Mikhail Metzel / AFP
Vladimir Putin (pictured here in Moscow on February 23) judged during a meeting of the Security Council on Friday March 31 that “upheavals on the international scene” required a change in the “conception of the foreign policy of the Federation of Russia”.
INTERNATIONAL – Like a whiff of Cold War… Russia unveiled a new foreign policy strategy this Friday, March 31, citing the United States and the West as originating “existential threats” to Moscow amid a related diplomatic crisis with the conflict in Ukraine. To fight back, the Kremlin is counting on the help of China and India, identified as key partners in this new doctrine.
“Upheavals on the international stage” are forcing Russia to “adjust its strategic planning documents, in particular (the one on) the conception of the Russian Federation’s foreign policy,” President Vladimir Putin said during a session of his National Security Council.
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Eliminate the “domination” of the United States and the West
According to diplomatic chief Sergei Lavrov, the new document “notes the existential nature of the threats (…) posed by the actions of unfriendly countries” and names the United States “the main instigator and leader of the anti-Russian line.” “In general, the West’s policy of using any means necessary to weaken Russia is characterized as a new type of hybrid warfare,” he added.
The country sets itself the “priority” to eliminate “domination” by the United States and Westerners, while calling itself a “civilization” that defends Russian speakers. “Russia intends to give priority attention to eliminating the remnants of the dominance of the United States and other enemy states in world affairs,” said the document, published on the Kremlin’s website.
Russia’s new foreign policy strategy is based on the principle that “anti-Russian measures by unfriendly countries will be constantly opposed, if necessary with all severity,” he added. The adoption of this new foreign policy strategy confirms the deep rift that has existed between Moscow and Western countries since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
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China and India at the heart of the new strategy
Isolated in the West, Russia is seeking economic and diplomatic rapprochement with Asia, particularly China and India. “The general deepening of relations and coordination with friendly world centers of sovereign power and development on the Eurasian continent is of particular importance,” we can read in particular in the chapter devoted to these two countries. Moscow also plans to expand ties with Africa and Latin America.
The conflict has created a diplomatic crisis reminiscent of the Cold War era, with two radically opposed poles in terms of political and moral goals. Washington and its allies have imposed severe economic sanctions on Moscow, which in turn has accused them of waging a proxy war in Ukraine, particularly by supplying arms to Kiev.
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