Switzerland is offering its services as a mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Swiss Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Lea Zurcher told Izvestia that Bern supports holding a second “peace summit” on Ukraine, with the expectation that Russia will take part. However, Moscow does not view Bern as a neutral party and sees participation in the summit as an opportunity to exploit differences between NATO members.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the mpox epidemic in Africa an emergency situation. Experts think that border control will protect Russia from the massive spread of the disease. However, in the long-term perspective, the infection will inevitably find its way into the country. The vaccine being developed by Alexander Gintsburg at the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology is genetically engineered, with fewer side effects compared to its analogues containing a live virus.
Freight charges for Aframax oil tankers (with a deadweight of 80,000-120,000 tons) in Russian ports have begun to climb after a three-month decline. Mikhail Zhuravlev of the Institute for Energy and Finance thinks that the August spike was triggered by the situation with Russian oil transit via Ukraine. However, in his opinion, the production growth in Russia will mainly take place at the end of the year due to the need to offset volumes produced above the quota in the first half of 2024.
Hot weather and a temporary lifting of export duties have impacted deliveries of Russian coal to external markets. In May-July, Russia exported 37.3 mln tons of coal, a 27% rise compared to the previous three months, due to demand in Asia and the Mediterranean. However, year on year, port coal transshipments are still below last year’s levels. Market conditions for Russian power-generating coal are indeed getting better, with netback growing since mid-July due to recovered prices in the Baltic and Taman regions.