling due to settlement and logistics difficulties, Krasnozhenov added.

This year, Russian nickel shipments to China are expected to continue growing, although at a significantly slower pace than last year, experts believe. According to a forecast by investment strategist at Aricapital Asset Management Company Sergey Suverov, exports will reach 90,000-95,000 tons, representing 3-9% growth.

TASS is not responsible for the material quoted in these press reviews