MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The EU is considering stricter monitoring of aid to Ukraine amid corruption scandals; Washington and Tehran are seeking a nuclear compromise involving sanctions relief; and China supports possible trilateral talks between Putin, Xi, and Trump at the APEC summit. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: EU weighs tighter oversight of Ukraine aid amid corruption scandals and rising costs
The European Union is discussing new mechanisms to track how financial assistance allocated to Ukraine is spent, although its ability to do so is limited, members of the European Parliament told Izvestia. To date, EU countries have provided Kiev with 224.5 bln euros, while part of a new package of 90 bln euros could be released ahead of schedule. Against this backdrop, calls within the bloc for stricter oversight of how the funds are used are intensifying. They have been fueled by corruption scandals in Ukraine, including those involving the energy and defense sectors.
Discussions in Brussels about tightening oversight of how this assistance is spent are intensifying, European Parliament member Fernand Kartheiser told Izvestia. "As far as I know, there has not yet been a public discussion on the issue. However, I suspect that such discussions are taking place. In some EU countries, leading politicians are already openly calling for tighter control over financial flows to Ukraine," the politician stressed.
Brussels already has certain mechanisms for exercising oversight. Under the Ukraine Facility program, payments are tied to Kiev’s implementation of agreed reforms, while the Ukrainian side is required to report on expenditures and the ultimate recipients of the funds.
Brussels has pledged to tighten monitoring of new financial assistance to Kiev, although the effectiveness of such measures has been called into question, Slovak member of the European Parliament Milan Uhrik told Izvestia.
"The European Union is preparing to send tens of billions more for Ukraine’s military needs, while Brussels is promising ever greater oversight of how this money is spent. But European taxpayers have heard these promises before and many simply no longer believe them. More money, more military commitments, and more risks, while the question of accountability remains unresolved," he said.
Further increases in assistance to Kiev are already sparking disagreements within the European Parliament, MEP Petar Volgin said. According to him, European governments should give priority to the security of their own countries rather than continue increasing support for Kiev.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: US, Iran explore nuclear compromise as sanctions remain key bargaining chip
The United States and Iran held another round of indirect negotiations, the second since the start of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. According to US media reports, during the latest contacts, the American side offered Tehran a series of concessions involving sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad in exchange for concessions on nuclear energy. Sources say the Iranian side showed flexibility during the consultations. Donald Trump, however, has publicly denied that such talks are taking place at all, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
According to Axios sources, during the latest contacts, the American side expressed its willingness to ease comprehensive sanctions against Iran and unfreeze its funds abroad in exchange for specific steps by the Islamic Republic to limit its nuclear program. Washington, meanwhile, believes it is negotiating from a position of strength.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues to grow, while the blockade and sanctions continue to erode Iran’s position, a US source told Axios, adding that the US needs assurances that Iran is serious.
CNN sources confirmed that during consultations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Iranian delegation signaled that it was "flexible on nuclear issues."
Bloomberg, however, offered a more modest assessment, noting that Tehran and Washington made only limited progress during the indirect negotiations in New York. According to the news agency, Iranian officials privately expressed pessimism about the prospects of reaching an agreement to end the conflict with Washington and restart operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has warned that continued pressure on Iran will only aggravate the situation for its neighbors. "In a region where we cannot sell oil, no one else will sell oil either. If our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will remain safe," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
Izvestia: China backs potential Putin-Xi-Trump talks on global security, regional conflicts
Talks between the leaders of China, Russia, and the United States at the APEC summit would be important for shaping a multipolar world, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui told Izvestia. The Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Putin plans to attend the organization’s summit, which will be held in Shenzhen in November. Donald Trump also plans to attend the forum. According to experts, if the opportunity arises, the leaders could discuss the development of a new security architecture as well as regional issues, including the Ukraine conflict and the Taiwan crisis.
According to Zhang Hanhui, Moscow, Beijing, and Washington should coordinate their efforts on economic and security issues, since no single country is capable of resolving global challenges on its own.
