CSTO states express serious concern over terrorist threat in Afghanistan
Armenia refuses to host Eurasian Economic Union summit
COMMENT: Trump 2.0 could be a blessing for Belarus
COMMENT: The EU’s Internal Security Framework is unfit for Cold War 2.0
The world has passed peak per capital CO₂ emissions, but over emissions are still rising
Putin’s bodyguards are working food delivery and taxi jobs as wage stagnate
Investigation shows Russian money channeled to Romanian media and conspiracy theorists
Russia's robot industry struggles
Putin juggles a “friendly” state visit to Kazakhstan with chilling missile threats for Ukraine
Fico boasts about Putin’s invitation to Moscow Victory Day Parade
Tusk calls for unity against Russia, proposes Baltic Sea policing mission
Zaluzhnyi leads Ukrainian presidential poll
Gas prices rising as EU storage tanks empty faster than usual
EBRD warns of risks for emerging markets pursuing industrial policies
Czech PMI drops to 46 in November
Kretinsky close to Royal Mail deal after concessions to UK government
US Vista shareholders approve sale of Kinetic to Czechoslovak Group
Moody's changes outlook on Hungary sovereign rating to negative
Varga to lead Hungarian central bank from spring 2025
Hungarian debate on euro adoption resurfaces as forint weakens further
Poland’s insurance giant PZU to sell Alior Bank stake to Bank Pekao
Polish PMI disappoints by straying further from growth line in November
Polish inflation eases expansion rate to 4.6% in November, flash estimate shows
Slovak foreign minister culls diplomatic staff
Charges may be dropped against scandal-hit Slovak central bank governor
Central European countries least likely in the EU to prioritise climate change
Albanian police use tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters
Albania considers TikTok, Snapchat ban after fatal school stabbing
Watchdog warns Western Balkan banks are conduits for money laundering
PPF mulling bid for United Group's telecom assets in Southeastern Europe
Serbian President Vucic optimistic on relations with Trump-led US after first phone call
Bulgaria’s full Schengen accession to bring in an annual €833mn
Bulgaria loses out on EU funding after political instability stalls reforms
Bulgaria's Ampeco raises $26mn in Revaia-led Series B funding
Studenac cancels planned €80mn IPO citing unfavourable market conditions
Croatian government struggles to restore trust in healthcare system after minister’s arrest
Eight arrested over terrorist attack on water canal in Kosovo
Explosion on Zubin Potok canal escalates tensions between Kosovo and Serbia
Kosovo takes first steps towards establishing defence industry
Gazprom reportedly conditions gas supplies to Moldova on $708mn claim
UAE arrests three Uzbeks in Rabbi Kogan murder
Moldova to face tough winter if Gazprom stops supplying free gas to Transnistria
Montenegro probes suspected plot to assassinate President Milatovic
North Macedonia gets new eco-bus fleet as fuel crisis causes transport chaos in capital
Fuel crisis causes chaos for Skopje public transport
Social Democrats win Romania's general election but radical rightwing parties perform strongly
Romania’s public debt reaches 54.4% of GDP
Serbia's industrial production posts double-digit growth in October
Chinese innovation park plans business centre in Serbia
Turkey releases official November inflation at 47% y/y
ISTANBUL BLOG: How smugglers give the lie to Simsek's "golden glamour"
Turkish manufacturing slump continues in November but shoots of recovery seen, shows PMI
Turkey launches tender to export 0.1mn tonnes of durum wheat
INTERVIEW: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank financing Central Asia’s green future
Award seen as Nobel Prize for human rights won by Kabul women’s rights activist and jailed Tajik lawyer
PANNIER: Central Asia faces tough race against clock to prevent water crisis
Corruption probe launched into Armenian satellite project
Several top Armenian officials resign amid political shake-up
Azerbaijani diplomat detained with 70kg of gold in Turkey
Azerbaijani and Iranian forces begin joint border exercises
