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Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, June 30th, prepared by TASS

Vedomosti: Turkey obtains vague promises

Following the Madrid Summit, on June 29, NATO announced its decision to invite Finland and Sweden to the US-led military bloc which had been previously blocked by Turkey who accused these Nordic countries of supporting Kurdish groups and adherents of Fethullah Gulen. A day earlier, on June 28, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Finland and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding, confirming Turkish support for the Scandinavian countries to enter NATO. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office stated that Ankara got everything it wanted.

Turkey has so far achieved its goals just at this stage, according to Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Amur Gadzhiev. It seems that Turkish demands towards Sweden and Finland were accepted under pressure from the US and the UK who need Turkey for more global goals, including the fight against Russia, he noted. The memorandum was prepared in haste as can be seen from reading the document, the expert noted.

On the other hand, the memorandum is just a declaration of intentions, it does not bind Sweden and Finland to fulfill its requirements. In order to implement the document, its provisions have to go through parliaments, the expert noted, explaining that public opinion in these countries is unlikely to approve of the extradition of political refugees to Turkey.

According to the NATO Charter, after being invited to the alliance, the country becomes an observer for a period when it has to fulfill a number of requirements, Director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov pointed out. The country is accepted after this decision is approved by the parliaments of all member states. Turkey may express its displeasure at this stage as well, if it thinks that Sweden and Finland are not fulfilling their commitments, the expert noted.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Ashgabat hosts Sixth Caspian Summit

On Wednesday, June 29, in Ashgabat, the participants of the Sixth Caspian Summit discussed theme-based cruises, film festivals, Caspian seals and, of course, oil and gas. Russian President Vladimir Putin together with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan gave special attention to cooperation in the spheres of economy, energy, culture and ecology.

The development of economic ties with Caspian littoral countries may involve not just direct trade among each other but also trade via transit with third countries, Chief Expert at the Institute of Trade Policy of the National Research University of the Higher School of Economics Roman Kryuchkov notes. This is about using them as intermediaries, for example, in trade with China through Kazakhstan, as well as in the more advanced formats of cooperation.

For example, the format of investment or scientific and technological cooperation, industrial cooperation, subsidiary or joint ventures in these jurisdictions as an avenue to circumvent sanctions, the expert specified.

Izvestia: Is Norway’s blockade of Spitsbergen unfolding along the Lithuanian scenario?

Norway refused to exempt cargo from Russia sent to Russian settlements on Spitsbergen, and in response, Moscow threatened to retaliate. Experts are confident that the situation resembles the blockade of the Kaliningrad Region.

Norway is not a member of the European Union, yet it supported all the EU’s anti-Russia sanctions so there is no hope that Oslo will change its behavior. The Nordic country is acting in line with Euro-Atlantic solidarity, Leading Researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) Pavel Gudev told Izvestia.

Russian International Affairs Council Director General Andrey Kortunov concurs: "This case is similar to the recent Lithuanian scandal around the Kaliningrad Region. The EU makes a decision on sanctions, while the countries that are in it, or, in the case of Norway, that are affiliated with it, try to ensure the fullest implementation of the restriction directives," the political scientist explained.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Bulgaria, Russia embark on purge of diplomats

According to Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Moscow will respond to the expulsion of 70 employees of its diplomatic missions from Bulgaria who have been told to leave the country by July 3. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov who received a vote of non-confidence last week accused the diplomats of being intelligence agents, stressing that the move should not be construed as "aggression against the Russian people." In contrast to Russian officials, experts do not see the West’s hand in this decision.

"Spy scandals have become a recurrent theme of Russian-Bulgarian relations lately. However, the expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats will reduce Moscow’s diplomatic representation in Sofia by more than half and will result in the closure of all Russian consulates in Bulgaria. Which means that tens of thousands of Russian citizens vacationing or who own property on the Bulgarian coast will be deprived of consular services at the height of the tourist season," Senior Researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) Yekaterina Shumitskaya told the newspaper.

According to her, this sudden turn for the worse in bilateral ties on one hand is the logical result of a gradual cooling in dialogue between Moscow and Sofia, yet on the other, it has specific reasons, citing, among others, the resolute condemnation of Russia’s combat actions in Ukraine by the Bulgarian government, especially after its representatives visited Kiev.

Vedomosti: Can foreign currency purchases help weaken ruble exchange rate

Russia’s Finance Ministry proposed directing some of the oil and gas budget’s excess profits towards interventions on the foreign currency market in order to stop the ruble from strengthening, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a summit of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Wednesday. According to him, this is the last measure from the "heavy artillery" options since the lifting of currency restrictions has not helped dampen the ruble while so far imports are not increasing.

The interventions on the currency market represent the most effective measure to influence the exchange rate of the national currency, chief analyst at PSB Denis Popov says. With the right volume of interventions and the settings of the currency market’s operations, this measure can stop any excessive strengthening of the ruble and decrease its volatility, Gazprombank economist Pavel Biryukov concurs.

He explained that given the restrictions introduced against the Russian economy, the Finance Ministry can only rely on the currencies of "friendly" countries, which include the member states of the EAEU, BRICS and the SCO. Among them, the most liquid and convenient one is the yuan, the expert added. Mikhail Zeltser, a stock market expert at BCS World of Investments, agrees that essentially, currently yuan is the most liquid and justified currency from the point of view of the volumes of foreign trade.