MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. Europe eyes a role in Ukraine settlement talks; the US is unlikely to reduce its Middle East military presence after the Iran war; and Vietnam sees relations with Russia as a key strategic choice. These stories topped Thursday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: Europe eyes role in Ukraine settlement talks

European Union institutions are discussing ways to join talks on Ukraine, a European Parliament member told Izvestia. A spokesperson for the French Embassy in Moscow pointed out that it’s impossible to reach a solution without Europeans. However, experts believe that Europe shares a consensus on the need to continue military operations, which is why meaningful dialogue with Russia has not yet been launched.

European leaders have long been reluctant to enter any kind of negotiations with Russia, but now they realize that resuming some form of dialogue with Moscow is inevitable. They would certainly like to take part in multilateral meetings on the matter, European Parliament member Fernand Kartheiser told the newspaper. He sees three reasons why the EU seeks to stay close to the negotiation process. First, Brussels has no trust in US President Donald Trump’s administration and is wary of a potential deal between Russia and the United States. Second, European leaders risk losing their international influence if they are left out of settlement efforts. Lastly, the public in the EU is increasingly opposing the belligerent attitudes of its political elites.

Yegor Sergeyev, a senior researcher at the Institute for International Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, points out that the overall consensus in the European Union is to continue the conflict, which is why there are currently no real prospects for talks. EU bureaucrats won’t be able to participate in potential negotiations due to difficulties in obtaining a mandate authorizing them to act on behalf of all member states, as those have diverging interests. That said, if the European Union eventually joins the dialogue in the future, a decision on the form of its participation will be made spontaneously.

St. Petersburg State University Professor Natalya Yeryomina noted that Europeans and Ukraine would try to change the nature of the talks and urge the United States to refuse to listen to Russia’s position. The goal of Brussels and Kiev is to persuade Washington to increase pressure on Moscow, particularly through additional tariffs on those purchasing Russian resources. However, Washington officials understand that resolving the conflict requires taking Russia’s interests into consideration, the expert emphasized.

 

Media: US unlikely to reduce Middle East military presence after Iran war

The United States may review its presence in the Middle East and reduce the number of military bases once the war with Iran is over. The main reason is the damage inflicted on US military infrastructure by Iranian strikes, Vedomosti reports, citing an expert discussion hosted by US-based National Public Radio (NPR).

According to 2025 data from the US Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has about 22 military facilities in the Middle East, including nine full-scale military bases. The US Central Command said in July 2026 that the number of personnel deployed to the region had exceeded 50,000 over the previous year.

Alexey Yurk, a researcher with the Center for Middle East Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, is doubtful about the prospects for a major reduction in US forces stationed in the region, as President Donald Trump and his administration are afraid of looking weak.

Galina Tsaregorodtseva, head of the Department for Foreign Policy Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, believes that neither the United States will be able to significantly reduce its personnel in the region nor its current allies will abandon their partnership with Washington. One reason the US will not reduce its troop presence is that it does not want to see China fill the vacuum.

The Pentagon will bet on closer cooperation with its regional partners, developing staff structures, promoting the integration of agencies and facilitating closer intelligence exchanges, Middle East expert Anton Mardasov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

"To a certain extent, ongoing processes are what Washington has long been seeking in the Persian Gulf area, with the Carter Doctrine being reviewed and regional countries urged to take more responsibility for their own security," the analyst explained. "However, Washington is facing risks here, as being forced to become more proactive and make agreements with Iran, in particular, could make regional powers increasingly independent both in their relations with the US and in terms of their participation in bilateral blocs. This may be a good thing when it comes to the development of multipolarity, but given rising tensions between some of these countries and Israel, this could eventually lead to further escalation in the region," the expert added.

 

Media: Vietnam sees relations with Russia as key strategic choice

Vietnam has confirmed the strategic nature of its relations with Russia despite foreign pressure, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. The two countries’ presidents, Vladimir Putin and To Lam, emphasized during talks at the Kremlin that bilateral partnership remains unwavering.

Moscow and Hanoi have maintained close high-level dialogue in recent years. Hanoi underscores the special value of its relations with Moscow. Speaking of pressure from third countries, To Lam pointed out that his country "did not hesitate or change its stance." The political partnership is based on a strong economic foundation. Bilateral trade increased by almost 14% in the first half of the year, with the fuel and energy sector remaining a key growth driver as the two countries continue to implement long-standing joint projects.