COP29 ends in failure
Protests in Tbilisi intensify amid violent crackdown
Police brutality reaches new heights as Tbilisi is rocked by protests for fourth night running
Georgia’s heart beats on Rustaveli Avenue
Georgian government hit by wave of civil dissent as resistance movement snowballs
Single time zone in Kazakhstan messing with citizens’ circadian rhythms
COP29: Central Asian states losing arable land
Hit indirectly by sanctions, Mongolia struggles to find workarounds
HESS: Mongolia’s unique success story between rock and a hard place at risk
Mongolia copper-gold discovery hailed for “globally significant” prospects
PANNIER: Grievous blow for the Pamiris as Tajikistan ends cooperation with the Aga Khan
Iranian officials in uproar over police beatings of students in Russia
Alisher Usmanov’s wealth shrinks by $7.29bn on falling markets
Russia's budget oil breakeven price world’s second lowest as oil revenues recover
Southeast European countries look to Algeria to diversify energy supplies
Slovenia turns back to Algerian gas after flirtation with Russian supplies
“Silent demise” of world’s vast rangelands threatens food supply of billions, warns UNCCD report
The hurricane season in 2024 was weird
Global warming will increase crop yields in Global North, but reduce them in Global South
Hundreds of millions on verge of starvation, billions more undernourished as Climate Crisis droughts take their toll
Kamikaze marketing: how the natural diamond industry could have reacted to the lab-grown threat
Global access to energy starts to fall for the first time in a decade, says IEA
Saudi Arabia hosts kingdom's first Africa summit, to boost ties, promote stability
Putin at 2023 Africa-Russia summit: Wiping debts, donating grain and boosting co-operation
EBRD 2023: Bank to expand into the whole of Africa plus Iraq
Nelson Mandela worried about natural diamonds, Leonardo di Caprio defended them, makers of lab-grown stones demonise them
Botswana’s 2,492-carat diamond discovery is golden opportunity to replicate legendary Jonker diamond's global legacy
Have lab-grown diamonds changed the diamond industry forever?
Russia’s Rosatom to support nuclear projects across Africa at AEW2024
JPMorgan, Chase and HSBC reportedly unwittingly processed payments for Wagner warlord Prigozhin
Burkina Faso the latest African country to enter nuclear power plant construction talks with Russia
IMF: China’s slowdown will hit sub-Saharan growth
Moscow unlikely to give up Niger toehold as threat of ECOWAS military action looms
Overcoming insecurity to unlock the Central African Republic’s mineral riches
Russia funding war in Ukraine via illegal gold mining in Africa – WGC report
Rain, rain go away
Africa, Asia most people living in extreme poverty
10 African countries to experience world’s fastest population growth to 2100
EM winners and losers from the global green transformation
Russia blocks UN Security Council resolution on Sudan humanitarian crisis
G20 summit wraps up with a joint statement strong on sentiment, but short on specifics
Malaysia seeks BRICS membership
SDS storms fed by sand and dust equal in weight to 350 Great Pyramids of Giza, says UNCCD
Southern Africa has 'enormous' potential for green hydrogen production, study finds
Kazakhstan has no plans to join BRICS, says Astana
Sri Lanka to apply for BRICS membership
How France is losing Africa
Gabon coup attempt after the re-election of President Ali Bongo
Guinea grants final approvals to Rio Tinto for $11.6bn Simandou iron-ore project
The West is bleeding the Global South of wealth thanks to massive wage inequality, says study
Kenya’s untapped mineral wealth holds the promise of economic transformation
US adds 17 Liberian-flagged bulk carriers and oil tankers to Russian sanctions-busting blacklist
Panama and Liberia vying for largest maritime registry
Libya’s mineral riches: unlocking a future beyond oil
EBRD announces profit of €2.1bn in 2023
Where water stress will be highest by 2050
Ukraine claims it was behind massacre of Wagner Group mercenaries in Mali
Can Morocco's phosphate wealth put it at the centre of the global battery supply chain?
