MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. The EU is poised to intensify efforts to disrupt the upcoming Russia-US summit; the Arab League urges inviting Russia to join Gaza reconstruction efforts; and Japan’s first female prime minister is likely to keep following the US lead. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Active preparations are underway for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Donald Trump of the United States. Washington significantly eased its rhetoric towards Moscow after another phone call between the two countries’ leaders. Brussels, in contrast, remains on the path of escalation, pushing a negative agenda ahead of the summit scheduled to take place in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, with EU foreign ministers considering the 19th package of sanctions on Russia. The European Union will step up efforts to undermine settlement attempts in the coming days, Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament), told Izvestia.
The Europeans are increasing their sanctions pressure amid a change in Washington’s rhetoric. The US had earlier adopted a tougher stance on Moscow, which Brussels welcomed: from Trump’s statements about Ukraine regaining its territories at the recent UN General Assembly session to talks about providing Kiev with Tomahawk long-range missiles. However, everything shifted after the October 16 phone call between Putin and Trump, which apparently made the US president reconsider his recently adopted hard position. Trump’s decision not to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine was the key result of the conversation.
