The US and Israel aim to prevent Turkey from capitalizing on Assad’s fall; Brussels is unlikely to pressure Ukraine to resume Russian gas transit for Slovakia’s sake; and Moscow, Tehran continue to boost relations. These stories have topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia, according to TASS News Agency.

Izvestia: US, Israel seek to prevent Turkey from benefiting from Assad’s fall

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has visited Syria, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also plans to make a trip to Damascus in the near future. Turkey’s embassy has reopened in the Syrian capital after 12 years, following the regime change in the country. Ankara seeks to be the main player in Syria and occupy the position that used to belong to Moscow and Tehran. However, the US and Israel are determined to prevent Syria from turning into a strategic stronghold for Turkey, Izvestia writes.

Middle East expert Andrey Ontikov points out that in the short term, the Turks and the Israelis are winning. "The Turks have managed to install their loyal groups in Damascus. Qatar is another country likely to benefit from this, as there is talk about reviving the project of building a gas pipeline from Qatar to Turkey and Europe via Syria," the expert explained. Israel, in turn, is expanding its occupation zone in Syria. The prospects of Israel leaving the area are unclear. "The Israelis aren’t going there to leave," the analyst asserted.

Ontikov stresses that in the long run, the Americans pose a threat to Turkey as they plan to create an independent Kurdistan. The political scientist believes that a future Kurdish state could include parts of Syrian and Iranian territories, as well as a large portion of Turkey.

Alina Sbitneva, a researcher with the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, notes that Turkey has firmly entrenched itself in Syria and has no intention of letting it go. The expert added that Ankara was actively building relationships with the new contenders for power in Syria, even though ties were established some time ago. "Russia has invested too much in the region to cede it to anyone easily. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Bashar Assad’s fall did not mean a defeat for Russia, as it also has more important strategic goals, and the presence of Russian military bases is further proof of that," the specialist remarked.

The political scientist emphasizes that it’s not the Russian bases that pose the main problem for Turkey but US policies and Israel, which is Washington’s active ally, staking claims to vast territories in Syria, the expert concluded.

Media: Brussels unlikely to demand Kiev resume Russian gas transit for Slovakia’s sake

Brussels is unlikely to intervene in the issue of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, which prompted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Moscow recently. He specifically discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin in light of Kiev’s refusal to extend the gas transit agreement starting next year. Disruptions in stable supplies of cheaper Russian gas may pose risks of stagnation for the Slovak economy, Nezavisimaya Gazeta notes.

Stanislav Tkachenko, a professor in the Department of European Studies at St. Petersburg State University’s Faculty of International Relations, pointed out that an idea had emerged earlier to reclassify Russian gas as Slovak at the border to ensure transit continues. Russia essentially had no objections. "However, Kiev ultimately stated that there would be no gas and no transit unless Russia agreed that Slovakia could pay for the already supplied gas after the armed conflict concluded. Clearly, Russia found the proposal unacceptable. So Russian gas transit will have to stop unless some extraordinary measures are taken at the very last minute," Tkachenko explained. According to the analyst, the Slovak premier’s warnings that such a decision would harm not only his country’s economy but also that of the entire European Union will not alter Brussels’ stance on Kiev.

As for alternative solutions for Bratislava, Igor Yushkov, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told Kommersant that Slovakia could procure liquefied natural gas from the nearest port terminal in Germany, the Netherlands, or Belgium and then transit it through a neighboring country. Another option is to purchase Russian or US gas on a global trading basis. However, in either case, this would result in substantial transportation costs, which would be prohibitively high, the expert noted.

Meanwhile, according to Tkachenko, one could speculate that during discussions on the Ukraine conflict's resolution prospects, Fico might have expressed a willingness to mediate, similar to his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban. "Still, it seems Moscow took a pragmatic stance and concluded that there’s no benefit in discussing the Ukraine issue at this stage. The reason is that Russia seeks long-term peace rather than a temporary ceasefire, and neither the Hungarian nor Slovak premier is capable of addressing this challenge. Moreover, there is no assurance that US President-elect Donald Trump is prepared for such negotiations. <...> That said, halting military operations would only harm Russia’s position," Tkachenko stressed.

Izvestia: Moscow, Tehran continue to boost relations

Moscow continues to strengthen its political and economic relations with Iran. A Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Ministers Alexey Overchuk and Vitaly Savelyev visited Tehran on December 23. The delegation, which also included Transport Minister Roman Starovoit and Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozyorov, conducted high-level meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, and Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh. The discussions focused on economic development and transport ties, Izvestia reports.

The parties specifically agreed on further steps to implement the Astara-Rasht railway project. This railway is being constructed as part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, a key component of Russia’s foreign trade strategy.