Hajj aftermath: deaths, disappearances and detentions spark investigations across world
Sri Lanka's LTL Holdings targets African power sector
Russia's nuclear diplomacy binding emerging markets to the Kremlin
Can Niger's military junta seize the country's uranium opportunity?
Disaster season: heat waves sweep the world – in charts and maps
AI will be a major source of GHGs by 2030, says Morgan Stanley
Niger and beyond: Francophone credit delivers coup de grâce
Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they dump the dollar
Global mean sea levels have increased by around 25cm since 1880
SITREP: Middle East rapidly destabilised by a week of missile strikes
Colombian mercenaries trapped in Sudan’s conflict
Air France diverts Red Sea flights after crew spots 'luminous object'
COMMENT: Tunisia on the brink of collapse
Tunisian President Kais Saied re-elected for second term
WHO declares "global public health emergency" owing to mpox outbreak in Central Africa, new virus strain
Climate crisis-driven global food security deteriorated between 2019 and 2022 and is even affecting the US
Major bank’s service disruptions cause payment delays at fuel stations across Iran
Russia to mine Bitcoin in BRICS countries
Kazakhstan’s big league fintech Kaspi acquires 65% of Turkish Nasdaq peer Hepsiburada for $1.1bn
China unveils $71bn swap facility to revitalise flagging economy
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway makes waves with $1.9bn yen bond sale
Uzbekistan joins Kyrgyzstan in committing to October start on China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway construction
Indian stocks hit another record high as auto and banking sectors fuel gains
US imposes preliminary duties on Southeast Asian solar imports
Southeast Asia’s rising energy demands and what lies ahead
Southeast Asia expands pumped hydro to boost energy storage
Pakistan could quit TAPI as India now “extremely lukewarm” on gas pipeline project, says report
Russia and India explore Arctic shipbuilding cooperation
PANNIER: The great mirage that is the TAPI gas pipeline
China dismisses Trump's tariff threat, warns of 'no winners' in trade war
Indonesian analysts favour Kamala Harris’s economic policies as the US votes
US elections and their impact on Indian equities
Rising gold ETF inflows set to drive global bullion prices
Papua New Guinea tribal conflict leaves 30 dead amid gold mine dispute
Iraq blocks IMDb website over 'immoral content' claims
Display unveils groundbreaking 50% stretchable screen: a game-changer for fashion and mobility
South Korean users flock to YouTube and Instagram as local platforms struggle
Bahrain and Iran to begin talks on normalising relations
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait set to offer Russians visa-free entry
Jaw-dropping discovery: 450,000-year-old tooth unearthed in Iran
China's COMAC eyes Saudi Arabia as launchpad for international expansion
Japan donates $4.6mn for restoration of Lake Urmia
Iran imposes ban on promoting and training cryptomining
Iranian ambassador denies coup rumours in Damascus
Iran hints at lifting internet restrictions in stages by March
Who are the Syrian rebels leading the uprising?
Iraqi factions in Syria’s Aleppo to counter anti-government forces
Iraq blocks 4chan in latest internet crackdown
Israel, Lebanon in disarray over reports of ceasefire failure
BEIRUT BLOG: Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah takes effect amid mixed emotions
TEHRAN BLOG: Iran welcomes Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, calls for truce in Gaza
TEHRAN BLOG: Why a Trump win may not be good for Israel
Global flights in disarray following Iranian missile strike on Israel
Saudi Arabia urges citizens to leave Lebanon immediately
Kuwait greenlights tax deal with Iraq to prevent double taxation
Iran demands 'equal footing' with Kuwaiti and Saudi plans to drill for gas in Gulf
Middle East power grid struggles as demand hits record high
Iraq braces for severe heatwave with temperatures to reach 49C
Hezbollah-linked financial institution reopens in Lebanon
So you want to get on the right side of Donald Trump? Try gift-wrapping a hotel
ANALYSIS: Regional escalation on the table following Israeli strike on Iran
Sea of Oman oil terminal boosts export resilience amid tensions with Israel
Trump’s defence pick asked, “Why is Islamist Turkey a member of Nato?”
