© AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky/TASS

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, July 3rd, prepared by TASS

Russia seeking to avoid considering denunciation options for New START; Ukraine hoping to bolster counteroffensive with new US weapons supplies; and Moscow planning to establish new transport route bypassing Kazakhstan. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

Izvestia: Moscow seeking to avoid New START denunciation options - Russia's rep in Geneva

Russia is hoping that common sense will prevail in the United States, thus obviating any need to consider alternatives to the New START Treaty, Gennady Gatilov, Russian permanent representative to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, said in an interview with Izvestia. The diplomat also assessed the prospects for extending the Black Sea grain deal, noting that it has become a commercial venture and its current status gives Russia no reason to extend it.

"We hope that, sooner or later, common sense will prevail among our former partners [in the US] and we will not have to consider any options entailing the denunciation of New START. One would hope that we could, instead, begin discussions on a treaty that could replace New START after February 2026," he said.

According to the diplomat, Washington should "take concrete steps to de-escalate and create the conditions allowing for the resumption of full-fledged functioning of the treaty." "Until then, however, no steps will be possible on our part toward meeting Washington halfway within the framework of New START," he noted.

Touching upon another key security issue - this time food security - the future of the Black Sea grain deal, Gatilov said, "The implementation of the Russia-UN memorandum on normalizing [Russian] domestic agricultural exports, an essential component of the Istanbul package, remains stalled." He added that, despite the UN's efforts, several important target systemic tasks remain unresolved, such as reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT system.

"The Black Sea program, which initially was held out as a humanitarian endeavor, has long since degenerated into a commercial venture. It functions primarily to deliver Ukrainian grain and fodder to high-income countries, especially in the EU," he added.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Kiev preparing for second stage of counteroffensive in Azov direction

Positional warfare continues in the special military operation zone in Ukraine as Russian troops repel attacks by Ukrainian forces while anticipating that more of Kiev’s strategic reserve units will enter the fray, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky declared that Ukrainian forces "should show results" on the battlefield in time for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12.

The Pentagon does not appear, however, to be expecting any quick wins from the Ukrainian armed forces. US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said recently that Kiev's counteroffensive was taking longer than expected. At the same time, he did not rule out supplying Ukraine with cluster bombs and other new weaponry, including long-range missiles capable of hitting targets up to 300 km away (so-called Army Tactical Missile Systems [ATACMS] - TASS) and fourth-generation US fighter jets (F-16 Fighting Falcons - TASS).

"Kiev's attempts to launch a large-scale counteroffensive without a sufficient number of aircraft have resulted in heavy losses among their personnel," retired Colonel Nikolay Shulgin, a military expert, told the newspaper, adding that the Pentagon's intention to provide Kiev with US-made cluster bombs, ATACMS missiles and F-16 fighter jets could lead to an even greater escalation of the conflict. "Russia will be able to respond to such challenges, but additional casualties and losses will be difficult to avoid if such weapons are deployed," the expert added.

Shulgin emphasized that cluster bombs are prohibited under a relevant treaty, signed in 2008.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Russia plotting new southern transport route bypassing Kazakhstan

Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to establish a new multimodal Southern Transport Corridor route that will circumvent the territory of Kazakhstan. The new route will resolve two problems: It will help importers to bypass the obstacles that arise at the Kazakh border for goods destined for the Russian market and will shift a portion of the cargo flow to Russia’s Caspian Sea port of Astrakhan, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

According to the newspaper, the project will strike a blow to Astana's plans for turning Kazakhstan into a full-fledged transportation hub for Central Asia and the entire Caspian region. "Astana's decision not to violate the Western sanctions imposed on Russia only served as a catalyst for the initiative to create an alternative transport corridor that bypasses Kazakhstan," Alexander Knyazev, a PhD in history and lead researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

The main reason for creating the new corridor, however, according to the expert, is the difficulties experienced in transporting goods across borders, not only between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, but also between Kazakhstan and Russia. The officially stated reason for border delays is the need to conduct phytosanitary inspections and other types of controls, but in reality such delays are completely unjustified, he added.

Knyazev also contends that the new Russian route bypassing Kazakhstan marks a setback for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's efforts to turn Kazakhstan into a transportation hub for the Central Asian countries and the entire Caspian region.

Kommersant: Life belies Russia’s isolation, Russian envoy says about Russia-Africa summit

Preparations for the second Russia-Africa Summit and the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, to be held concurrently in St. Petersburg on July 27-28, are in full swing. The events, as envisioned by the Russian authorities, are intended to boost Moscow’s relations with African countries, contacts with which are currently deemed one of the most important aspects of Russia's foreign policy, Russian Ambassador-at-Large and Director of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Oleg Ozerov said in an interview with Kommersant.

"Claims about Russia's global isolation do not even need to be disproved because life experience itself gives the lie to them. You can see how packed our president's schedule is with foreign heads of state, let alone communications within the BRICS format. African leaders visit Moscow on a regular basis. Meeting rooms at the Russian Foreign Ministry are difficult to reserve; the schedule is made several weeks in advance," he noted.

According to the diplomat, the summit will focus on general issues "concerning the formation of a multipolar world, a new fair architecture of relations based on the principles of sovereign equality of states, equal interaction based on their interests and international law, as opposed to the [so-called] 'rules-based order' promoted by Washington and its allies."

"Several African countries have expressed their desire to join the BRICS, and some have already submitted formal applications. Given that the BRICS summit is scheduled for August, this issue can be discussed at the Russia-Africa summit at the request of our African partners. At the same time, bilateral relations, including economic issues, will be examined. The question of how to build cooperation in the new circumstances arose after the start of Russia's military operation, and the [imposition of the] most severe unilateral sanctions against Russia from the West, which are actually sanctions against all of Russia's allies," he stated.

Izvestia: Bank of Russia planning to roll out Mir card in 5-6 new countries this year

This year, the Central Bank of Russia intends to introduce Mir payment cards in 5-6 new countries, Alla Bakina, director of the National Payment System Department at the Central Bank of Russia, said in an interview with Izvestia.

"We are working on expanding the list of countries that accept the Mir payment card. By 2023, we hope to have Mir cards [functioning] in 5-6 new countries," Bakina said. She went on to say that, "there are countries that are afraid of secondary measures and comply with the sanctions policy," but "some are ready to cooperate and are not afraid to discuss it."

The Mir card has been accepted in Cuba since this spring. According to Bakina, the Cuban side is already installing POS terminals. "We are sticking to the plan with them; the cards will work across the entire network of POS terminals in Cuba this summer. We are confident that this will be convenient for our tourists. Of course, the Cuban side is also interested in such relations, as they contribute to the country's rapidly growing tourism industry," she added.

Bakina explained that five Russian banks provide cross-border transfer services through the Rapid Payment System with the help of foreign partner banks. There are now such partners in three countries, bringing the total to 14.