Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, December 17th, prepared by TASS

Kommersant: Washington bent on restraining Russia

The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act has been submitted for signing to US President Joe Biden. The final version of the document allocates $4 bln for the European Defense Initiative, aimed at restraining Russia, Kommersant writes.

Some US Congressional members believe that it’s not enough. Republican Senator Jim Risch has introduced the Guaranteeing Ukraine’s Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense Act, calling for providing Kiev with military assistance worth $450 mln in 2022, tightening sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project and declaring Russia "a sponsor of terrorism" in case the Ukrainian crisis worsens.

Moscow was outraged at the move. "What do they want? A war with Russia? Don’t try to vex Russia, don’t incite us to engage in conflicts because we won’t leave anything unanswered," First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov told the newspaper. He slammed the possible recognition of Russia as "a sponsor of terrorism" as ridiculous. When speaking about the sanctions, Dzhabarov pointed out that Russia was not afraid of them: "We are so self-sufficient that no sanctions can bring us to our knees."

Any sanctions-related initiative and other forms of pressure harm bilateral relations, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Dmitry Novikov emphasized. He believes that the proposal will not become law: "It has turned into a tradition for the US to come up with anti-Russian initiatives. However, the requirements of the time make real decision-makers in Washington think about future prospects." According to Novikov, the White House will have to "seriously consider the Russian factor" amid its standoff with China. "With all of Washington’s power and capabilities, it will be hard for the US to fight on two fronts - against Russia and China - particularly if the two fronts become one," the lawmaker concluded.

Izvestia: Russia bids farewell to Treaty on Open Skies

Moscow has satellites capable of tracking the movement of troops in Europe and the United States, Head of the Russian Delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control Konstantin Gavrilov said in an interview with Izvestia. According to him, the tool may be viewed as an alternative to the Treaty on Open Skies that Russia is exiting on December 18.

Gavrilov pointed out that up until the very end, Russia had been trying to keep the treaty in place. "On May 24, a multi-page note was sent to the US, which contained an analysis of reciprocal claims related to the pact. However, the US Department of State informed the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 27 that Washington had decided not to return to the treaty," the diplomat explained.

Gavrilov pointed out that Russia had completed its domestic procedures to denounce the Open Skies Treaty on June 18, and sent notifications of its intention to leave the accord in six months to the depositories and other states parties. "The next step was a Conference of the States Parties, aimed at assessing the consequences of Russia’s withdrawal, which took place on July 20. I won’t deny that we were disappointed in the passive and aloof position of many Western states parties, who had highlighted the treaty’s importance but did little to preserve it," the Russian delegation’s head noted.

When asked if Russia had other tools to monitor the territory of the US and its allies, which would be an alternative to the Treaty on Open Skies, Gavrilov emphasized that Moscow "has a satellite constellation capable of following any movement of armed forces both in Europe and on the other side of the Atlantic."

"The future of the Open Skies Treaty lies completely with the remaining states parties, though its territorial coverage will significantly decrease, provided the treaty remains in effect without Russia and the United States. The value of the political and informational aspects will also be impaired considerably," Gavrilov noted. "Clearly, the European security situation also won’t benefit from it," he added.

Vedomosti: Europe bites the bullet on high gas prices for another six months

The duration of high gas prices in Europe is likely to last until next summer, experts said based on a statement from President of Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNA) Jochen Homann that a decision on the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would not be made in the first half of 2022, Izvestia notes.

The key question for the market is not exactly whenNord Stream 2 will be launched, but will Russian gas giant Gazprom ramp up gas supplies to Europe (including via Ukraine) should the certification process take that long, Fitch’s Dmitry Marinchenko pointed out. "We believe that average prices will stabilize at about $300 per 1,000 cubic meters. However, if Russian gas supplies fail to increase, prices may grow a lot more," the expert noted.