Claims Hamas moving HQ to Turkey spark call from US lawmakers for classified briefing
Dubai ranks 13th in world's best cities index
Qatar says Hamas office remains open in Doha
Saudi Arabia launches UN desertification talks with $150mn pledge
Arab League backs Iraq's request for emergency meeting over Israeli threats
Anti-Assad forces storm Syrian city of Aleppo, Iran points finger at Israel
UAE confirms death of missing Moldovan-Israeli rabbi as Israel suspects murder
Israel launches biggest strike in Yemen, killing 40 people
TEHRAN BLOG: Pezeshkian's dilemma over Haniyeh's assassination
Iranian foreign ministry condemns Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran
Reactions to the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran
ChatGPT enters Buenos Aires courts in legal tech push
French President Macron leads opposition to EU-Mercosur deal as hopes for G20 breakthrough fade
What would a Trump win mean for Latin America?
Latin America trapped in low growth cycle, ECLAC warns
Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc in the Caribbean, leaves 10 dead as it heads for Mexico
Hurricane Beryl strengthens to Category 5, headed to Jamaica
Tropical storm Beryl intensifies to an “extremely dangerous” category 4 hurricane in an extreme weather first
Bolivia signs $1bn deal with China’s CBC for lithium development
Russia and China’s grip tightens on Bolivia’s nuclear and lithium dreams
BREAKING: Former Bolivian president Evo Morales survives apparent assassination attempt
China and Brazil forge closer alliance amid Xi’s Latin America push
US election outcome may curb vital remittances to Latin America
LatAm faces two-speed recovery as Brazil outpaces Mexico in IMF outlook
Latin American dignitaries urge UN to suspend Russia over Ukraine war
Colombia seeks BRICS membership, deepens Russia ties during Moscow talks
Methane levels at 800,000-year high, accelerating the sixth extinction
US general calls for Marshall Plan in Latin America to counter China and Russia
Argentina's Milei sacks foreign minister after unexpected Cuba embargo vote
Russian surveillance network in Nicaragua raises alarm
Who has the most prisoners? – Statista
Will Venezuela’s Maduro go out with a bang or a whimper?
Mexico's Sheinbaum denies NYT claims of chemistry students lured into fentanyl production
Trump’s tariff plan: A bold move or a risky gamble?
Mexico devises strategy to shield exports from US tariffs under Trump
Mexico braces for Trump trade storm amid fresh tariff and border threats
Nicaragua unveils new canal route in bid to rival Panama
Horror in Paraguay as three-year-old girl dies after shocking family abuse
Peru's APEC summit exposes trade tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington
Peru's Chancay megaport heralds a new era for Latin America’s trade
Peru-China Belt and Road meeting paves way for future cooperation
Amazon faces “tipping point”, say researchers
Climate crisis fuels wildfires across Latin America with Brazil hardest hit
Venezuela faces fresh US pressure as Washington recognises opposition leader as president-elect
Iran, Venezuela forge closer industrial ties as sanctions-hit allies meet in Caracas
Venezuelan minister denies political prisoners exist despite UN findings of 1,900 detained
Protests in Bangladesh escalate, demanding president leave office
Bangladesh tribunal issues arrest warrant against ousted PM Sheikh Hasina
World Bank says Bangladesh GDP growth to shrink in FY25
COMMENT: From Globalisation to “slowbalisation” as FDIs decline on trade and geopolitical woes
Lavrov presses the flesh at ASEAN summit as Kremlin seeks to deepen ties with Asia
Angkor Archaeological Park attracts nearly 700,000 foreign tourists in nine months
ThaiBev sets THB18bn for expansion, targets Southeast Asia growth
Russian exports of diamonds to Hong Kong up 18-fold in 5M24
Gazli Gas responds to reports on Uzbekistan project, refutes any suggestion sanctioned individuals are involved
Eruption at Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia kills 10
INTERVIEW: Black & Veatch well-positioned for growth through energy transition
Japan’s strategic stance in a Taiwan conflict
Tenga aims to break taboo with stylish sex toys as Japan grapples with demographic decline
Asia's rice markets to see a shakeup in 2025, with Thai exports predicted to slump
Nepal floods - death toll rises to 209
Kolkata hospital rape and murder case sparks international outcry, raises questions
South Asia hit by floods and landslides after heavy rainfall
Russian pivot to the Global South includes unscrupulous army recruiting practices
North Korean troops will enter combat in Ukraine soon, Pentagon says
