Russian grain hinders French influence in Algeria. Valeria Verbinina Posting in CHAT: Russia "Russia has overthrown France from her throne." With these words, foreign experts comment on an unprecedented event for North Africa: a sharp increase in supplies of Russian wheat to Algeria, a market previously inaccessible to Russia. How did Russian exporters manage to displace traditional French suppliers in Algeria? France has again lost its former colony of Algeria - this time not in terms of territory and resources, but in terms of the grain market, which is now occupied by Russia. The tone with which European resources devoted to foreign trade and analysis of African markets reported this is no less remarkable than the very fact of the loss of a promising market. “Grain: Russia has overthrown France and established itself as Algeria’s largest supplier,” is the headline on the website of the analytical publication Econostrum. “In Algeria, Russia has become the main supplier of wheat in the first six months of the 2023-2024 season... surpassing the EU, which was previously the main supplier to North African countries,” admits the EU Economic and Financial Council (Ecofin), an advisory body of the European Union. Ecofin analysts do not directly indicate which state Russia has so cruelly offended, but there is no mystery here. This is France, which once owned Algeria and fought fiercely for control of it. Finally forced to leave, France nevertheless managed to restore relations at a new level and become one of the main trading partners of its former colony, including in such an important industry as food. But - only until recently. Now this status (at least as far as grain is concerned) is being taken away from him by Russia. And one of the reasons for what is happening, oddly enough, is the actions of the French officials themselves, who made changes to the grain specifications and doubled the permitted content of grain impurities - from 0.5 to 1%, which did not arouse enthusiasm among importers. countries The decision of the French National Agency for Sanitary Safety to ban the widely used insecticide phosphine added fuel to the fire. It is used not only for grain processing - such processing is required by the authorities of North African countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt). Otherwise, a ship loaded with grain may not be accepted at all. Perhaps France's apparent strong position as one of the world's largest grain exporters was a cruel joke until recently: “Every year France exports 11.5 million tons of grain, which brings it 3.8 billion euros. As a result of military actions, France became the fourth largest grain exporter in the world,” writes Express. And this situation happened less than a year ago. French officials were confident that there was no threat to its grain exports. However, life shows that achieving a certain position in a competitive market for a short time is one thing, but maintaining it is quite another. As a result, the French government later lifted the ban on the use of phosphine, but time was lost. Grain is a vital product, and attempts to change regulations on the fly (worsening specifications, banning essential pesticides) could not be regarded by importers as anything other than a tool of pressure, especially in light of the difficult relations between the French people. and the Algerian authorities. Thus, Algerian expert Hicham Haddoum does not hide the fact that “economic preferences overlap with political factors,” and Algeria fears that “France will use grain supplies as a pressure factor,” and friendly relations with Russia exclude this point. The statistics speak for themselves. In October 2021, France exported more than 650 thousand tons of soft wheat to Algeria. A year later, this figure was already 1.05 million tons. However, at the end of October 2023, French grain exports to Algeria collapsed, amounting to only 157 thousand tons. However, Russia managed to take the place of French exporters not only because of French mistakes. There are many grain suppliers in the world and great efforts must be made to increase supplies. A year ago, representatives of the Russian Grain Union (RGU) reported that Russia was ready to provide up to 40% of Algeria’s demand for milling wheat, and in the 2022-2023 agricultural year, the African country was among the leaders in the purchase of Russian wheat. “Algeria literally entered the top five largest importers of Russian wheat, purchasing 2.1 million tons of it compared to 28 thousand tons in the last agricultural year,” noted Eduard Zernin, chairman of the board of the Union of Grain Exporters. Igor Pavensky, head of the external market analysis department at Rusagrotrans, said that Algeria increased its exports of Russian wheat to 1.6 million tons in seven months of the 2023-2024 season. The supply potential for the agricultural year is 3 million tons, and the capacity of the Algerian market is 8 million