MOSCOW: The EU is poised to intensify efforts to disrupt the upcoming Russia-US summit; the Arab League urges inviting Russia to join Gaza r...
MOSCOW: The EU is poised to intensify efforts to disrupt the upcoming Russia-US summit; the Arab League urges inviting Russia to join Gaza reconstruction efforts; and Japan’s first female prime minister is likely to keep following the US lead. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: EU expected to intensify efforts to obstruct Russia-US summit
Active preparations are underway for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Donald Trump of the United States. Washington significantly eased its rhetoric towards Moscow after another phone call between the two countries’ leaders. Brussels, in contrast, remains on the path of escalation, pushing a negative agenda ahead of the summit scheduled to take place in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, with EU foreign ministers considering the 19th package of sanctions on Russia. The European Union will step up efforts to undermine settlement attempts in the coming days, Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament), told Izvestia.
The Europeans are increasing their sanctions pressure amid a change in Washington’s rhetoric. The US had earlier adopted a tougher stance on Moscow, which Brussels welcomed: from Trump’s statements about Ukraine regaining its territories at the recent UN General Assembly session to talks about providing Kiev with Tomahawk long-range missiles. However, everything shifted after the October 16 phone call between Putin and Trump, which apparently made the US president reconsider his recently adopted hard position. Trump’s decision not to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine was the key result of the conversation.
The fact that Trump chose not to provide Tomahawks to Zelensky is a positive sign. Perhaps, he is starting to pursue another course, American political scientist Jeremy Kuzmarov observed.
Brussels is concerned about Trump’s unpredictability in policy and statements regarding Moscow, and it seeks to ensure a cohesive position in the West, Professor Saeed Khan of Detroit’s Wayne State University remarked.
The leaders of European NATO members are becoming increasingly desperate and are looking for ways to pull Trump back into the camp of war supporters, so the introduction of new sanctions is clearly aimed at undermining the atmosphere ahead of the Budapest summit, said Peter Kuznik, director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University in Washington.
However, it seems that Trump is still determined on finding a diplomatic solution. This aligns with the US president’s pragmatic approach, Diplomatic Academy Vice Principal Oleg Karpovich stated. According to him, continued pressure on Russia doesn’t fit the US leader’s desire to earn the laurels of the world’s number one peacemaker.
Izvestia: Arab League urges inviting Russia to join Gaza reconstruction efforts
Russia should receive an invitation to participate in international initiatives aimed at rebuilding the Gaza Strip, Walid Hamid Shiltag, head of the Arab League’s mission in Moscow, told Izvestia. According to him, Russian assistance to the Palestinians has remained consistent.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced earlier that a conference on Gaza’s reconstruction would be held in his country in November.
Shiltag noted that the Arab League endorsed the agreement made at a meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where one of the main topics was on rebuilding efforts, and all nations should contribute to the process. However, Russia did not attend, while the organization believes that Moscow’s participation in such a major international project is essential, as it is a great power that has steadily backed Palestine’s position.
The diplomat expressed hope that Moscow would be able to join the upcoming efforts through direct dialogue with Arab states. In his view, the rebuilding of Gaza should move from paperwork to concrete action so that the enclave’s population could return to normal life.
Russia’s assistance to the Palestinians has never ceased and will not cease, as Moscow keeps sending aid and supporting the Palestinian cause even in the midst of fighting and a genocide of the Palestinian people, the diplomat noted.
Meanwhile, tensions have reignited in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces claimed that Hamas had violated the ceasefire, forcing Israel to launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza. Hamas denied the accusations and placed full responsibility for the ceasefire violations on the Jewish state, stressing that Israel broke its obligations "every day in a blatant manner."
Hani Salah, an expert on Palestinian resistance, argues that Israel’s failure to implement the provisions of the agreement’s first phase makes it clear that the Jewish state is not serious about resolving the conflict. In the expert’s opinion, statements by Israeli officials indicate that they are interested in neither maintaining the ceasefire nor pursuing talks on the second phase of the deal.
Vedomosti: Japan’s first female prime minister to keep following US lead
A coalition agreement between Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the opposition Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) has enabled LDP leader Sanae Takaichi to become the nation’s first female prime minister, Vedomosti writes.
