Press review: Big bucks flow at EEF and Macron’s PM pick has left talking impeachment

MOSCOW, September 6. /TASS/. Ninth Eastern Economic Forum ushers in record deals; French President Emmanuel Macron under fire for PM appointment; and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s cabinet reshuffle explained. These stories topped Friday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
 
The Ninth Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which is taking place in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on September 3-6, has once again broken records. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, this year, 258 agreements worth 5.4 trillion rubles ($60 bln) were signed at the event, a 40% increase from last year. Guests from 75 countries, including 16 unfriendly ones, visited the forum, Izvestia notes.
Ivan Abramov, first deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Committee on Economic Policy, highlighted the forum’s great importance for Russian regions. “As always, the forum aroused great interest among both members of the domestic business community and foreign participants coming to Vladivostok,” the lawmaker told the newspaper.
“The Far East is currently a hub of global development. The young Asian ‘dragons’ are building a new global economy, so the future belongs to Southeast Asia, namely the Asia Pacific region and the Global South,” said Rostislav Goldshtein, governor of Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia’s Far East.
“A lot of small businesses took part in the forum, where several sessions were dedicated to the sector’s development, including one dedicated to cooperation with China. All in all, many important issues were considered,” Alexander Kalinin, president of the Opora Rossii platform, noted.
The EEF is a key event not only for Russia’s Far East but also for the entire country. For this reason, President Vladimir Putin always makes sure to participate in the event, Viktor Lukin, director general of the Stroisintez group of companies, pointed out. Key projects and initiatives are aimed at boosting partnerships within BRICS and the Eurasian Economic Community, and strengthening the Eurasian model of cooperation amid polarized international relations, the expert explained. With the US continuing to pile on sanctions, international investment was a major focus at the forum.
 
A resolution to impeach President Emmanuel Macron has been initiated in France. The process was launched by the La France Insoumise (or France Unbowed) party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, which won the July parliamentary election. The left-wing forces are outraged that the president spurned their nominee for prime minister, appointing his own candidate, Michel Barnier, a seasoned cabinet member, Izvestia writes.
Barnier’s appointment will now have to be approved by parliament. Members of the left-wing New Popular Front will strongly oppose it, while 81 lawmakers from France Unbowed have already initiated an impeachment procedure against the president, accusing him of “an institutional coup against democracy” over his refusal to take the election’s outcome into account. The National Assembly’s office will consider the resolution on September 11. If deemed admissible, it will be sent to a legal commission, where it will require a majority to be adopted. After that, the document will be deliberated on at a parliament session. In order to be passed, the resolution will need a majority of two thirds. Later, it would be submitted to the senate.
Sergey Fyodorov, leading researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Europe, pointed out that it’s impossible to impeach Macron. “From a legal standpoint, the resolution is unlikely to be passed by parliament, so Macron is under no threat of dismissal. Besides, the procedure is not spelled out in the French Constitution. Moreover, the impeachment initiators will have to secure support from the upper house of parliament, where the left-wing forces have minimal representation,” the political scientist explained. The expert believes that the left’s resolution is a PR stunt ahead of the protests that are expected to take place in many French cities on Saturday.
Fyodorov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that Barnier’s current goal is to establish a stable cabinet that will operate at least until June 2025, when it will be possible to call a snap election so that a solid majority can be formed, and thus a functional parliament. However, it’s more likely that there won’t be an urgent need for an election because Barnier may succeed in finding common ground with all the largest factions. Throughout his long career, which began in 1978 when he was first elected to parliament, Barnier has demonstrated the ability to navigate complex political challenges, making him well-suited to handle this one as well.
 
