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Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, October 19th, prepared by TASS

Kommersant: Ukrainian top diplomat seeks to cut ties with Iran, as Kiev eyes Israeli air defense system

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba insists on severing diplomatic relations with Iran and submitted a proposal to President Vladimir Zelensky. Kiev accuses Tehran of selling drones to Russia to strike Ukrainian territory. That said, Ukraine intends to ask Israel for air defense systems to protect its cities. However, Israel is not sure about the need to supply weapons to Kiev, Kommersant writes.

Kiev accuses Tehran of selling Mohajer-6 and Shahed-136 drones to Moscow. Official representatives of Russia and Iran deny these accusations. Judging by photos published by the media, the inscription "Geranium-2" is visible on the drones shot down in Ukraine. Military experts claim that this is a copy of the Iranian Shahed-136 drone.

In addition to announcing its intention to break off relations with Tehran, Kuleba intends to send an official request to the Israeli government for air defense systems. "As for supposedly already delivered systems. First, not everything published in the media is true. Second, since this is a closed topic in Israel, without violating secrecy, we can say the following: at the moment, certain measures are being taken to expand cooperation on this topic. And Kuleba’s statement is the next stage of these measures and efforts. What happens next depends on the political decision of the Israeli government," Israeli military expert David Gendelman told Kommersant.

An Israeli security source told Ynet they do not believe in a positive response from the Israeli authorities despite their sympathy for Ukrainian people and the desire to help them. On the other hand, former director of the Israeli Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) and former head of military intelligence, retired Major General Amos Yadlin, in an interview with Israeli TV Channel 12, said that Israel could well expand its assistance to Ukraine, even by furnishing Kiev with air defense systems. He noted that this should not be seen as a weapon against the Russian military, but as a defense against Iranian drones.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Grain deal may not pass stress test

Turkey is concerned that the grain deal, set to expire on November 19 may fail to be prolonged. Ankara is demanding that the US guarantee unimpeded exports of Russian agricultural products. Meanwhile, there is still no confirmation about extending the deal from Russia. Moscow is dissatisfied with the free export of Ukrainian grain with obvious obstacles to similar Russian exports, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said recently that if it turns out that humanitarian corridors for delivering grain to the poorest countries are being used for terrorist attacks, this will call into question the implementation of the deal.

Negotiations between Russia and UN representatives on the deal began a week ago. So far, the parties noted a detailed exchange of views, the Russian side emphasized the need to establish sustainable supplies of grain and fertilizers to countries in need.

Russia will lose practically nothing if the deal is not extended, political analyst Andrey Suzdaltsev told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "We were virtually deceived, and President Vladimir Putin directly pointed this out," he notes. "First, less than 10% of Ukrainian grain made it to underdeveloped countries, the lion's share went to resellers from European nations. In addition, Ukraine did not have the promised 25 mln tons of wheat, a lot of it was exported by land through Poland. And most importantly, the second part of the deal was not completed. Although formally Russian grain was not under sanctions, restrictions on insurance and other services related to its exports were not lifted, not a single Russian grain carrier left our ports as part of the deal. Vessels carrying our fertilizers and ammonia also remained blocked," he said, noting that it is possible, however, that Turkey will find a way out and will be able to extend the deal for several months.

Kommersant: European Commission trots out new proposal to tackle energy crisis

The European Commission has trotted out a new package of measures to overcome the energy crisis. So far, the European regulator has refused to immediately cap gas prices, and instead proposed launching a new benchmark for liquefied natural gas, a dynamic price cap at the TTF hub and mandatory joint fuel purchases for European companies. According to analysts interviewed by Kommersant, these ideas call into question already signed long-term contracts for the supply of gas to the EU and may cause a negative reaction from LNG suppliers.

According to experts, the ideas of the European Commission will not have a direct impact on Russian gas supplies, but in the future, the EU will have the opportunity to separately regulate prices for LNG and pipeline gas.

Sergey Kondratiev from the Institute of Energy and Finance noted that the proposals of the European Commission create many uncertainties. It is not clear on what basis a "new price indicator" for LNG will be created, or whether it will apply only to new contracts and spot deals, or whether the regulator will try to apply it to previously concluded contracts as well. With the proposal to jointly purchase gas, the EU de facto is creating a buyer’s cartel. The greatest threat to Russian gas supplies is the TTF pricing being tampered with, Kondratiev added.

According to Maria Belova from Vygon Consulting, the TTF price regulation initiative and an LNG benchmark have a high chance of being implemented, since they are directly related to regulating the EU gas market.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Washington accuses Saudis of siding with Russia

Saudi Arabia is reaping the consequences of disagreements with the United States over OPEC+ oil policy. Israeli defense companies that had bet on opening export channels to the kingdom have temporarily abandoned their plans. Meanwhile, members of the Democratic Party continue to work on an arms embargo against Riyadh, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Sources from Breaking Defense reported on the concerns of members of the Israeli defense industry. According to them, industry players have temporarily halted their attempts to do business with Saudi Arabia after it parted ways with the US over oil production. Despite the fact that there are no official ties between the Jewish state and the Arabian monarchy, they have established cooperation in the field of security. However, so far, defense contacts between the United States and Saudi Arabia continue, despite apparent friction.

"Speculation about Saudi Arabia’s actions is expected from representatives of the US establishment before the mid-term congressional elections, when everyone is anticipating a growing market and stability in the economy, but it is easier to shift the blame to the other side than to admit one’s mistakes," said Anton Mardasov, a non-resident researcher at the Washington-based Middle East Institute (MEI) and expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs, when speaking to Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

According to him, Riyadh's recent actions were made to support its own economy and the "Russia factor" was just convenient. "In this regard, the weapons issue is another mainstream vector that has no basis and most likely aims to ‘further punish’ the Arabian monarchy for not joining Washington," the expert added.

Vedomosti: Russian government considers liquidating Rusnano

The Russian government is discussing the dissolution of Rusnano, three federal officials and a source close to the company told Vedomosti. According to them, the financial problems of the development institution worsened after the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, in connection with which the state-owned company virtually lost the ability to independently service its obligations.

According to the newspaper’s sources, an appeal on the matter was sent by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Rusnano's assets may be sold, while retaining some of the portfolio companies with high significance for the country's technological development. Their buyers may be other specialized state-owned companies, sources said.

A federal official and a source close to Rusnano told the newspaper, there are also other scenarios. The company can be turned into an innovation center. Nevertheless, the fate of the corporation depends on the decision of the president, both sources believe.