/ world today news/ From now on, Russia is a civilization state, a European-Pacific power and a defender of the Russian world. This definition follows from the new Foreign Policy Concept approved by President Vladimir Putin. What are the main features of the document and how will the implementation of the Concept affect Russia’s relations with other countries?
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the Concept of Russia’s foreign policy, which will be the basis of the country’s practical actions in the medium and long term. This was announced by the president at a meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council.
The document consists of six sections and 76 paragraphs. According to the text of the Concept itself, it is a strategic planning document and represents a system of views on Russia’s national interests in the foreign policy sphere, the main principles, strategic goals, main tasks and priority areas of foreign policy.
“The logic of the document reflects the changing geopolitical realities, in fact revolutionary progress in the external contour, which received a visible acceleration with the launch of the Special Military Operation,” said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the Council meeting.
It follows from the text of the Concept that Russia has defined itself as an independent state-civilization, a huge Eurasian and European-Pacific power, one of the sovereign centers of world development, playing a unique role in maintaining the global balance of power and ensuring peaceful, progressive development of humanity.
At the same time, Russia does not consider itself an enemy of the West, does not isolate itself from it, has no hostile intentions towards it, and relies on the realization of the futility of confrontation with Russia, the acceptance of multipolar realities. In addition, Russia intends to prioritize the removal of traces of the dominance of the United States and other hostile states in world affairs.
Russia also seeks to ensure security equally for all countries based on the principle of reciprocity. The priorities of Russia’s humanitarian policy abroad are countering the Russophobic campaign, protecting the Russian language and the Russian world, Russian culture, sports and the Russian Orthodox Church from discrimination.
Of particular importance for Russia is comprehensive deepening of ties and coordination with friendly sovereign global power centers – China and India. The main project of Russia in the 21st century is the transformation of Eurasia into a single continental space of peace, stability, mutual trust, development and prosperity.
In addition, Russia considers Islamic civilization friendly and plans to strengthen comprehensive mutually beneficial cooperation with it. Russia also intends to contribute to the further development of Africa as a distinctive and influential center of world development. Russia will build cooperation with Latin America on a pragmatic, non-ideological and mutually beneficial basis.
“In the Concept signed by the President, new concepts appeared, for example, ‘European-Pacific power.’ I believe that we will soon see an explanation of these terms from the relevant departments,” said Ivan Timofeev, CEO of the Russian Council on International Relations, Program Director of the Valdai Club.
“Of course, within the framework of the concept, it is difficult to expect a detailed explanation of each thesis. But the appearance of such concepts in such an important document suggests that conceptual work does not stand still. There is a continuous process of rethinking Russia itself, its place in the world, and our foreign policy identity,” the interlocutor noted.
“Also in the Concept, it is worth paying attention to the division of the world into macro-regions and the structuring of the idea of our environment. It is a new, broader framework that takes into account all kinds of civilizational, economic and other aspects. In my opinion, we are seeing a complex and multidimensional approach to understanding the modern world,” the political scientist believes.
“The thesis that Russia is not an enemy of the West is also important. President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the containment of Western countries is not an end in itself for our country,” the political scientist continued. “We respond to the threats that arise. Yes, Russia can take pretty drastic measures. But again, the head of state emphasized: do not confuse Western society and Western elites. And this position is reflected in the published document”, he added.
“It is also worth paying attention to the fact that in case of danger to the country or its allies, Russia is ready to use force. The use of force is one of the tools of foreign policy. Our competitors use it whenever they see fit. For many years we have been advocating the use of such mechanisms within the framework of international law, in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. At the same time, we are sending a clear message of intent to fully protect national interests,” he explained.
“The new concept, in my opinion, will not require an urgent change in the working principles of the relevant departments or diplomatic missions. After all, such work is already underway, conceptually the document takes into account the changes in the international environment that began long before the text was written. The concept of foreign policy is a kind of summary of the events that have already happened and a look into the future,” concluded Timofeev.
The point of view of Marat Bashirov, a political scientist and professor at the Higher Higher Education Institution, is slightly different. According to him, thanks to the new Concept, the instruments for the implementation of foreign policy will be revised: “If previously the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the administration of the president were mainly responsible for this direction, now they will be joined by other ministries and departments, including the security forces and the economic bloc of the government”.
“The adopted concept is only the first part of a big work to form the organizational structure that will continue to develop relations with our allies and strategic partners, and also find new ways to counter the policy of unfriendly countries. I expect additional documents and clarifications on the implementation of the Concept to appear soon,” Bashirov said.
“If you look at our foreign policy concepts since 1993, you can see that there was not much momentum in them. However, the current concept is significantly different from the previous ones. This is due to the awareness of the geopolitical situation in which Russia finds itself. We declare that we reject the overly complacent view of foreign policy from the Yeltsin period,” commented Pavel Danilin, director of the Center for Political Analysis.
“Russia emphasizes the understanding of the importance of force and the military factor in world politics. We understand that the world around us, unfortunately, is not built on the desire of most countries for stability. Rather, on the contrary, various players are deliberately destabilizing the world in order to maintain their advantages,” he said.
“The concept introduces a new, Eurasian view of Russia’s place in the world and underscores our anti-colonial aspirations. We support those who oppose the neo-colonial policies of the West. Interestingly, the Anglo-Saxons in this document are separated from the other countries, including the European ones. “Our political leadership believes that as soon as the quarrels and pressure from Europe subside, it will reconsider its attitude towards Russia,” the political scientist claims.
“In addition, India and China stand out separately in the macro-regions – two mastodons that, due to their importance and potential, play a decisive role in the development of a multi-polar world,” Danilin added. “The Islamic world is separated separately – because Russia is also part of it. And in itself the concept of “Islamic world” is much broader than just “the Middle East and North Africa”. Russia views the Islamic macro-region extremely positively as its potential ally,” he added.
“As for the introduction of the thesis about the use of Russian armed forces to reflect or prevent an armed attack against us and our allies, this quite logically fits into the context of Article 51 of the UN Charter. We directly state that our actions in Ukraine are absolutely legitimate, comply with the UN Charter and affect the lives of millions of our citizens living in Ukraine and Donbas,” the source said.
Speaking about the changes to be expected in the work of the Foreign Ministry, the expert expressed the opinion that “it is necessary to strengthen the consular activity and the work of the “Rossotrudnichestvo”. “Furthermore, the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should become more aggressive, offensive and at the same time – maximum human rights protection,” Danilin concluded.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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