To Lam came to Russia to hold talks not only with Putin but also with other Russian politicians, Yekaterina Koldunova, director of the ASEAN Center at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told Vedomosti. Substantive matters on the agenda include a set of technologies designed to develop green energy, particularly related to the revived project to build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam, the expert said.

Russia-Vietnam relations currently cover the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Southeast Asian country and the development of the traditional energy sector in general, along with financial integration and personnel training, Alexander Koroloyev, deputy director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, specified.

The agenda of bilateral relations has been stable and unchanged for a decade, said Mikhail Terskikh, a researcher with the Center for the Indian Ocean Region at the Center for International Security of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations. According to him, it includes security issues in the broadest sense, as well as physical security, as Russia remains a key foreign supplier of military goods to the Vietnamese armed forces, and energy security, covering cooperation in the oil and gas and nuclear sectors. Cooperation in the fields of information and food security also plays a role in bilateral relations, albeit a smaller one, the expert added.

 

Vedomosti: European gas prices hit highest levels since 2022

The price of natural gas in Europe has exceeded $950 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time since 2022, Vedomosti reports, citing ICE data.

European gas prices have been rising since March 2026, when military operations in the Middle East significantly reduced liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the region from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. A new spike in prices began in July due to hot weather in Europe. The current price growth is due to European Union countries’ preparations for the next heating season, said Kirill Bakhtin, head of the Center for Russian Stock Analysis at BCS World of Investment, and Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Russian Government.

In the spring, European importers bet that the conflict in the Middle East would be short-lived, choosing not to compete with Asian buyers for available LNG volumes and deciding that active efforts to fill regional underground gas storage facilities would begin once the situation normalized, Finam analyst Sergey Kaufman pointed out. However, the strategy turned out to be a mistake, the expert noted. European companies’ struggle to make up for delays in their schedule for filling underground storage facilities is now driving prices higher, he explained.

In the coming months, price movements will depend on the situation in the Middle East and weather conditions in Europe and Asia, Kaufman went on to say. If the Strait of Hormuz is open, gas prices could fall to $600 per 1,000 cubic meters, he believes. If the next winter is cold and tensions persist in the Middle East, prices could rise to $1,200-1,300 per 1,000 cubic meters, the expert added.

In Yushkov’s view, the low level of gas in storage facilities will result in a need for additional gas imports in the winter, which is likely to keep prices high. Kaufman believes that gas prices in Europe will normalize no earlier than in a year.

Kaufman does not rule out that the European Union may postpone plans to abandon Russian LNG in the event of a cold winter. Under the 19th package of sanctions on Russia, approved in October 2025, the EU intends to fully halt Russian LNG supplies starting on January 1, 2027.

 

Kommersant: Copper prices set another record

Copper prices have reached an all-time high of $14,848 per metric ton amid concerns over potential US import tariffs, which resulted in an unprecedented inflow of the metal into the country. Shares in Russia’s Nornickel, which generates more than one-third of its revenue from copper sales, rose 6.17% in a week. A fundamental supply shortage is here to stay, as the world needs more than one million tons of new copper annually, while it takes 16 to 30 years to bring mining facilities online, Kommersant notes.

Nornickel experts believe the record rise in copper prices is being driven by concerns that the United States will impose tariffs on copper imports, as well as by rising consumption in electronics, transport electrification, stable demand in China, and a weak US dollar. Ahead of the potential introduction of tariffs, traders sent major volumes of copper to the US market, reducing its availability elsewhere and deepening shortages in the London Metal Exchange (LME) system, Dmitry Orekhov, managing director at the NCR rating agency, explained.

Nornickel analysts say that only the United States’ move to abandon import tariffs could bring prices down, along with a review of artificial intelligence (AI) development and transport electrification programs, which is unlikely to happen. However, even if Washington refrains from imposing tariffs, it will maintain import competition with Beijing for strategic purposes, Mikhail Shulgin, chief analyst at the Center for Investment Analytics at RosGosStrakh Life insurance company, countered.

Prices may remain high in the coming months, until US tariff policy becomes clear and trade flows normalize. However, prices are unlikely to stay at peak levels. Orekhov points out that the current rise is partially due to temporary trade and logistics imbalances, and once those are addressed, prices could ease. Meanwhile, Shulgin believes the only thing that could force prices down is a global collapse or a financial crisis that cripples the world economy. Still, the market shows no signs of such developments at the moment.

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