Moscow Calling – September 1

RIA: SCO Summit a test of strength and formation of a new world order

Russian political commentator Kirill Strelnikov writes in his article on RIA Novosti that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit has begun in Tianjin, China, bringing together leaders from countries that account for about 42% of the world’s population and a third of the global economy. According to him, formally, the program is filled with official meetings and the coordination of strategic plans until 2035, but the main goal of the forum is to compare positions against the backdrop of the threat of a large-scale conflict. Strelnikov writes that Chinese leader Xi Jinping emphasized that “changes unseen in a century” are taking place and called for preparations for the future. He also notes that the Russian side recalled that the war in Ukraine was imposed by the West to weaken Moscow as an ally of China. The article refers to American military reports and Western analytical materials that allegedly acknowledge the use of Ukraine as a tool against Russia and China. Strelnikov calls Narendra Modi’s visit to China a blow to U.S. plans and presents the rapprochement between Moscow, Beijing, and New Delhi as the formation of a new global axis (ria.ru).

Intended effect

The article seeks to portray the SCO summit as a platform for the formation of a new world order without Western participation. Russia is presented as a strengthened nation that has forced the world to recognize its role, while China and India are depicted as strategic allies in this process. This narrative emphasizes the weakening of the U.S. and NATO, convincing readers of the imminent collapse of Western hegemony and the triumph of an alternative international center of power.

Russia explains: a peaceful settlement is possible, but Europe and the U.S. are sabotaging it

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow is working to preserve the agreements reached in Anchorage, despite attempts by the West to sabotage them. In her article on RIA Novosti, Russian journalist Victoria Nikiforova emphasizes that it is Europe and the U.S. that are hindering the peace process by portraying Russia in a negative light. According to her, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov confirmed their peaceful intentions by describing their military successes in detail. Nikiforova quotes them as saying that Russian troops are liberating hundreds of square kilometers every month, have destroyed most of Ukraine’s defense industry, and that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost hundreds of thousands of people this year alone. Russia’s control over the territories of Donbas and southern Ukraine continues to expand, the author notes. At the same time, she says, fewer in the West are willing to send troops to Ukraine: the U.S. has rejected the idea, Germany has taken the issue off the agenda, and the UK and the EU are facing a shortage of resources (ria.ru).

Intended effect

The article emphasizes that Russia remains the only party capable of bringing peace to Ukraine, while Europe and the U.S. are portrayed as weak and confused. Through a narrative of military achievements, the reader gets the impression that Kyiv is bound to lose and that Western support will collapse. This leads to the conclusion that further resistance is futile and that negotiations with Moscow are the only solution.

State Duma: Parubiy paid the price for launching the “boomerang of death”

State Duma MP Mikhail Sheremet commented on the murder of former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) and ex-speaker of the Rada Andriy Parubiy, saying that he “paid for the boomerang of death he launched.” According to him, Parubiy was the ideologist and active organizer of the May 2, 2014 events in Odesa, and was also involved in the shooting of civilians on the Maidan. Sheremet called him an “executioner,” emphasizing that retribution had caught up with him years later. RIA Novosti reports that Parubiy was called the “commandant of Maidan,” and former Rada deputy Nadezhda Savchenko claimed that he coordinated the actions of snipers. In addition, representatives of the Odesa movement StopGrave claimed that Parubiy oversaw the crackdown on opponents of the coup and interfered with the investigation of the tragedy (ria.ru).

Intended effect:

The article implies that Parubiy’s death is retribution for his past actions and a symbolic punishment for the 2014 events. The Russian audience should view this as confirmation of retributive justice and the inevitable end for the organizers of Maidan.

RIA: Pashinyan and Erdogan agree to maintain constructive approaches

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed at a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China to maintain constructive approaches to building an atmosphere of trust and developing regional communications. According to RIA Novosti, during the meeting, the leaders emphasized the importance of further dialogue and cooperation, despite complex historical and political factors, including the issues of Nagorno-Karabakh and the recognition of the 1915 events. This step is seen as a continuation of the normalization process that began in 2022 with the first talks between the countries’ special representatives aimed at building a non-politicized dialogue and strengthening regional stability (ria.ru).

Intended Effect

The article emphasizes that Russia and its audience should recognize the growth of constructive dialogue between Armenia and Turkey, which reduces the West’s influence in the region and strengthens Moscow’s strategic position.