"Moscow and Tehran attach great importance to the development of the North-South Transport Corridor. Advanced logistics within the project will significantly reduce freight transportation time and costs while establishing alternative routes for goods flows. Furthermore, collaboration on the project boosts the international standing of both Russia and Iran, showcasing their ability to withstand sanctions pressure from Western nations," oriental studies expert Leonid Tsukanov explained.

"Russian-Iranian trade relations hold substantial potential for growth," he emphasized. "Both nations are steadily increasing trade, expanding partnerships through public-private initiatives, and improving logistics. With Iran’s integration into the BRICS group and its strengthening ties within the Eurasian Economic Union, there are now greater opportunities to launch joint trade and economic projects, as well as to develop infrastructure and logistics systems. As sanctions pressure escalates, both countries can not only broaden their trade relations but also enhance their quality in areas such as advanced technologies," the expert added.

Additionally, Russia and Iran plan to sign an agreement on a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in January. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to visit Moscow for this purpose. The accord was initially slated to be signed on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October. However, the parties later decided that such a pivotal agreement warranted a dedicated high-level meeting.

Vedomosti: Trump's shocking statements signal ambition for landmark deals

US President-elect Donald Trump has reiterated a wish to purchase Greenland from Denmark. This is not his first unexpected foreign policy initiative. Recently, the Financial Times reported Trump’s purported plans to demand that NATO allies raise their defense spending to five percent of GDP, up from the two percent level agreed in 2006, as reported by Vedomosti.

Trump first expressed interest in purchasing Greenland back in 2019. Analysts believe this desire is driven by the island’s strategic location in the Arctic, where a race for the region’s resources is underway. According to publicly available data, Greenland possesses reserves of valuable resources, including gold, silver, copper, and uranium.

Washington is also strategically interested in Greenland from a military perspective, Vladimir Vasilyev, senior research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies, explained. According to the expert, the island could host intermediate-range missiles capable of reaching Russia. Furthermore, the idea of purchasing Greenland should be viewed as an attempt to counter China’s growing influence in the region. "In the near future, Trump will try to accomplish what he didn’t have time to achieve during his first term, including addressing the Greenland issue," the analyst observed.

Greenland is just one of several territories and strategic assets Trump has recently mentioned acquiring or reclaiming. In early December, the incoming US president referred to Canada as his country’s 51st state. On December 22, Trump turned his attention to the Panama Canal, built by the US in the early 20th century and handed over to Panama in 1999. Trump’s primary objection to the canal’s administration is the high cost of its services. Meanwhile, Panama’s President Raul Mulino Quintero has stated that he has no intention of giving the canal away to anyone.

By discussing his expansionist ambitions, Trump aims to position himself as more than just another US president, presenting himself as a leader of a distinct and impactful nature, Andrey Kortunov, research director of the Russian International Affairs Council, noted. While the likelihood of the US purchasing Greenland remains slim, Trump is once again highlighting his determination to pursue major deals, such as resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

 Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Experts decode bitcoin’s volatile price swings

The price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, surpassed the $100,000 level in mid-December and continued to set new records almost every day. The main cryptocurrency’s price may either rise to $1 million in the next five years or drop to zero. In fact, it no longer has either a ceiling or a floor, said experts interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

Bitcoin’s price started to soar right after Donald Trump secured the US presidential election on November 5, increasing by over 50% in six weeks. The price declined only after US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell declared that there were no plans to create a national strategic cryptocurrency stockpile. Otherwise, a new period of price surges would have followed. Still, crypto investors aren’t losing hope.

The reason is that Trump and his close circle have spoken positively about the future of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, said Yevgeny Kogan, an economist and founder of the Bitkogan project. "The crypto market is literally on fire. However, apart from the rise of cryptocurrencies, the US is also discussing how regulations will evolve once the new administration comes to power. An increasing number of crypto enthusiasts are taking influential positions in Trump’s future team. They may take the helm of the Department of the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Agriculture as early as January. If investors follow the ‘buy on rumors, sell on facts’ strategy, then the bitcoin price will continue to grow until Trump’s inauguration," the expert pointed out.

Some bold predictions on the cryptocurrency market say that the bitcoin price will reach the $200,000 mark and even rise to $1 million by 2030, Pyotr Shcherbachenko, associate professor with the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, remarked. The cryptocurrency’s price has gone up by over 120% in less than a year since the beginning of 2024.

"Further rapid growth is possible if, for instance, Donald Trump makes Federal Reserve Chair Powell step aside and promotes the decision to create a strategic bitcoin stockpile for the US government. US Senator Cynthia Lummis proposes the Federal Reserve hold bitcoins along with gold. It could enhance the legitimacy of the cryptocurrency and attract additional investment. However, no one can guarantee that this is the way things will progress. Perhaps, all the buzz around bitcoin is just part of Trump's election campaign," the expert concluded.

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