MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Greece, Cyprus and Malta are prepared to challenge the EU’s decision to intercept Russian oil tankers, while the Kurdish-led SDF announces its dissolution. Meanwhile, the Saudis invite Bangladesh to join their defense alliance with Turkey and Pakistan. These stories topped Thursday's newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: Some in EU ready to contest bloc’s decision to intercept Russian tankers

The opposition in Greece will appeal to European courts and the EU Parliament regarding the detention of ships or tankers allegedly associated with Russia as part of the Irini mission, the leader of the Greek Solution right-wing party, Kyriakos Velopoulos, told Izvestia. According to him, the European Commission's plans may lead to a direct conflict between Europe and Russia as they also damage the economic interests of Athens. Cyprus and Malta, the two EU members that have also suffered from European restrictions on shipping, may join Greece. Experts argue that the chances of halting the Irini mission are low.

Any vessel that is not registered in an EU or G7 jurisdiction and is not insured in the West can be considered suspicious. The lack of legal clarity risks creating tensions not only with Russia, but also in relations with third countries, Luxembourgish MEP Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia.

The Greek opposition can file a lawsuit with the EU court by initiating a complaint through the European Parliament on its own or jointly with shipowners whose interests may be affected. Or else legal action could be brought to a national authority, which will then refer the case to the European Court. Yegor Sergeyev, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), told Izvestia that the prospects for a lawsuit are still highly uncertain, given Athens' economic interest. Anti-Russian sentiments prevail among members of the European Parliament, so discussing the mission's mandate in this body is important more for attracting public attention than to make decisions.

Even as the Irini mission is allowed to inspect individual suspicious vessels, its ability to detain or seize them is extremely limited, Pavel Anisimov, deputy director of the International Relations and Political Science Institute at Russian State University for the Humanities, told Izvestia. The fact that the tanker is under EU sanctions does not give the mission a universal right to detain it on the high seas. Therefore, attempts to directly seize ships will be illegal in any case, he argued.

 

Media: Kurdish-led SDF in Syria announces plans to dissolve

On Tuesday evening, Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announced the Kurdish-led group’s dissolution and integration into the Syrian army, SANA news agency reported. The move may mark a milestone both in the final merger of Kurdish structures in northeastern Syria with the Syrian state and in efforts to resolve the long-standing Kurdish issue in the country.

A source familiar with the situation in Syria’s northeast confirmed the departure of SDF fighters and PKK commanders from the Kurds’ compact regions in the country to Vedomosti. He also said that the integration of local Kurdish armed formations into the new Syrian army has begun.

Nikolay Sukhov, a senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ World Economy and International Relations Institute, told Vedomosti that the SDF agreed to dissolve after it suffered a military defeat at the hands of Damascus, the risk of a new Turkish military operation in the region emerged, and Washington supported the new Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. However, Kurdish leaders are not prepared to disarm every SDF fighter but instead plan to dissolve the SDF as a military and political force, Sukhov explained.

Ilya Shcherbakov, a political analyst specializing in Oriental studies, told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that the developments currently taking place in Syria indicate that Damascus is seeking to establish a unified power structure and restore the country’s territorial integrity. "Consistent steps on the international arena, including the removal of the country from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, as well as the dissolution of Kurdish-led armed formations demonstrate that the current administration is working to establish a permanent model of interaction with forces that previously remained in the ‘gray zone’ in relation to government-led structures," the expert maintained.

At the same time, the fact that Kurdish formations agreed to lay down arms does not mean that potential controversies will fade away, Shcherbakov warned. "Individual cells may remain, while an integrated force may try to influence Damascus’ policies through diplomatic means, especially in matters concerning the Kurds themselves. The Kurdish question has yet to be resolved," he emphasized.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Bangladesh invited to join Mecca pact

Saudi Arabia, the richest member of the Mecca pact, a military bloc with Turkey and Pakistan, invited the Republic of Bangladesh to join it, Bangladesh announced. The Mecca pact is an agreement between the three Sunni Muslim-majority countries, and 90% of the population in Bangladesh identifies with this faith.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the mutual defense pact in Mecca on August 7. Their alliance was modeled on the NATO treaty, and Turkey being a NATO member with the bloc’s second-largest army was never an obstacle. Ankara confirmed that other countries may join the trilateral alliance.