The German regulator’s statement will lead to another spike in spot gas prices, Senior Analyst at the National Energy Security Fund Igor Yushkov said. He emphasized that the market had not expected Nord Stream 2 to become operational before the end of the current heating season, but the BNA’s statement created additional market anxiety, driving prices higher.

Homann’s remark is not the first one to trigger a price race on Europe’s gas market. Prices started rising after Germany’s new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on December 14 that there were no reasons to launch Nord Stream 2. Prices remain high amid Europe’s low gas storage levels.

Vygon Consulting’s Maria Belova believes that even in the best-case scenario, European gas storage facilities won’t be more than 35% full, and if the winter turns out to be really cold, the level will be even lower.

Izvestia: Chinese currency moves towards replacing US dollar globally

Prominent US investor Mark Mobius has said recently that the Chinese yuan is likely to displace the US greenback on the international stage. Russian experts believe that it can happen in the distant future, Izvestia writes.

The role of the yuan is growing and the scenario that Mobius announced does not seem impossible, National Finance Association President Vasily Zablotsky pointed out. "At the moment, China is the only country in the world that can be compared to the US in terms of economic power. However, the yuan is unlikely to displace the dollar in the near future because, the dollar’s position as a global reserve currency is very strong."

It is too early to talk about the yuan displacing the greenback, Managing Director of the NRA Rating Service Sergey Grishunin noted. "First, the United States remains the world’s leading economy and center of innovation, particularly when it comes to finance. Second, the NRA sees that risks are low that the US will stop being the global currency emission center and that the dollar won’t be the main reserve currency any more. Third, the bulk of the global trade is denominated in dollars and transactions are conducted through American banks. It will be quite difficult to change the system particularly due to the inertia of these processes, the underdevelopment of an alternative financial infrastructure and the large number of US allies and partners in trade."

It’s no point in arguing that the Chinese yuan is becoming an increasingly solid currency, Managing Partner at the WMT Consult analytical agency Ekaterina Kosareva emphasized. According to her, the yuan is in the top five popular global currencies, trade with China is growing, and Beijing is becoming more and more interested in using the national currency for transactions. However, there’s still a long way to go before the yuan reaches the dollar and the euro’s levels in terms of international payments.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Experts view QR codes as reasonable measure in combating pandemic

The introduction of health certificates is a reasonable and even inevitable measure in the current situation, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes, citing participants in a roundtable hosted by the Social Research Expert Institute (EISI).

According to Head of the Political Analysis Practice at the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center Mikhail Mamonov, the share of Russians who either have been vaccinated against the coronavirus or plan to get inoculated in the near future is estimated at 69%. As for those reluctant to get a jab, their share is 29%, according to social scientists. However, half of them have already recovered from the coronavirus or suspect to have had an asymptomatic form of the disease. That said, these people believe they have antibodies and don’t need to get vaccinated for now. Only 12% of those surveyed are confident that they haven’t had the infection but are unwilling to get a vaccine shot, the expert specified.

"Once again, we see that the share of die-hard anti-vaxxers stands at about 10-12%," Head of the EISI Expert Council Gleb Kuznetsov noted, commenting on the data. "All others need to somehow be encouraged to get vaccinated and receive booster shots afterwards," he added.

The system of QR codes proposed by the Russian government "is the most effective way to encourage people to do what they actually don’t mind doing, that is, getting vaccinated," Kuznetsov said. He pointed out that QR codes had already been introduced all over the world in one form or another. According to Kuznetsov, the Russian authorities are trying to make sure that QR codes do as little damage as possible and are in line with common sense.

The experts also pointed to international experience in stimulating vaccinations. Austria, for instance, imposes major fines on those unvaccinated, while Singapore refuses to provide free medical treatment to anti-vaxxers. By comparison, the introduction of QR codes is "a progressive measure" as it is aimed at recording people’s immunity status rather than at collecting fines, Head of the EISI Department of Strategic Studies and Forecasting Ekaterina Sokolova stressed.