Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, November 16th, prepared by TASS
Izvestia: How EU sanctions will affect dialogue with Minsk regarding the migrant crisis
The European Union has decided to impose sanctions against individuals involved in organizing the immigrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border. Brussels has expanded the criteria for being placed on its blacklist. Now, the measures will affect individuals and legal entities who organize illegal crossing of the external borders of the EU or facilitate Alexander Lukashenko’s "regime". At the moment, it is not clear who will be blacklisted. Experts told Izvestia, the EU would use the penalties as a bargaining chip in talks with Minsk regarding the crisis.
"These sanctions are, among other things, a political argument of the European Union: they show that if there is no progress, the EU will be ready to enact them," Director of Programs at the Russian International Affairs Council and the Valdai Club Ivan Timofeev told the newspaper. "It is more beneficial for Brussels to enter negotiations with the threat of sanctions," he added.
"In my opinion, the actions of EU officials go beyond the boundaries of common sense. Their rationale and the consequences they seek are utterly inexplicable," Chairman of the Standing Commission for International Affairs of the Belarusian House of Representatives Andrei Savinykh told Izvestia.
Russia has also been accused of being complicit in Europe's migration dilemma on numerous occasions. There have even been requests recently to expel Russia and Belarus from a number of international organizations. Moscow is skeptical that this plan will be implemented. "This proposition is completely unjustified, and also extremely ludicrous. It is a clear propaganda move aimed at diverting attention away from Poland, and putting the spotlight on Belarus, as well as Russia," Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev told Izvestia.
The EU is also asking Moscow to pressure Minsk. The Kremlin says that they are ready to join the settlement as a mediator, and note that Russia is already "partially" acting like one.
So far, Brussels and Minsk have yet to agree. The most likely option is for the immigrants to return home. Iraq has already said it was ready to contribute. The first special repatriation flight for its citizens is scheduled for November 18.
Izvestia: NATO aviation continues to monitor Russia’s Black Sea fleet
NATO reconnaissance operations did not end with the conclusion of joint NATO and Allied exercises in the Black Sea. The North Atlantic Alliance's planes shifted from monitoring Russian territory to observing the operations of the Russian fleet's warships. At the same time, experts told Izvestia that the unscheduled international exercises were small in scale and appeared to be more of a public relations campaign. Moscow did not respond to them.
Last week, at the height of the exercises, on some days, up to six visits by reconnaissance aircraft from foreign countries were recorded. In addition to the United States, aircraft from France and the UK also flew over the Black Sea. On the morning of November 15, two P-8 Poseidon surveillance and patrol planes and an air tanker were operating over the Black Sea simultaneously. They did not approach Russia’s borders this time. Instead, they observed the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in the Crimea region, military sources told Izvestia.
"The surprise NATO exercises that took place in the Black Sea turned out to be more of a PR move than a genuine military training event," military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told the newspaper. "This can be seen both in the duration and in the list of tasks. Of course, the real scenario as opposed to their officially announced one, remains unknown, but it is improbable that the US and its partners were able to work on something covertly, considering that they were being closely watched by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet ships. In fact, it provided an excellent opportunity for our sailors to train," he added.
However, the importance of such exercises should not be underestimated, the expert believes. Although there was no live fire, the ships worked on communication and interaction, necessary for any joint activities. And the basis of NATO's Black Sea strategy is precisely the coalition operations of the fleets of several states. Such multinational maneuvers are regularly carried out to prepare for such operations.
Russia did not begin to conduct unplanned retaliatory ship maneuvers in the Black Sea. According to President Vladimir Putin, this was done in order not to aggravate the situation in the region.
Kommersant: Azerbaijan, Armenia continue minor conflicts
With the arrival of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, the major conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has broken down into minor conflicts. The parties continue to fire across the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in the zone of responsibility of the peacekeeping forces. Experts told Kommersant that the skirmishes will continue until a real peace treaty is signed and the parties tackle the question of border delimitation.