In terms of foreign policy, Takaichi sticks to the consensus on Russia that Japanese society holds, which centers on the idea of returning the four Kuril Islands. She also aligns with Western countries’ stance on the conflict in Ukraine. The new cabinet is expected to continue implementing a policy aimed at containing China, while regarding Russia, Tokyo will follow the line set by the collective West, as there is a strong consensus in Japan that backs this approach, said Vladimir Nelidov, a researcher with the Center of Japanese, Korean and Mongolian Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. However, he noted that while observing Western sanctions, Tokyo may retain limited cooperation with Moscow in the cultural and educational spheres, and also exploit certain loopholes that would allow relations to remain at a manageable level.
As for ties with the United States, the Trump administration’s unpredictability should be considered, but rhetorically, the White House has voiced support for Takaichi as a right-wing politician.
Japan’s reliance on the US will persist under Takaichi, Viktor Kuzminkov, leading researcher with the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, stated. However, Tokyo will broaden its foreign relations. Among the nations Japan seeks closer contact with is South Korea, where cooperation will be strengthened within the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo triangle. In addition, Japan will enhance defense collaboration with the Philippines and Australia. In summary, the Japanese government aims to build a multi-tiered security system in the region so that a growing number of allies could shield Tokyo from "the Chinese wave," as relations with Beijing are expected to worsen under the new administration, Kuzminkov concluded.
Media: EU plans to gradually prohibit Russian gas imports
The European Union has adopted a plan to gradually end Russian gas imports starting in 2026, covering supplies of both pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, it allows for certain exceptions and reservations. For example, consumers will generally be banned from expanding Russian imports, but the EU assumes that specific situations may arise, Vedomosti reports.
Vladislav Belov, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Europe, believes that the plan actually represents "a pan-European compromise," which considers the geographic position of various states. Central European countries — Hungary, Slovakia and Austria — are expected to completely restructure their imports within the next two years, the expert said.
Still, even the worst-case scenario includes a possibility that Russian exports to Europe will persist, Finam Analyst Sergey Kaufman notes. Specifically, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom may transfer gas ownership rights to another entity in Turkey so that, on paper, the EU won’t receive Russian gas, he explained. The effectiveness of this scheme will depend on how strictly sanctions are enforced.
According to Igor Yushkov, leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund and expert with the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the EU will resist such a supply mechanism, trying to trace the gas’s origin. However, it will be technically challenging to determine what gas is delivered to Europe from Turkey, Kaufman added.
"Completely phasing out Russian gas by 2028 is a politically ambitious objective for the EU, but from a technological and infrastructural standpoint, it remains a major hurdle. Europe has already reduced the share of Russian gas in its energy balance, but total substitution requires new LNG terminals, greater investment in alternative energy and reliable supplies from the US, Qatar and Norway," Pavel Sevostyanov, associate professor at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
Experts concur that the EU’s initiative to restrict Moscow’s access to the European energy market will not severely impact the Russian budget. Sevostyanov expects that Russia’s pivot toward Asia and rising domestic demand will mitigate the consequences.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Platinum prices rising faster than gold rates
The precious metals that have sharply increased in price this year include not only gold, whose prices have grown by about 57% since early 2025, but also platinum, which has added over 70%, Rossiyskaya Gazeta notes. Investor interest in platinum stems from the same external economic factors as gold — the weakening dollar and the trade dispute between the United States and China — but platinum has its own specifics.
Platinum prices recently reached $1,770 per troy ounce, the highest in 12 years, but later declined slightly. The gold price dynamics is similar: the rates almost hit the all-time high of $4,440 per troy ounce and then fell by about $100 on Monday.
There are several factors behind the platinum surge, including a supply shortage caused by output cuts, reduced recycling volumes, and stronger investment demand amid record gold prices, said Tsifra Broker analyst Dmitry Vishnevsky.
"The platinum market has been in a deep deficit due to 2-5% production cuts by the top producing nations, including lower output in South Africa and limited growth in Russia, as well as reduced recycling volumes. Overall demand remains high at about 7.7 million ounces in 2025, supported by demand for electric cars. Combined with limited supplies, this creates a shortage of about 0.8 million ounces, or roughly 11% of annual demand, increasing pressure on platinum prices," the expert explained.
According to Vishnevsky, platinum’s long-term investment potential will likely remain, but it will mainly depend on trends in the jewelry and automotive markets, the main consumers of the precious metal.
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