Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, November 15th, prepared by TASS
Izvestia: World’s failures and accomplishments at COP26
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow did not live up to its high expectations, according to experts interviewed by Izvestia. Due to disputes, the participating countries adopted the final agreement with a delay and with more restrained formulas than was previously announced. For example, the participant countries agreed to "phase down" rather than "phase out" energy from fossil fuels. However, COP26 participants promised to boost financial assistance to poor and developing countries to combat climate change.
Experts interviewed by the newspaper noted that it was not worth waiting for global breakthroughs from COP26. Program Coordinator at the Russian International Affairs Council Konstantin Sukhoverkhov told Izvestia that the participants had to primarily agree on technical issues, namely on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, that is, to discuss how to create an international carbon market. However, according to the expert, "the long break between the climate conferences and the growing importance of the green agenda after the pandemic has stirred heightened expectations from the Glasgow conference."
At the same time, climatologist and Head of WWF’s Russian program Climate and Energy Program Alexey Kokorin described the progress of the talks in Glasgow to the paper as "not bad, but slow". "This conference did not imply signing agreements, as it did in 2015. Nevertheless, all countries have at least stated that they will move towards carbon neutrality: some by 2030, others by 2060," he said.
In addition to the final agreement, the participants of the climate conference managed to sign separate declarations. "More than 100 countries have made a collective commitment to reduce global methane emissions by 30% by 2030. In addition, 23 countries have taken on new commitments to phase down coal energy," representative of the Russian delegation to COP26 Alexander Zayer told Izvestia.
Even the two chief "producers" of greenhouse gases in the world - China and the United States - joined the initiatives. "These declarations are not binding, but they represent considerable value, especially for those who receive funding," Kokorin told Izvestia.
Kommersant: Belarus-EU migration crisis hurting Moscow's relations with the West
The migration crisis on the Poland-Belarus border is transforming into a new confrontation between Russia and the West, who blamed Moscow for the current situation, Kommersant writes. UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was the harshest, suggesting that the Western allies could take retaliatory measures, in particular, boycott the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The UK diplomacy chief insisted on holding Russia more responsible for the migration crisis on the border than Belarus.
The blame game against Moscow over the Belarusian border migration crisis emerged last week, however, those statements, with the exception of Poland and the Baltic countries, were not so radical. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus actually played up to the critics of Russia, accusing it of weaponizing gas supplies, the newspaper writes. The UK Foreign Secretary’s statement came after a meeting in Minsk last Friday when Lukashenko threatened to cut off the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline if the EU closes the border with his country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin later commented on Lukashenko’s initiative, suggesting that the Belarusian leader, perhaps, got excited, and promised to "talk about this issue" with him. Putin emphasized that the causes of the crisis were created by nations of the West and Europe themselves and that these causes are political, military, and economic.
Meanwhile, Moscow's calls for direct contacts between the EU and Belarus to resolve the crisis yielded its first fruits on Sunday evening. According to the Foreign Ministry of Belarus, the situation was discussed by Minsk's top diplomat Vladimir Makei and EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Biden seeks competition, not fight with China
A virtual summit between Presidents Joe Biden of the US and Xi Jinping of China, scheduled for November 15, reflects the desire of both sides to smooth over military conflicts and at least partially remove obstacles to trade, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. According to the White House, the Biden administration is ready for tough competition but does not want any conflict. At the same time, the United States and China are not expecting solutions to controversial issues, in particular about Taiwan. Indeed, the other day, Xi Jinping called on the countries of the Asia-Pacific region not to succumb to Washington’s attempts to drag them into a confrontation with China.
The preparations for the summit were discussed in a phone call by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Blinken stated that there are areas where the interests of the two countries coincide and expressed concern about military, diplomatic, and economic pressure on Taiwan. Wang dismissed these claims, saying that Washington should stop supporting separatist sentiments on the island, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Head of the School of Asian Studies at the Higher School of Economics Andrey Karneev told the newspaper, "The goal is to reduce tensions and agree on regular contacts. There are areas of the relationship where the prospect of finding a common approach is favorable. Such areas include climate change, the fight against coronavirus, and ensuring sustainability in the energy sector. But on this score, there is little chance of agreeing on Taiwan and the disputes in the South China Sea". "However, progress can be expected in the area of trade and economic ties. Biden is facing a difficult economic situation, with the US up against inflation and a shortage of goods due to supply interruptions. In addition, China is struggling with problems in the energy and real estate sectors. This is forcing the parties to seek compromise options and to reduce the intensity of the trade war," the expert added.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Kiev accuses Moscow of undermining Normandy Four talks
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba is heading to Brussels on November 15 in preparation for the Eastern Partnership summit. The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany, and France will meet in Brussels on Monday. Earlier, negotiations were planned between the Normandy Four top diplomats for an opportunity for talks, which failed to transpire. Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports that after a month of preparations for a full-fledged meeting, the parties slipped back into harsh confrontational statements, which in general may call into question the effectiveness of the previously existing formats for settling the Donbass conflict.
Kuleba stressed that the meeting in Brussels is needed to coordinate steps to revitalize the Normandy format and promote a political and diplomatic settlement "of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict". However, this a more of a diplomatic statement to describe a deep crisis in the format of the negotiations that was created in 2014, the newspaper writes.
Kiev is not ruling out Moscow’s "military aggression". "All international negotiations are conducted factoring in such a scenario, and the conversation about the settlement in Donbass is seen only as part of a larger problem. "The Normandy Four could hardly agree on compromises given a new round of confrontation," Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
During the talks in Brussels, the top diplomats of Ukraine, Germany, and France will try to find a way out of the situation and think of actions in the event relations with Russia deteriorate. An appeal to hold full-format negotiations of the Normandy Four could be expected on Monday, the newspaper writes.
Vedomosti: Russia plans to raise fines for environmental violations during coal transshipment
The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources submitted to the government a bill on toughening responsibility for violating environmental standards during coal transshipment in ports, the ministry’s representative told Vedomosti. The bill establishes fines for stevedores for failure to eliminate violations of legislation in the field of environmental protection during coal transshipment, crushing, and sorting in ports in the amount of 100,000-200,000 rubles ($1,378-2,757). The fine doubles if companies don’t comply twice - up to 300,000-600,000 rubles ($4,135-8,270). In addition, their activities may be suspended for up to 90 days.
According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs opposed the amendments to the legislation. At the same time, the position of the Ministry of Natural Resources remains unchanged: sanctions should prevent and reduce environmental pollution. A representative of the Ministry of Transport told Vedomosti that the bill was approved by the department back in February.
A source in a large stevedoring company told Vedomosti that the industry's comments were not considered. In particular, ports asked to exclude the suspension of activities for up to 90 days, since it can cause significant losses often making it impossible to continue activities, the source emphasized.
According to experts, the new fines are unlikely to seriously affect the environmental situation in ports. "The amount of fines for ports is insignificant and is unlikely to have a significant impact on the industry," Managing Director of the NRA Rating Service Sergey Grishunin. "We need fines that would make coal transshipment companies unwilling to violate the requirements of environmental standards," Director of corporate ratings group ACRA Ilya Makarov said.