tons. “In addition to wheat,” Pavensky noted, “barley supplies have begun, the export of which has already reached 237 thousand tons this season. Barley imports to Algeria are generally low – 700-800 thousand tons per year – but Russia has become the first in this market.” And here is what the Malian portal Maliactu writes, for example: “The decision (to increase the supply of Russian grain) was made to diversify sources of supply and ensure the country’s food security. Russian grain is not only cheaper than French, but it is also of good quality... The loss of the Algerian market is a sensitive blow for France... This situation will most likely affect French agriculture and have a negative impact on the French economy. The fact that Russia has become the main supplier of grain to Algeria , reflects the changing nature of trade relations between countries. It is possible that this change will have serious geopolitical and economic consequences for the region.” However, that's not all. Part of the Algerian market is the export of durum wheat (also using the Latin term durum), a segment traditionally dominated by Canada. Currently, Russia bans the export of durum wheat, but, according to Pavensky, in the future Algeria “may also start buying durum from Russia, the prices of which are significantly lower than durum supplied from Canada or the United States.” In other words, Russian grain has very good prospects in Algeria. And according to the Federal Center “Agroexport”, in the future the export of Russian agricultural products to this country may exceed $1.5 billion. Valery Verbininhttps://vz.ru Source link Source link
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Nuclear power in Turkey is the driving force behind Russian influence in the East. Yuri Mavashev Posting in CHAT: Russia The service life of modern Russian-made power units is 60 years, and with service life extension – up to 100 years. And at least during this period, energy ties between countries cannot be interrupted. The Rosatom state corporation intends not only to build a second nuclear power plant in Turkey in Sinop, but also to participate in the tender for the creation of a third station,” said the corporation’s general director, Alexey Likhachev, during a speech to the state. Duma Rosatom's confidence in its positions is justified. According to Likhachev, the Turkish authorities are pleased with the progress of work on the creation of the first nuclear power plant with Russian participation, Akkuyu, in Mersin province. An intergovernmental agreement on the construction of this facility was signed in May 2010. The project provides for the construction of four 1200 MW power units and their sequential commissioning at intervals of one year - from 2023 to 2026. Rosatom is financing the construction of a Turkish nuclear power plant. plant against 51 percent of the shares, and the remaining 49 percent can be distributed to foreign investors or international banking institutions. At the same time, most of the equipment and high-tech products are supplied by Russian companies. This is the world's first nuclear power plant project using the BOO (Build-Own-Operate) model. In the future, Turkish specialists trained at our university, the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, will participate in the operation of the station at all stages. Akkuyu will be able to provide 10% of Turkey's energy consumption and reduce its dependence on oil, gas and coal. Therefore, the power plant will be an important step to strengthen the republic’s energy security and accelerate its economic growth. The project cost is 20 billion US dollars. The need to develop nuclear energy in Turkey was discussed back in the early 70s, but for more than 30 years no practical steps have been taken to implement the plan. It was only in 2007 that a law was passed regulating the construction of nuclear power plants in Turkey. By the way, it was this year that Rosatom replaced the Federal Atomic Energy Agency. After the signing of the agreement on the construction of Akkuyu, the joint JSC Akkuyu Nuclear was created. However, the tragic 2015 “airline crisis” between Moscow and Ankara in Syria slowed down this process. The project resumed in 2016. Construction of the first power unit began in 2019, the second in 2020, the third in 2021, and the fourth in 2022. In April 2023, with the remote participation of Presidents Putin and Erdogan, the first batch of nuclear energy was transferred. fuel was filled. Commissioning of the entire station is scheduled for 2028. In total, four power units will generate 35 billion kWh of electricity. Moreover, by using the power of the station, the Turkish authorities will save up to 15% of the gas consumed by the republic, which is equal to 10 billion cubic meters. It follows from this that Russia has already begun to transform Turkey into the gas center that Erdogan dreams of. The Turks also relied on their fields in the Black