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Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, July 27th, prepared by TASS

Izvestia: Russian deputy envoy highlights need for UN arms embargo on Ukraine

The United Nations Security Council can ensure control over weapons supplies to Ukraine by passing a resolution on an arms embargo against the country, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said in an interview with Izvestia.

"In order to ensure UN control over weapons supplies to Ukraine, the UN needs to impose an arms embargo on the country through a Security Council resolution," he said, when asked if the organization saw a need for such measures. "Clearly, Western countries will never let it happen," the Russian deputy envoy noted. However, Russian representatives have been raising the issue of foreign weapons supplies to Ukraine and will continue to discuss it at future meetings of the UN Security Council, Polyansky added.

When commenting on the grain deal struck by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN, the diplomat emphasized that it was impossible to fully resolve the food crisis without ensuring access of Russian food products and fertilizers to global markets. He added that the issue also depended on the need to demine Ukrainian ports.

Moscow sees no prospects for the UN to act as a mediator to resume political dialogue with Kiev, the Russian first deputy permanent representatives to the UN pointed out. "We don’t maintain dialogue with Kiev within the United Nations, and there was no dialogue even before the special military operation due to the inadequate behavior of the current Ukrainian permanent envoy. Besides, let’s not forget that a number of Western members of the Security Council are providing weapons to the Kiev regime. How would it be possible to engage them in talks as mediators?" Polyansky noted.

According to him, "for the talks to be resumed, the Ukrainian leadership should adopt a realistic approach based on the interests of its own people rather than those of the United States and other Western countries who are waging a proxy war until the last Ukrainian against Russia in this country."

Media: Reduced gas consumption to affect EU’s energy-intensive industries

European Union members have agreed to reduce gas demand by 15% between August 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, compared to the average consumption recorded in the past five years. The goal is to cut costs ahead of the winter and prepare for possible interruptions in Russian gas supplies, Vedomosti notes.

The move to reduce gas consumption will generally go in line with the current decline in Russian gas exports, Managing Director of the NRA rating service Sergey Grishunin pointed out. He was doubtful that EU member states would be able to fulfill their voluntary commitments. "Even if the parties succeed in ensuring a 15% reduction in gas consumption, with the current prices in the EU, at least the production of nitrogen fertilizers and aluminum, as well as electric furnace steelmaking, will become unprofitable," the expert noted.

If gas supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline come to a full stop, the EU will have to reduce consumption by 20-25% instead of 15%, laboratory chief at the Skolkovo School of Management’s Center for Sustainable Development Nikita Dobroslavsky emphasized.

The current situation is further raising tensions among EU members, at least in terms of energy security issues, Managing Partner at WMT Consult Yekaterina Kosareva told Izvestia. "Today, every country combats the energy crisis by itself and has no intention of shutting down its factories and plants for reasons of solidarity," she said. However, production will decline in any case, Leading Expert at the National Energy Security Fund Stanislav Mitrakhovich stressed.

According to Associate Professor at the Russian Government’s Financial University Valery Andrianov, the next winter will be a tough one for the Europeans as the EU will see a sharp slowdown in economic growth due to energy saving efforts and record inflation rates stemming from high energy prices.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Afghanistan seeks to attract foreign investment

Russia, China, the US, Central and Southeast Asian nations expressed interest in economic cooperation with Kabul at a Tashkent-hosted conference on Afghanistan. Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, in turn, highlighted determination to ensure security and fulfill all international obligations, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

"It is a positive sign because as far as the situation in Afghanistan is concerned, the focus has shifted to economic development and the need to address the humanitarian crisis. Better conditions for cooperation and the implementation of economic projects are being created for countries and companies who are committed to constructive work, that is, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan," St. Petersburg State University Professor Alexander Knyazev noted.

"The level of violence in the country has fallen dramatically. The current activities against the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) are mostly virtual in nature. The terrorist groups that are entrenched in Afghanistan are looking for foreign sponsors, appealing to Western countries in an attempt to take instability to a higher level but so far without success. It seems that the West has shelved the Afghan issue for future use. Everyone is currently busy with problems around Ukraine and Russia’s relations with European countries and the US. However, the situation may change as early as the fall, after the US congressional election," Knyazev pointed out.

As for the recognition of the Taliban movement, it is already taking place. "If we work with a country’s government, it means that we recognize it a priori. Moreover, a number of nations, including Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Iran, have accredited diplomats representing the Taliban government," Knyazev noted. In his view, the issue will be further considered at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in September. The event will bring together the countries that are interested in constructive interaction with Afghanistan who has observer status in the SCO.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: France struggling to hold on to its influence in Africa

France is trying to preserve its remaining influence in Africa amid the growing role of China, capable of offering major financial resources and assistance in infrastructure construction, and Russia, who seeks to overcome isolation and build political ties, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

French President Emmaneul Macron has embarked on a four-day working tour of Africa, which includes visits to Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is also on an official African tour, has already visited Egypt, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, while Ethiopia will be his final stop.

"As for the choice of destinations, Uganda is the most Russia friendly country due to ties based on military supplies. Ethiopia hosts the headquarters of the African Union and Moscow appears to be willing to support Addis Ababa in its efforts to find a peaceful solution to a civil conflict. Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso is a mediator well-known throughout Africa, particularly in Libya. Egypt will probably be soothed with assurances of grain supplies," said Alexey Tselunov, the author of the Zangaro Today Telegram channel dedicated to the Black Africa.

"There is little room for competition with France, only that Russia signed a five-year military agreement with Cameroon in April, and Macron may try to persuade [Cameroonian President Paul] Biya against cooperating with Russia and allowing private military companies to enter the country like it happened in the neighboring South African Republic," the expert explained.

Unlike Russia, France has a rather developed economic base on the continent though French companies’ monopoly position in the country’s former colonies started to decrease in the 1990s. "It means that French presence in Africa has been on the decline for decades," Tselunov emphasized.

Vedomosti: ISS future looks bleak as Russia announces plans to leave project

Roscosmos’ new chief, Yury Borisov, stated at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that a decision on quitting the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 had been made. A source at a Roscosmos facility told Vedomosti that the statement did not refer to a non-specific distant date but most likely was about 2025.

Parties to the ISS project (Roscosmos, NASA, the European, Canadian and Japanese space agencies) have so far reached an agreement on using the ISS until 2024. NASA officials earlier did not rule out that the station’s operation might be extended until 2028 or even 2031. However, experts believe that Russia’s withdrawal from the project will mean the end of the ISS.

"Despite a number of statements that the US and its partners plan to use the ISS without Russia, there are very serious doubts about it," corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Andrey Ionin noted. "Russia is responsible for maintaining the efficiency of very complicated systems at the station, and without them it cannot function safely. Consequently, without Russia, it will be impossible to guarantee the crew’s safety and no one will take such risks," he maintained.

When speaking about the future of Russia’s activities in manned space exploration, Ionin was confident that they would definitely continue. Cooperation on a lunar program with China and other BRICS countries may become the main long-term goal so it’s high time to launch talks with China on flights to its space station.