MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. The EU’s latest sanctions against Russia lack US support; Zelensky proposes new venues for talks with Russia but continues to reject Moscow’s key demands; and Pakistan seeks to strengthen military ties with China after its clash with India. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: New EU sanctions on Russia lack US support
European countries are unable to summon the resolve to acknowledge that their sanctions policy has failed, and that the European Union has significantly harmed its own economy, Director of the Department for European Cooperation at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladislav Maslenikov told Izvestia. On May 20, the EU approved its 17th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes measures targeting 75 individuals and legal entities, as well as 189 vessels from the so-called "shadow fleet." Analysts emphasize that the new sanctions are largely symbolic and will not inflict serious damage on the Russian economy. Moreover, despite calls from EU politicians, the United States has opted against tightening its anti-Russian restrictions.
"The European Union cannot bring itself to admit that its sanctions policy has failed, and that it has substantially harmed its own economy. They refuse to take responsibility for this before their own citizens. In their sanctions obsession, they imagine themselves to be important and influential," Maslenikov told Izvestia.
Maslenikov stressed that the automatic lifting of EU sanctions even after the Ukrainian conflict ends should not be expected. Today, Hungary and Slovakia are among the most consistent opponents within the EU of further sanctions against Russia, but their influence is too limited to halt Brussels’ broader sanctions agenda.
Should pragmatically minded leaders come to power in the EU, the sanctions paradigm could shift, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on issues related to crimes committed by the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik told the newspaper. "However, considering the current hardline sentiment, such a change is unlikely in the near term," Miroshnik said.
The new EU sanctions will not cause significant harm to Russia, Program Director at the Valdai Discussion Club Ivan Timofeev told Izvestia. "The EU needed to demonstrate that it is pursuing an independent policy and it has done so, but only to itself. The economic impact of the 17th package will be minimal, and the political effect will be nonexistent, if not counterproductive. Had the US supported it, the impact would have been stronger. American sanctions carry greater global weight due to the role of the dollar," he noted.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is in no hurry to impose new sanctions. On the evening of May 19, he held a phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Nonetheless, experts believe that under certain conditions, the United States could reconsider its stance on sanctions in the future.
"We must prepare for the reality that sanctions are here to stay. We have entered an era of confrontation with both the United States and the European Union," Professor at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University Alexey Fenenko told Izvestia.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Zelensky suggests three possible venues for talks with Russia
Vladimir Zelensky has proposed three possible venues for negotiations with Russia, while officials in Kiev stated that the recent phone call between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump has not altered the current dynamics. Zelensky once again dismissed Russia’s basic negotiating terms as unrealistic, particularly those concerning Ukraine’s neutral status and the recognition of the new Russian regions. Experts interviewed by Nezavisimaya Gazeta believe that Kiev is deliberately obstructing negotiations to blame Russia and manipulate Donald Trump into aligning with anti-Russian European elites.
Commenting on his own conversations with the President of the United States during a press briefing on Monday, Zelensky declared any concessions on territory, specifically the regions incorporated into Russia following referendums, as unacceptable, along with any recognition of Ukraine’s neutral status. At the same time, Zelensky effectively challenged Donald Trump’s call for immediate direct negotiations between the warring sides, possibly to be held at the Vatican. Zelensky stated that Kiev is currently considering the possibility of a new meeting involving delegations from Ukraine, Russia, the United States, several EU countries, and the United Kingdom. This meeting could potentially take place in Turkey, Switzerland, or the Vatican.
It is evident that Kiev is issuing numerous contradictory statements out of political expediency, leading expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies Oleg Nemensky told Nezavisimaya Gazeta. In reality, the Zelensky administration is intent on derailing the negotiation process by any means, the expert believes.
"At the same time, it is important for Kiev to blame Russia. They hope to drive a wedge between Washington and Moscow, in order to draw Donald Trump closer to the radically anti-Russian globalist elites in Europe. And it cannot be said that they have no chance. By leveraging the well-known unpredictability and personal motivations of the American president, Ukrainian leaders are actively maneuvering in hopes of ultimately securing his support," the analyst noted.
According to Nemensky, Trump is likely interested in a prolonged halt to the current military conflict, as the United States has already extracted all possible benefits from it. Now, Washington faces different priorities and is looking to shift its focus to another region. "It must be said that for Trump, the issue of Ukrainian conflict resolution is not a matter of principle. If he fails to achieve tangible progress in the near term, he will shift responsibility for the regional crisis onto his European partners," the expert concluded.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta: What US and EU might do if Ukraine talks fail
If the United States determines that negotiations over the situation in Ukraine have reached an impasse, President Donald Trump has vowed to impose what he calls "nuclear sanctions" against Russia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. A draft bill has already been prepared in the US Senate that proposes imposing 500% tariffs on goods from countries purchasing Russian oil, oil products, gas, coal, and uranium. Such a measure would not only amount to an effective ban on Russian energy exports, but also constitute secondary sanctions against importers of Russian energy resources. However, experts interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta doubt that Trump would take the risk of implementing such restrictions.
According to Konstantin Simonov, Director of the National Energy Security Fund, no new sanctions are likely to be introduced at this stage. Trump’s current position is that the opportunity to reach an agreement with Russia should not be squandered. Only if that fails can new restrictions be expected. China will likely continue purchasing Russian oil, albeit discreetly by omitting it from official trade statistics. "I wouldn’t be surprised if Malaysia, for instance, suddenly became China’s top oil exporter. India is more cautious and might indeed reduce its imports of Russian oil. Still, tariffs targeting buyers of Russian oil would be a high-stakes move for the US itself," Simonov noted.
