Moscow and Washington continue cooperation on the Syrian issue; Russia, Iran, and China launch a joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, US and Ukrainian officials travel to Saudi Arabia for talks. These stories topped Tuesday's newspaper headlines in Russia, according to TASS News Agency.
Media: Russia, US seeking to find common ground on Syria
On March 10, Moscow and Washington requested a closed session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over deadly clashes in areas home to the Alawite minority group in Syria. Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told reporters that Russia and the United States are collaborating on the Syrian issue.
The UNSC is unanimously against any bloodshed as it insists that the perpetrators be held accountable, Nebenzya said on Monday. According to the Russian diplomat, the UNSC is working to adopt a resolution on the latest escalation in Syria as soon as possible.
"Nobody is going to turn a blind eye to the grave violations of the rights of national and religious minorities or pogroms," Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky warned on Telegram. Earlier, the United States condemned the massacre of Syrian minority communities, Izvestia reported.
On March, the interim government in Damascus said insurgents in western Syria had been eliminated. Sajid Al-Deek, a Syrian security official in the coastal region of Latakia, told Syria TV that forces loyal to the new government had secured several strategic districts. Al-Deek said security raids were ongoing; however, he admitted that the interim government’s forces sustained casualties in the clashes.
Over the past week, the death toll in the governorates of Tartus, Latakia, and Homs has risen to nearly 1,000. Syria’s coastal regions are mostly dominated by Alawites, and the Arab republic’s previous political and military elites were Alawites. The massacres in Alawite regions raise doubts over whether Damascus is capable or willing to protect the interests of all groups in Syria.
In an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vladimir Frolov, an expert in international relations, explained that Russia would benefit from maintaining as many negotiating tracks with the administration of US President Donald Trump, apart from that on Ukraine, as possible. "If there is no quick peace on Ukraine or should Trump’s diplomatic efforts hit a dead end, it would be important to keep up Trump’s persistent interest in dialogue," the expert told the newspaper.
Izvestia: Russia, Iran, China unite for joint naval drills in Arabian Sea
The joint Maritime Security Belt 2025 exercise involving Russian, Iranian, and Chinese warships has begun in the Iranian port of Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman. The Russian side is represented by the Rezky and Hero of Russia Aldar Tsydenzhapov corvettes, and the Pechenga tanker of the Pacific Fleet.
Apart from Russian naval crews, the Iranian Navy and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, delegations from more than 10 observer countries participated in the opening ceremony, the Russian defense ministry said.
A Russian Navy official told Izvestia that China had deployed two warships and one logistics vessel, while Iran had sent 16 naval vessels and gunboats, two auxiliary vessels and two helicopters.
The northern Indian Ocean represents quite a challenging shipping region, plagued by piracy and other threats, Ilya Kramnik, research fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations, noted. "Broadly speaking, cooperation in such areas in peaceful times is certainly important. But as we are living through a tense period, this [cooperation] also entails training to counter a potentially larger military confrontation," he stressed. "Given that Russia, China and Iran are strategic partners, this partnership may help deter some hot heads, preventing a brewing conflict," the expert added. Such maneuvers are also significant amid attempts by certain players to hamper oil exports, he pointed out.
While, on the one hand, the exercise serves a purely practical purpose, military expert Yury Lyamin told Izvestia, there is also a political component to it. "This shows that Iran, Russia and China are actively strengthening their military ties, despite the pressure exerted on the three countries because of it," he said. Among other aspects, the maneuvers show that Iran is not entirely isolated, as long as Russia and China, the two nuclear superpowers, continue an active cooperation with it, including in the military sphere. "This aspect is very important," Lyamin emphasized.
Vedomosti: US, Ukrainian delegations set to meet in Saudi Arabia for talks
Late on Monday evening Moscow time, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff, told Fox News that Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky had apologized to the US leader in a letter "for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office" on February 28.
Zelensky apologized ahead of the first official US-Ukraine meeting scheduled in Jeddah on March 11-12 following the February 28 clash. On March 10, Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia where he plans to meet the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Ahead of the upcoming Jeddah talks, Witkoff said that the two sides will discuss intelligence sharing. Washington expects substantial progress on a minerals deal with Ukraine, too, he revealed.