A source in Russia’s state structures dealing with this region told Kommersant that there is a large tangle of issues. The Russian official stated that Moscow is ready to assist the parties in resolving these issues. However, the process is not simple. So far, only consultations on the question of delimitation have taken place, with no announcement of the formation of a relevant commission. This, Kommersant says, can be accomplished through a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. The meeting's date has yet to be determined.
According to Kommersant, if the delimitation process can be initiated, the parties will almost certainly face territorial exchanges, and the public in both Azerbaijan and Armenia should be prepared for this. Azerbaijan's Prime Minister, Ali Asadov, previously stated that Baku supports the earliest possible delimitation and delineation of the country's border with its neighbor.
Yerevan has not responded yet. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has struggled to maintain power since the country's defeat in the 2020 war. If it is discovered that Yerevan has yielded or is preparing to concede something to Baku, the Armenian prime minister will face new challenges.
Political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan recalled that all major wars ended in treaties. "Is the war over? Not really. How will it continue? Well, there are some versions… there was… the ‘Versailles Treaty’, Yalta and Potsdam. We live in ‘the Congress of Vienna’, the defining moment of what the region will be like."
Vedomosti: Putin trying to help Donbass with vaccines and access to Russian state procurement
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree under which goods from the unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics are allowed to participate in public procurement on an equal basis with Russian goods, Vedomosti writes. This procedure will remain in effect until the Minsk agreements are fulfilled. In addition, Putin also signed a decree on humanitarian support for the population of the unrecognized republics.
A source close to the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic told Vedomosti the virtually complete absence of Russian vaccines against COVID-19 has been noticed in the unrecognized republics for several months, and the local incidence rate is as high as in the surrounding regions of Russia and Ukraine.
There has been a shortage of vaccines against coronavirus for many months in the republics, there are also difficulties with medical support and doctors, former Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, State Duma Deputy Alexander Boroday told Vedomosti. At the same time, he added, allowing local businesses to participate in Russian state purchases is a critical move that will boost the economies of the republics.
Organizations registered everywhere, with the exception of offshores such as Panama, can compete for government contracts, managing partner at Enterprise Legal Solutions Yuri Fedyukin told Vedomosti. However, he emphasized that the situation is more problematic in Ukraine, which the territories of the unrecognized republics are legally part of, due to US sanctions on the republics and the danger of secondary penalties against enterprises who interact with them. Customers, Fedyukin noted, create sanctions risks for themselves by entering into contracts with enterprises based in Donetsk or Lugansk. To reduce these risks, it will be necessary to somehow restrict the information on tender participants, although this violates antimonopoly law standards.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russian enterprises foresee losses from new COVID passports
The Russian government's intentions to adopt QR codes as a second passport pose difficult questions: are people prepared to suffer inconvenience in order to control the pandemic, and would QR codes help save lives? However, it is clearly obvious that the so-called QR passports would restrict economic activity across the country, as well as lower demand in transportation and the whole service sector, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
The government stated that the choice to employ QR codes in specific industries would be determined by regional authorities. At the same time, they pledge to keep the doors of pharmacies and stores selling necessities open.
Russia's airline and train industries, as well as catering and other service sectors, are prepared to evaluate the costs of the mandated QR codes. Some analysts predict that the population's demand will decline by at least half in the first few months of the new control system's operation. The total damage might be in the hundreds of billions of rubles.
Air carriers warn of reduced traffic after codes are introduced. S7 Airlines, for example, anticipates a 50% reduction in traffic. Other service segments are projected to have revenue declines and potentially large-scale bankruptcies. Chairman of the Association of Cinema Owners Oleg Berezin said the use of QR codes might result in the closure of cinemas all across the country. According to restaurateurs, client traffic dropped by more than 80% last year and now a 60% drop can be expected.
CEO of InfoLine analytical agency Ivan Fedyakov cautioned that any restrictions on consumer behavior would have a detrimental impact - first on traffic, then on sales.
Chief analyst at TeleTrade Petr Pushkarev is skeptical that the measures would compel people to get vaccinated. He does not expect that anti-vaxxers will travel to restaurants and shopping centers to get vaccinated.