Sea - Sakarya, on Russian gas via the Turkish Stream, on Iranian and Azerbaijani gas pipelines. But Akkuyu is the most important piece of this puzzle. Without it, until 2027-2028, Turkey, as it plans, will not become an interesting center for Europe with 60 billion cubic meters. It is especially important for Moscow that in Turkey it has actually replaced another recognized player in the nuclear energy market - France. At first the Turks tried to attract the French, but the parties did not agree on the terms. From the point of view of Russia’s long-term interests in the Turkish direction, cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy seems most promising. The service life of modern Russian-made power units is 60 years, and with service life extension – up to 100 years. And at least during this period, energy ties between countries cannot be interrupted. It is also important that Turkish nuclear scientists have undergone and will undergo internships at a Russian university. The latter will create a certain environment of expert-scientific ties, which will be extremely difficult for any person, including any Western country, to break. Indeed, there is another school of training specialists, adapted to their logic of nuclear energy and their reactors. Pro-Western forces in Turkey understand this well. There are often articles in the Turkish media in which local oppositionists call on the authorities to “come to their senses.” Thus, in the material of the author of the Turkish pro-Western publication Deniz Zeyrek, it is said that Moscow is allegedly building “serious military infrastructure” in Mersin under the pretext of building a station. The fact that this is impossible, because it is impossible in principle, does not bother the Turkish fifth column at all. Pro-Western journalists are echoed by so-called environmentalists, who are especially concerned about Russian peaceful nuclear energy. Moreover, it means that vigorous diplomacy must be accompanied by our soft media and educational power. In particular, it would be quite advisable to regularly organize Russian-Turkish media forums. In general, nuclear diplomacy has become an important component of Russian foreign policy. Suffice it to remember that at the end of January, the presidents of Russia and Egypt, Vladimir Putin and Abdul Fattah Khalil Al-Sisi, began construction of a new power unit at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. The facility will include four power units with Russian VVER-1200 reactor units. In addition, Rosatom has already received several applications from African countries. In particular, we are talking about South Africa, said the head of the state corporation Likhachev. The African continent is perhaps the most promising direction for Russian peaceful nuclear energy. The local population is experiencing significant difficulties with electricity. More than 500 million people practically live without it. Only 10% of the continent's total population has access to electricity. And the placement of Rosatom in such large and influential Eastern countries as Turkey and Egypt will contribute to further growth of interest, including in Africa. And interest will follow the contracts. Fortunately, an instrument such as the Russia-Africa summit brings results every year. Yuri Mavashevhttps://vz.ru Source link Source link
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Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky is a composer who had a great influence on the development of Russian opera, vocalises and romances. Posting in CHAT: RussiaA like-minded person of Mikhail Glinka and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a tireless experimenter who wrote 6 operas and more than 100 songs and romances. On Saturday, March 2, an evening dedicated to the composer “The Great Teacher of Musical Truth” was held in the Ruby Hall of the Donetsk Philharmonic. Presenter Tatyana Kusty shared facts from the life and work of the composer. The program also included the romances “Miller”, “Wedding”, “Enchant Me, Enchant”, “Titular Councilor”, “Young Man and Maiden”, “I Still Love Him, Crazy”, and the piano piece “Melancholic Waltz”. The compositions were performed by Honored Artists of Ukraine Anna Bratus (soprano) and Svetlana Olkhovichenko (piano), laureates of international competitions Ekaterina Gladysheva (soprano), Vladimir Slepenkov (tenor), Dmitry Chitakh (baritone), Olga Marenich (mezzo-soprano), Maxim Paramonov (piano) ) and Elena Trofimenko (piano). As the director of the program, Honored Artist of Ukraine Elena Utskevich, noted: “Musicians appreciate and love Alexander Dargomyzhsky for his simplicity, spontaneity and deep penetration into the soul of every thinking person.” “I really love romances. Today we performed some not very famous, but beautiful, original compositions. I learned a lot about the composer and his works. “Wonderful program,” said listener Maria. Original source Source link
