© Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defence Ministry/TASS

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, June 27th, prepared by TASS

Izvestia: EU mulls seventh package of sanctions

The European Union is pondering over expanding its sanctions against Russia, but so far there is no substantive discussion about a seventh set of measures. As the European Commission told Izvestia, the six packages already introduced are extensive enough and cover many areas. According to experts, Brussels still has room for more restrictions, but these new measures would run the risk of damaging the European Union itself. According to analysts, right now there is no chance of resuming any broad dialogue between Brussels and Moscow.

Izvestia asked the European Commission whether Brussels deems it possible to conduct direct negotiations with Moscow on the conflict in Ukraine. The position of the European Union on this score has not changed: it does not plan to compromise with Russia. Meanwhile, the European Commission added that the EU's position is clear: Russia must withdraw all its troops and weapons from Ukraine.

"Technically, the EU can impose more sanctions. But if we talk about qualitative steps, then they have certain boundaries since the European Union can damage itself," Director of Programs at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) Ivan Timofeev told Izvestia. As for removing the sanctions, the expert noted that such promises can be made, but the Kremlin has no reason to trust them.

Meanwhile, the EU may include restrictions on gold in the draft of the next set of measures. Brussels is considering the option of joining the G7's ban on the purchase of Russian precious metals. However, it needs to know whether this decision will harm the European economy.

Izvestia: Russia, Belarus to strengthen military, economic cooperation

Russia plans to transfer Iskander-M missile systems to Belarus, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. In addition, the Russian leader offered to retrofit the Sukhoi Su-25s in service with the Belarusian army. That said, Minsk does not demand the transfer of nuclear weapons, but is interested in upgrading aircraft to carry nukes due to intensified NATO training flights with the same warheads, Izvestia writes.

The Belarusian leader castigated the US and NATO’s actions. Lukashenko noted that the US and its allied bloc conduct training flights of aircraft capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In this regard, he asked Putin to consider the possibility of a mirror response. But, Lukashenko emphasized, this must be done "carefully". He explained that Minsk is not insisting that nuclear weapons be transferred, but rather that the country’s jets should be upgraded to carry nukes. The Russian president also agreed to start modernizing the Su-25 aircraft in service with Belarus.

Military expert Viktor Litovkin believes that the current state of affairs is not even worth comparing with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which was resolved successfully. "At the time, it came to a potentially direct exchange of nuclear missile strikes. So far, there is no such tension between Moscow and Washington, or between Russia and NATO," he noted.

The parties also discussed economic issues. In particular, Moscow and Minsk agreed on 15 major projects aimed at replacing products that were previously supplied to both countries by Western enterprises. "It is important for the Union State to make joint efforts to create technological sovereignty, and to develop its technological base," Rector of the State University of Management Vladimir Stroev told Izvestia.

Vedomosti: Ukraine no longer aspires to join NATO

Ukraine will not take steps to join NATO, since the US-led military bloc’s members rejected its aspirations, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine Igor Zhovkva said in an interview with the Financial Times. According to him, Kiev’s accession to the alliance is impossible in the short term. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti agree, noting that Kiev’s promises cannot be fully trusted.

With that in mind, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told El Pais that Ukraine's accession to NATO has never been officially discussed within the bloc. According to the minister, the organization looks forward to granting Sweden and Finland entry, but Ukraine is not considered to be a candidate.

Kiev’s Western partners seem to have made it clear that Ukrainian aspirations to join NATO should not be exaggerated, Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov told Vedomosti. It cannot be ruled out that the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy raised this issue during their recent visit to Kiev, the expert believes. In exchange, they could have promised support for granting Ukraine the status of a candidate member of the European Union, he added.

In March 2022, the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Istanbul already announced that it was ready to abandon joining NATO, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies Vasily Kashin recalled, but then they broke off the negotiations. Therefore, it is impossible to believe any statements from Ukraine on such issues, and the situation will eventually be decided based on the outcome of developments "on the ground," the expert told the newspaper.

Kommersant: Lithuania, EU at odds over Kaliningrad transit

The developments regarding the restriction on transit of sanctioned cargo to Russia’s Kaliningrad region have taken an unexpected turn. The European Commission does not seem to be against creating a transport corridor to the Russian exclave. But Lithuanian officials oppose it. Brussels promised to clarify its sanctions regulations in the coming days, but Vilnius made it clear in advance that they would not make concessions to Moscow, Kommersant writes.

At the end of the week, Politico reported, citing sources, that the European Commission only requires Lithuania to check the goods delivered from various Russian regions to Kaliningrad and back, for attempts to circumvent sanctions. According to the article, Brussels was not going to ban the transit of sanctioned goods to the domestic Russian market completely.

To clarify the situation, the European Commission plans to clarify the issue in the coming days. The Kaliningrad region appears to be expecting Brussels to side with them. Thus, its Governor Anton Alikhanov said earlier that efforts to resolve the problem through diplomatic channels were "yielding results". In turn, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda said that his country would not make any concessions to Russia on the transit issue.

"Lithuania, apparently, opposes the EU making any exceptions for Kaliningrad transit," Director of Programs at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) Ivan Timofeev told Kommersant. "The European Union understands that the transit problem is not just a technical issue. It can lead to the situation worsening. But there are other forces that support punishing Moscow harshly in spite of the consequences," he added. On the other hand, Russia is not ready to "let a partial blockade slide", the expert noted.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia focuses on Caspian Sea states

The Caspian Council is a new organization in the works. This will be announced in Ashgabat, at the first meeting of the Caspian states' foreign ministers on June 28, and then the next day at the sixth Caspian summit, which will also be held in Turkmenistan's capital. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow is betting on the Caspian region, and Turkmenistan is becoming an important country for Russia. The goal is not only to finish the ratification process for the convention, but also to foster cooperation in a variety of other sectors, particularly to unite transportation corridor projects.

Due to disagreements with the West over the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow is beginning to shift its new foreign policy towards the Caspian and Central Asian regions. The current summit may become a turning point in the work of the Caspian "five". The main issues of sharing the Caspian Sea’s natural resources have been resolved at a previous summit. However, the oil and gas resources of the Caspian are fading into the background, as its geostrategic and transit role is becoming more important. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the top diplomats of this quintet will also discuss creating a new organization - the Caspian Council.

"It is clear that Russia is restructuring its foreign policy towards the countries of Central Asia. There is a search for alternative directions at a time when the European Union and the West in general are no longer Russia’s priority. Therefore, all Eurasian dialogue platforms, including the Caspian one, are being revised," Senior Researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Stanislav Pritchin told the newspaper.

"Work will be done within the Caspian Dialogue to look for opportunities for economic and investment cooperation to implement the region's potential and prospects. This is true not only for Turkmenistan, but also for Iran and the other Caspian states," the expert added.