Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Putin, Trump expected to discuss China at Paris meeting At the Paris-hosted summit on November 11, US President Donald Trump may raise the issue of China with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes on Thursday citing leading experts in global politics. The recent visit by Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton to Russia signaled that Washington seeks common ground with Moscow on containing Beijing. Russia expects a full-fledged and serious discussion on the future of bilateral relations with the United States, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted. The summit between the Russian and US leaders will be held after the November 6 mid-term elections.

Head of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council Fyodor Lukyanov told the paper that the Paris talks will focus on nuclear agreements, Syria, Ukraine, North Korea and China. The goal of Trump’s administration now is to prevent further rapprochement between Russia and China, and ensure that Moscow has a more reserved stance, he said. Meanwhile, it’s naive to suggest that Russia would change its position on China, which is one of its crucial partners now, he noted. Director of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences Fyodor Voytolovsky doubts that Russia is an unconditional supporter of China’s policy. "I think that the Trump administration is pursuing an approach based on pressuring two fronts, Russia and China." Washington says half of China's missiles do not comply with Russian-US treaties, the expert noted. The US missile defense system, which is being deployed in the Asia-Pacific Region, had not been linked to China for a long time and North Korea’s missile and nuclear program was used as an official cover for it. "However, now apparently, judging by strategic documents, Washington is shifting towards simultaneously containing Russia and China." Izvestia: Will the US ‘blackmail’ Indonesia over defense deals with Russia? Washington is concerned over Jakarta’s decision to buy Russia’s Su-35 fighter jets and insists that US partners should not engage in "risky deals," an official at the US State Department told Izvestia. Meanwhile, so far no official decision has been made on slapping sanctions against Indonesia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Moscow opposes any attempts by the US to meddle in Russia’s military and technical cooperation with Jakarta, Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Defense Committee Chairman Vladimir Shamanov told the paper. "This is nothing more than a violation of the rules of free competition. What the Americans said is tantamount to blackmail," he maintained. "But we are seeing a reverse trend," Shamanov noted, citing the example of India and Turkey, which signed arms deals with Russia. Indonesia won’t break its agreement with Russia in order to please Washington, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexei Drugov stressed.

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The guru doubts that the US would curtail its military and technical cooperation with Indonesia. Earlier, Washington supplied F-16 military aircraft and Apache helicopters to the tune of $4.5 bln to the South Asian republic. "These are illusions that Trump is concerned about international law and morality issues. He mostly worries about monopolies’ interests and when this concerns US supplies and earning dollars, he does not give a damn and won’t cancel anything," Drugov emphasized. Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu confirmed at a news conference last week that the contract with Russia on supplying Su-35 fighter jets to the Indonesian Air Force would be fulfilled despite potential US sanctions. Earlier media reports said Jakarta, which had signed the deal on buying Russian military equipment in February 2018, was delaying its implementation amid qualms over possible US sanctions. Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Russia’s economy faces six major risks, analysts say Russia’s domestic economic figures over the next 5-10 years will be affected by events taking place within its trade and financial partner countries. That said, export and foreign investments would become key channels of influence. Accordingly, six foreign risks may noticeably influence Russia’s economy through these channels in 2019 and 2020, the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA) said in its new macroforecast, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The first risk is that trade wars between US and China and in general, protectionism in global trade will trigger a drop in Russian export demand, the ACRA analysts noted. This may happen due to slower economic growth within its trading partner nations. A decline in global trade and a rise in interest rates may in theory spark a financial crisis if action by global regulators is insufficient, the study’s authors said. A potential recession in the United States, which may begin in nine to 20 months, is the second danger.