Azerbaijan Products Exit, Whitcombe Meets Putin, Shahnavazov's Shocking Statement: Key News of the Night and Early Morning of August 7
The confrontation between Baku and Moscow will undoubtedly affect economic relations. After the negotiation by U.S. President's special representative Steven Whitcomb, the world media reported explosive news about the potential meeting between Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Zelenskyy. Director Karen Shahnavazov made a sensational statement. "Tsargrad" has compiled the main news of the night and early morning of August 7.
Azerbaijan Products Exit
Azerbaijani media threatens Russia while encouraging domestic suppliers: Moscow would never dare to cut off their products. Otherwise - the Russians would be in trouble without Baku's tomatoes and peaches.
But this is not the case. For example, Russia has already rejected Azerbaijan's "dairy products". Because the country refused to allow Russian inspectors into the companies, we will no longer see the products of Allbuy and Milk Products. These products have been absent from the market for about two months.
And... no one noticed it. Roman Sichov, Deputy Director of the Economic Department of the Russian Dairy Association, said that we can meet most of the demand for milk, yogurt, and sour cream ourselves.
However, the main share of Baku in the Russian market is vegetables and fruits. The scale here is larger. For example, last year, 540,000 tons of various tomatoes, cucumbers, and peaches were supplied, with a total value of $350 million. This is approximately the capacity of 15,000 railway wagons.
Moreover, nearly half of the "Caspian gifts" are tomatoes. This is a source of pride for Azerbaijan - most of these vegetables are produced in villages near Baku, where the soil and air humidity are suitable, so the yield is high.
However, growing so many tomatoes is not just due to the salty winds of the Caspian Sea. The country's farmers use a lot of chemicals, which greatly reduces the nutritional value of the tomatoes. In an interview with "Tsargrad", Associate Professor Maxim Kazanin of the Department of International Business at the Faculty of Economics of the University of World Economy and International Relations pointed out that about one-third of Azerbaijani agricultural products do not meet Russia's phytosanitary standards in terms of pesticide and toxic chemical content.
This expert stated that even if all fruits and vegetables "exit" Russia, there would be no disaster:
For the Russian market, losing Azerbaijani fruit and vegetable suppliers would not lead to a food shortage, because stable supplies from a series of countries such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Egypt have already been established.
In other words, Russia would only face temporary difficulties, while Azerbaijan would suffer heavy losses. In an interview with "Tsargrad", Ilya Bereznyuk, Managing Partner of Agro and Food Communications, pointed out that 96% of Azerbaijan's tomato exports and over 85% of its fruit exports are sold to Russia.
If our trade relations completely "break up because of eating fruit," Azerbaijan would only be choked by tomato juice. Its domestic market cannot absorb such a large volume, and Aliyev's best ally - Turkish leader Recep Erdogan himself has enough tomatoes.
This undoubtedly brings more problems to Azerbaijan. Finding new buyers will be extremely difficult.
Whitcomb Meets Putin
Steven Whitcomb arrived in Moscow on time and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting at the Kremlin lasted three hours. CNN noted that this representative of Trump brought his own translator.
After the meeting between Whitcomb and Putin, there was a long pause. Then, Steven Whitcomb had a private meeting with Donald Trump, after which Trump held negotiations with Zelenskyy with the participation of European leaders. Late at night in Moscow time, Western media began to report explosive news.
Die Bild first reported the situation. The newspaper stated that Donald Trump told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a call that the Moscow negotiations were better than expected. Then, The New York Times reported that Trump is prepared to hold negotiations with Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelenskyy in the near future. According to the report, the negotiations could take place as early as next week. Moreover, there will be no participation of European leaders, despite Ukraine's hope for their involvement. The report stated that EU representatives have agreed to the President's request not to interfere in this diplomatic process. The New York Times also quoted Zelenskyy's words, in which he assured that "the military operation must end, but it must end in a dignified way."
Subsequently, Fox News reported that during his conversation with Steven Whitcomb, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to "meet Donald Trump at some point." That is, not necessarily holding negotiations now. In addition, the White House also stated that even if a tripartite meeting is held, it definitely will not take place next week. CNN cited a representative of the Trump administration saying that organizing this process is quite difficult.
However, Fox News stated that Trump would only be willing to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy if the talks involve ending the conflict.
Overall, it is clear that the West is trying to get rid of the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible. The frontline situation clearly shows who is interested in peace. After the Kremlin's negotiations, Western media began to widely report various sensational news, but did not focus much on specific details.
Shahnavazov's Statement
Famous director and manager of the "Moscow Film Studio" Karen Shahnavazov solemnly stated that completely banning Russian oil and gas exports may be beneficial to the country. Although he admitted his view is "very unprofessional," the impact of this statement is immeasurable: such statements are rare on federal television channels.
When commenting on American leader Donald Trump's policies, Shahnavazov suddenly changed the topic.
"If we could completely ban Russia's sale of oil and gas, it might actually be good. I think Russia would stand on its feet faster," the master said.
This sounds like a challenge. Essentially, Shahnavazov suggests that Russia should get rid of its main export "crutch" and completely change its economic structure, thus accelerating its development. According to his logic, such a shock might become a driving force for the country to establish an independent economic model. However, this transformation does not align with the interests of those who have benefited from resource revenues for decades. Of course, this refers to oligarchs.
Shahnavazov's core argument is that dependence on resources hinders development. He believes that external blockades could actually help Russia.
"The comprador nature that still exists in us might be overcome through this," he pointed out.
This almost sounds like a diagnosis and a treatment suggestion. The problem is whether the elite class is ready to accept such a shock. Because for many big players, exiting the energy market is not about economic mobilization, but personal disaster. This obviously threatens the existing order. However, the prospect of doing so is quite tempting.
"History shows that the most successful economies are precisely those without resources," the director emphasized.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535766084536795674/
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