A source told Bloomberg that Washington is pressuring Kiev to agree to a temporary truce and talks with Moscow on a permanent ceasefire. Should Ukraine accept these terms, the White House would lift restrictions on military aid and ammunition supplies to Ukraine, the source said. Meanwhile, the US has halted discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia is a close partner of the United States in the Middle East and maintains a neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Andrey Kortunov, an expert from the Valdai Discussion Club, told Vedomosti. Washington chose this venue for talks due to its unwillingness to involve the Europeans, with whom it has disagreements. In Jeddah, the US side will try to pressure the Ukrainians into resolving the conflict, Kortunov continued. If Kiev agrees to make concessions and sign a deal on natural resources, this could pave the way for resuming US aid supplies to Ukraine, even as Washington would likely implement monitoring mechanisms for Ukraine. "Potential aid resumption could be discussed only after that, but it will hardly match the Biden-era scope," the expert suggested.
Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Countries, is skeptical that Kiev is ready for a constructive dialogue with Moscow. According to him, it will do everything it can to not only diminish prospects of resolving the crisis but also disrupt dialogue between Russia and the United States.
Izvestia: How US tariff wars could impact Russian oil exports
Russian oil exports and prices could undergo significant shifts should the US move to ease its sanctions, a perspective currently being discussed in the Western media. Trump’s advisers are already working on a plan to ease the restrictions on Russian crude, including the oil price cap, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The new US administration would benefit from easing anti-Russian restrictions, including to stabilize demand and supply, oil experts argue.
On March 4, Trump’s 25% import tariffs on Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% duty on Chinese imports, came into effect. "It’s worth noting that Canada and Mexico were the leading oil and petroleum suppliers to the US market, while Russia ranked third alongside Saudi Arabia before 2022," Yekaterina Kosareva, a managing partner at WMT Consult, recalled.
Today, the US needs alternative crude import channels to avoid a rise in fuel prices and achieve its goals. "If sanctions on maritime oil shipments are eased or the price ceiling is lifted, Russian oil exports could make a comeback to the US market. The United States would need to import this [Russian oil] amid the introduction of customs tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crudes," said Tatiana Safonova, the CEO of the NAANS-Media Independent Analytical Agency for the Oil and Gas Sector.
According to her, US oil refineries have already been looking for alternatives to Canadian and Mexican oils and are in general keen on buying Russian resources as well. "This serves the interests of those players in OPEC+ who have opted to gradually increase oil output," Safonova added.
While it is hard to decipher signals coming from Washington, the United States may lift or lower its Russian oil price ceiling, albeit not any time soon, Kosareva suggested. Even as Russian oil and petroleum products are unlikely to reclaim a leading position on the US market, this would enhance the competitiveness of our commodities and support talks with a number of importers, she explained.
Kommersant: USD drops on reports of Trump’s trade disputes
The US dollar has hit its lowest level in four months as investors worry over risks to the global economy from trade disputes triggered by the new US administration. The US currency has weakened in Russia, too, and it could fall to 85-87 rubles if exporters’ currency sales support the ruble.
The USD’s slump comes amid growing fears of a recession in the United States against the backdrop of the foreign policy stance being pursued by Donald Trump. Since the US president has imposed tariffs on imports from China and threatened to take a similar step against Canada and Mexico, these countries have either introduced reciprocal tariffs or are preparing to do so. Moreover, the New York Fed’s recession probability indicator is flashing warnings for the third quarter.
Against this background, Mikhail Vasilyev, chief analyst at Sovcombank, told Kommersant that market players are increasingly expecting the US regulator to start monetary easing later this year.
The short-term risks of a US government shutdown also weigh on the dollar, PSB Bank’s analyst Denis Popov said.
While global trends have only a minor effect on the Russian currency market, the dollar exchange rate on the over-the-counter market slipped below 88 rubles per $1 on Monday.
Yet, the current dollar and euro exchange rates are still above the local lows recorded on February 26 (85.36 rubles per $1 and 89.63 per €1) amid expectations of easing geopolitical tensions following Russia-US talks. Marina Nikishova, chief economist at Zenit Bank, noted that the recent move by OPEC+ to boost oil production from April is putting pressure on the Russian currency.
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