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) continued to approve ministerial resignations on Thursday. Some of the resigning officials have already been nominated to new positions in the government, while others are expected to join the presidential office. The cabinet reshuffle is a play by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to give the appearance that he is doing something about an administration that has been under constant fire, all while maintaining his hold on power, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.
Specifically, the Verkhovna Rada approved the resignations of Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, Justice Minister Denis Mayuska, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets, Minister of Strategic Industries Alexander Kamyshin and Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanihsina. The news of Kuleba stepping down raised the most eyebrows, including in the Western media. Interestingly, at an earlier meeting with members of the pro-presidential faction, Zelensky attributed the top diplomat’s resignation to his “lack of energy to promote weapons supplies” to Kiev. First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, who served as deputy of Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andrey Yermak before April 2024, has been appointed as the country’s new foreign minister.
Zelensky’s reshuffle affected the cabinet, but not Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, whom he kept in place, ex-Verkhovna Rada member Spiridon Kilinkarov said. Notably, last fall, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded that Shmygal be replaced with Oksana Makarova, Ukrainian ambassador to Washington. But just as now, Zelensky was not ready to replace him. At that time, he claimed that he was waiting for the situation around US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the election race to play out, but now that the dust has settled and Kamala Harris has replaced him, Shmygal still hasn’t been ousted.
With the shakeup, Zelensky is trying to change the narrative about government inefficiency and corruption, a hot button issue in the Western media. “Now, it will be impossible to criticize him because the president will cite the large-scale cabinet reshuffle. However, Zelensky has made it clear it’s he who runs the show in Ukraine as he clings to power,” the analyst pointed out. According to him, this move is unlikely to bring significant changes to Ukraine’s domestic or foreign policy, as key decisions continue to be made within the president’s office.
 
Kabul welcomes Bishkek’s decision to remove the Taliban movement (designated as terrorist and outlawed in Russia) from Kyrgyzstan’s updated list of banned groups, Vedomosti writes, citing a statement by the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
In theory, Moscow could also lift the terrorist label on the Taliban. In late May, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry recommended President Vlaidmir Putin remove the Taliban from the registry of outlawed organizations. In July, Putin said following the Astana summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization – where Kabul is an observer – that the Taliban were “Russia’s allies in the fight against international terrorism.”
Removing the Taliban from the list of banned groups does not mean their recognition, said Andrey Serenko, head of the Center for Afghan Policy Studies. Kazakhstan did the same earlier but refrained from establishing relations with the movement at the level of ambassadors, the expert noted. According to Serenko, the decision by Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to remove the Taliban from their lists of banned organizations is a nod to Qatar, the main mediator in Afghan issues and an active investor in Central Asian nations. On the other hand, the Central Asian countries would like the Taliban to strongly contain other jihadist groups, ensuring security in the region, the expert added.
There is a consensus on Afghanistan in Central Asia and removing the terrorist tag from the Taliban may encourage the movement to bring negotiations with the post-Soviet countries to a constructive track, Kyrgyz political scientist Mars Sariyev noted. In particular, the countries of the region would like to launch a Trans-Afghan railway project. Their authorities agreed on that in order to prevent the Taliban from becoming an “anti-Central Asia” project the way Ukraine had been turned into an “anti-Russia” entity, the analyst said.
Moscow, like Washington, currently pursues a reasonable approach to Afghanistan, maintaining contact both with the Taliban and their opponents. However, neither Russia nor the US are willing to be actively engaged in Afghan affairs, Serenko pointed out.
 
The BRICS group may launch a common platform for mutual settlements in the foreseeable future, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told Izvestia.
Asked when the creation of such a platform could be expected, he pointed out that “analytical research is underway and some practical solutions have been found.” “I wouldn’t give any timeframe. One of the reasons why is because BRICS expanded last year,” Pankin said. “I often get asked when a single currency will be launched; still, it’s not about a single currency but a platform for payments, mutual settlements, clearing operations and other transitions. This has to do with digitalization, as well as with the necessary legal norms and the practical involvement of central banks and finance ministries. Undoubtedly, this will happen in the foreseeable future,” the diplomat added.
He also noted that in September 2022, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization had approved a roadmap to increase the share of national currencies in mutual settlements and its provisions were gradually being implemented. “Most importantly, Russia is not the only driver and interested party in this process. It’s not because we are in a situation where we are facing sanctions from all sides. Other countries also realize that it’s high time to reject the dominance of the dollar and the US, diversifying the economic basket and using various tools and connections,” Pankin emphasized.
Russia has managed to go through an unprecedentedly difficult period amid a war of sanctions, and even strengthened its positions on foreign markets, Pankin went on to say. The country is boosting its foreign economic ties as work on a number of free trade agreements continues, particularly with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and India. An accord with Indonesia can be expected to be signed before the end of 2024.
In the meantime, Russia maintains trade ties with the Western world, too. In particular, if relations with Europe get better, it won’t be cut off from the greater Eurasian partnership. Russia has also been able to prevent the politicization of the G20’s agenda; the country has no plans to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund, while Russia’s presence in the World Bank is crucial for its partners in the Global South.
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