Kollol Kibria, an expert in Dacca, said Bangladesh joining the pact may potentially complicate its relations not only with India but also with China, Japan, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Russia, and the United States. "Even as these ties will not be severed immediately, Dacca will have to make a choice," he warned, noting that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan may have tensions with the aforementioned nations.

Kibria described the current relationship between Bangladesh and India as extremely challenging. Both nations are seeking to improve ties. India has invited the Bangladeshi head of state to visit New Delhi, but a visit would require favorable conditions, officials in Dacca say: Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister of Bangladesh who resigned following a student-led mass uprising in 2024, fled to India, and a court in Dacca ordered the use of lethal force against her. Bangladesh has insisted on her extradition.

"The situation with Hasina, who can certainly expect a just and unbiased consideration of her case in a court in Bangladesh, will certainly have a major impact on the country’s relations with India. And joining the Mecca pact will further worsen them, for Pakistan alone will benefit from it. China will not be happy either. As a NATO member, Turkey is allied with America, China’s main geopolitical rival," Vinay Shukla, an Indian reporter, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. He doubted that Moscow will benefit from Bangladesh’s departure from neutrality either, given Russia’s interests in the country where it is building a nuclear power plant.

 

Vedomosti: Natural gas output in Russia rises 3% in January-July

In January-July, natural gas production in Russia rose by 3% from the first seven months of last year to 397 billion cubic meters, data from Rosstat showed.

Last month, LNG production also continued its upward trend, showing a 14% increase from July 2025 to 2.3 million metric tons. In January-July, LNG output rose by 12% to 20.6 million metric tons.

The increase in natural gas output in January-July was due to weather conditions and a rise in both pipeline gas and LNG exports, analysts said.

The growth in gas exports comes amid supplies to European countries through the Turkish Stream pipeline and rising LNG supplies, Sergey Kaufman, an analyst at Finam, told Vedomosti. Russian gas exports to Central Asia have also been increasing, the expert added.

Russian LNG exports are growing primarily due to supplies from the Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 project to China, Kaufman and Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian Government, explained. LNG exports have been increasing as well amid the military conflict in the Middle East, Kaufman noted. The global LNG deficit caused by the hostilities has enabled Russian LNG plants previously affected by sanctions to increase supplies, he said.

The growth in Russian LNG output will continue until the end of the year, although it may slow down, experts say. This will contribute to higher gas production in the country this year, Yushkov believes, mostly amid demand for Russian gas in China and Central Asia. Other experts also expect an increase in Russian gas output in 2026.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Siberia may play a role in Russia’s new digital economy

Data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) services are becoming a key element of the new digital economy worldwide, generating significant revenue and profit. According to some estimates, global investment in data centers could exceed $1 trillion this year. Against this backdrop, the Russian market looks modest but has substantial potential, particularly in Siberia, according to participants in a business breakfast hosted by the Stolypin Club.

Finding an "alternative oil" has been a popular trend in Russia over the past two decades, said Anton Sviridenko, executive director of the Stolypin Institute for the Economy of Growth. "We cannot abandon conventional oil for the time being. However, we cannot rely on traditional commodity-based revenues only in the longer term. Therefore, the search for new sources of growth must continue. An analysis of the global market shows that the distribution of revenues and profits will change dramatically, with new digital service industries, including data centers and artificial intelligence services, accounting for a major share of those," Nezavisimaya Gazeta quoted him as saying.

Russia has potential in this area, Sviridenko argued: "We have energy resources that are crucial for scaling AI systems, as well as a climate that can be beneficial for hosting and cooling data centers."

Anton Pyzhev, who heads the laboratory of the economy of climate change and environmentally-friendly development at Siberian Federal University, said while Russia has enormous potential for AI and industry infrastructure development, the country is still lagging behind in terms of the extent to which this technology is used. "And yet, compared to most countries, Russia remains a key player: many economies cannot afford to build a similar infrastructure on the required scale," Pyzhev argued.

Denis Khleborodov, CEO and founder of Cloud X, sees potential in Eastern Siberia as he points to a relatively cold climate and affordable energy as its advantages for efficient computing. And the region’s infrastructure can serve not only as a pillar for the Russian digital economy but also as a separate export industry, he emphasized.

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