Valery Andrianov, Associate Professor at the Financial University under the Russian Government, believes that China and India are unlikely to abandon purchases of Russian energy, which make up a significant portion of their energy mix. Sanctions only make sense when they are practically enforceable. If implementing them risks serious economic upheaval or outweighs the potential impact of US secondary sanctions, they will likely be ignored. A similar precedent has already been set with US import duties on Chinese goods - whether those tariffs stood at 30% or 145% made little difference, as they reached prohibitive levels that essentially halted bilateral trade. Recognizing this, Washington eventually softened its stance. The same logic applies to the threat of a 500% tariff on countries importing Russian oil: it sounds dramatic and looks forceful, but is ultimately ineffective, the expert noted.
Natalia Milchakova, Chief Analyst at Freedom Finance Global, agreed and emphasized that implementing such measures would nullify all mutual agreements between the US and China to reduce tariffs. This could prompt a strong response from Beijing, including, at least in theory, the liquidation of China’s entire US Treasury holdings, which currently amount to $765 billion.
As a fallback to "save face," Trump might resort to the European Union’s proposal to lower the price cap on Russian oil. Although largely ineffective, it is a symbolic move. According to Milchakova, US authorities are keeping the option of lowering the price cap "on the table" as a pressure tactic against Russia. In practice, however, it offers little value, since Urals crude already trades at a discount.
Vedomosti: Islamabad seeks deeper military ties with Beijing amid renewed tensions with India
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is visiting China from May 19 to 21 - this is his first foreign trip following the recent escalation with India. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who received Dar in Beijing, stated that China supports the efforts of Pakistan and India to resolve their differences through dialogue and achieve a long-term truce. According to the South China Morning Post, one of the key topics of discussion between the two friendly nations may be the expansion of security cooperation. Additionally, China and Pakistan are likely to continue coordinating their responses to various possible scenarios in the regional conflict, which remains manageable for the time being, Vedomosti writes. A new trilateral meeting in Beijing is also planned with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Given the intensity of the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, Islamabad now faces the challenge of replenishing its military stockpiles, Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the HSE University Vasily Kashin told Vedomosti. Pakistan, Kashin noted, sustained losses in military equipment during the conflict, and it is quite possible that these losses were significant. Therefore, a new round of contracts in the area of military-technical cooperation - in fields such as air defense, drones, and more - between China and Pakistan is expected, he asserted. The proven effectiveness of Chinese weaponry may even result in surplus orders. However, the main question lies in whether Islamabad has the necessary capacity to support such procurement, he added.
China and Pakistan have always maintained a broad bilateral agenda, and military-technical cooperation will certainly be among the topics discussed, research fellow at the Center for Indo-Pacific Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations Gleb Makarevich told the newspaper. Still, the level of strategic partnership between Pakistan and China does not make Beijing a direct party to the recent hostilities, he noted. Pakistan’s interest in continuing military-technical cooperation with China does not imply explicit support from Beijing in its confrontation with India.
At the same time, Makarevich acknowledged that the perception of Pakistan among India’s elite circles differs considerably. In those circles, there is a widespread view of Islamabad as one of China’s proxies in the region. The process of normalizing relations between New Delhi and Beijing has itself stalled since the BRICS summit in Kazan in the fall of 2024, where the countries’ leaders met in person and agreed to revert to pre-2020 positions regarding their border conflict. According to Makarevich, India’s military establishment will continue to emphasize the threat posed by China in a regional context, while the country’s economic elites will advocate for expanding trade and attracting investment. Which of these perspectives ultimately prevails remains unclear.
Vedomosti: Lifting US and EU sanctions unlikely to revive Syria’s economy without political reform
The European Union intends to lift some of its sanctions on Syria, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas announced on May 20 ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s foreign and defense ministers. However, EU member states will maintain certain restrictions against members of the family of deposed President Bashar al-Assad and his associates, as well as individuals implicated in human rights violations in the Arab republic, according to Reuters. On the same day, The National, citing an unnamed senior EU official, reported that the lifting of sanctions would serve as an "advance payment" in exchange for a pledge from Damascus to continue the process of political reform. Experts interviewed by Vedomosti agree that while lifting US and EU sanctions may boost Syria’s economic activity, the absence of political stability and persistent security threats will continue to hinder meaningful recovery.
By lifting sanctions, the EU is attempting to assert its influence in global affairs and Middle Eastern policy, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladislav Belov told the newspaper. However, in his view, these measures expose Brussels’ lack of a clear understanding of the regional situation and an absence of a coherent strategy for its Middle East policy. "The new Syrian regime, by European standards, is just as ambiguous as the previous one. So, by their logic, the sanctions pressure on Damascus should not be reduced but at the very least maintained. It is possible this move is also intended as a signal to Moscow that the lifting of restrictions will only be considered following a change in government," the analyst said.
Belov further noted that European authorities are also seeking to accelerate the repatriation of Syrian refugees from Europe. However, given ongoing security issues, such hopes are unrealistic. In his opinion, even after sanctions are lifted, European companies are unlikely to engage in major economic projects in Syria due to the prevailing security risks.
The removal of US and EU sanctions will undoubtedly have a positive impact on economic activity and could contribute to Syria’s economic recovery, President of the Center for Middle East Studies Murad Sadygzade believes. For now, he noted, economic revival is being sustained by funding from Qatar, whose foundations are currently providing humanitarian aid to local civilians. Nevertheless, the expert emphasized that the lack of political stability and unresolved security concerns continue to be key obstacles to sustained economic growth in Syria.
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