"All countries should follow the example set by us, China and Russia, in how to build relations between neighboring countries and between major powers. And we will work together to make our contribution to the development of the economy, the global economy, and to maintaining peace and stability throughout the world," Zhang concluded.
The main focus of potential talks would be the transformation of the global security system and the broader world order, according to Konstantin Blokhin, leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia, China, and the United States remain the world’s three key players, he told Izvestia. No crisis can be resolved without their participation, something even American analysts recognize.
The leaders could also discuss regional conflicts. According to Blokhin, the Ukraine issue would almost certainly be discussed at the meeting. China could offer its mediation services, although the United States would most likely view such an initiative skeptically. The White House would see China’s active involvement in the peace process as a capitulation on its own part.
Vedomosti: US expands Pentagon role in protecting midterms from foreign interference
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum overnight on September 29 instructing his department to deploy all the resources of the government to protect election infrastructure from interference by "foreign adversaries." Under the directive, US Cyber Command and combat support forces will concentrate their efforts on identifying and neutralizing foreign interference in US democratic processes. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti argue that greater Pentagon involvement could create organizational problems that Trump might use to attribute election difficulties to foreign actors.
Back in 2016, the US administration of then-Democratic President Barack Obama claimed that Moscow had allegedly interfered in the US election in an effort to support Trump’s candidacy. Now, the Trump administration itself is seeking to highlight concerns about potential threats surrounding the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, which will determine the composition of Congress for the next two years, Vedomosti writes.
Observers and commentators at US media outlets, including CNN, CBS, the Republican-leaning Fox News, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, regard this as a deliberate Trump strategy in light of what they see as the likely election results - according to the Cook Political Report forecast, Republicans could lose both chambers of Congress.
The Pentagon is not capable of rigging the election in favor of Republicans, but the department’s increased involvement could create organizational problems, Igor Shkrobtak, senior researcher at the Department of Military and Political Studies at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies told Vedomosti. In his view, President Trump, if necessary, would be able to find someone to blame for any difficulties in conducting the vote, whether Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran.
Trump knows that after the 2026 midterm elections, it will not only become much more difficult for him to carry out his agenda, but the influential positions of his "clan" within the Republican Party will also come under threat, according to Vladimir Vasilyev, chief researcher at the Institute for US and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The expert considers it likely that Trump could use any available means to "disrupt" the elections, up to and including the imposition of martial law. "The American political system is on the verge of its most serious test," Vasilyev said.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Asian coking coal shortage boosts demand for Russian supplies
A growing shortage of metallurgical, or coking, coal in Asian markets is driving greater interest in Russian supplies. According to NEFT Research data as of September 6, Grade Zh coking coal was priced at $176 per metric ton on an FOB Far East basis, meaning the price at the port of shipment, up 2.9% over the week and 32.3% since the beginning of the year. Experts polled by Rossiyskaya Gazeta expect the Asian coking coal market to undergo a structural shift as demand patterns change, with prices for the most sought-after grades potentially increasing 20-30% by 2029.
Alexander Kotov, consulting partner at NEFT Research, told the newspaper he expects that prices for the most sought-after grades of coking coal could rise by 20-30% from current levels through 2029, with the market set to undergo a structural transformation over the next three years as the geography of demand in Asia changes.
The current price increase may be driven by a slowdown in Chinese production due to stringent environmental inspections at mines following the accident at the Liushenyu mine in late May, strong demand from India, and production problems among key exporters in Australia. There, even a slight worsening of weather conditions during the rainy season, which runs from November through February, can disrupt supplies.
Russian metallurgical coal shipments to China are expected to total around 32-34 mln metric tons in 2026, while Russia’s overall exports of all types of coal to China could decline to 80-85 mln metric tons. According to Alexander Kotov, China currently accounts for more than 60% of Russia’s coking coal exports.
Coking coal production in Russia increased by 3.6% in June. In addition to China, the key market, India continues to show strong interest in metallurgical raw materials. According to forecasts, India will increase purchases to 89 mln metric tons by 2027 and 104 mln metric tons by 2030, compared with 76 mln metric tons last year.
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