Putin gifts over 70 animals to North Korean zoo after Pyongyang sends troops to Russian Army
North Korea ready to send 100,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine
Security personnel dead as Imran Khan’s supporters breach Islamabad lockdown
India’s Modi urges BRICS to unify stance on terrorism
Typhoon ‘Nika’ slams into Luzon, bracing the Philippines for a week of severe weather
From coal to clean: The green energy transition in SE Asia
UPDATED: Military rule returns to South Korea as president declares martial law
BREAKING: South Korea declares martial law
UN talks start in South Korea on plastics pollution as waste chokes planet
Trump or Harris - Taiwan faces "collateral damage" as US-China trade tensions escalate
Typhoon Kong-rey ravages Taiwan: a storm of historic proportions
North Korean troop deployment in Russia: bilateral deal and little more, or intentional distraction?
Trump and Harris policies likely to have similar impact on Vietnam economy, analysts say
German Prosecutors Confirm Termination of Money Laundering Investigation Against Alisher Usmanov
Comments by President of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association Andrey Guryev on bilateral meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin
PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC green chemistry research grants awarded for the 8th time to world's best young scientists
PhosAgro Tops RAEX ESG Ranking
Download the pdf version
Try PRO
The Kremlin has released a new foreign policy document that lays out its plans for its post-war relations. The main points are based on a “multipolar world” and that Russia doesn’t see itself as an enemy of the West but does see itself as one of the centres of this new shared world, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council on March 31.
"The system of international relations should be multipolar and based on the following principles: … indivisibility of security in global and regional aspects; diversity of cultures, civilisations and models of social organisation, non-imposition on other countries by all states of their models of development, ideology and values, and reliance on a spiritual and moral guideline that is common for all world traditional religious and secular ethical systems," the document stated.
Putin pointed out that expanding ties with co-operative partners and creating conditions for unfriendly states to abandon their hostile policy towards Russia require “special attention.”
Putin called for strengthening Russia's sovereignty and enhancing its role in shaping a more just, multipolar world order.
"In our long-term plans, it is important to take into account the full range of factors and trends in the development of international relations, work to strengthen Russia's sovereignty, increase the role of our country in solving world problems and shaping a more just, multipolar world order," he stressed.
Putin and his allies, in particular China, seek to build an alternative non-Western alliance in the Global South. Moscow aims to “support its allies and partners in ensuring their security and sustainable development regardless of their international recognition,” the concept says.
Russia will “give priority attention to suppressing attempts by unfriendly countries to hinder Russia's co-operation with its allies,” the concept stresses.
The document says that "in order to help adapt the world order to the realities of a multipolar world, the Russian Federation intends to make it a priority to intensify co-operation in all areas with Russia's allies and partners, and suppress the attempts by unfriendly states to obstruct such co-operation."
The war in Ukraine has driven a wedge between the West and East as these institutions are increasingly being forced to take sides, and could lead to a fractured world, as described in a feature by bne IntelliNews. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon raised exactly this concern on March 27, warning that the conflict could create separate trade blocks delineated by "geopolitical borders" due to the increasingly acronymous disputes.
"The globalised world economy risks fragmenting into separate trade blocks delineated along geopolitical borders," Ban noted at the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia also this week.
Russkiy Mir
The new concept made no mention of Ukraine at all. However, the foreign policy concept does call for developing "ties with compatriots living abroad" and rendering "them full support in exercising their rights, ensuring protection of their interests and preserving all-Russian cultural identity."
Russia has handed out hundreds of thousands of passports to residents of occupied territories in Donbas, the four regions annexed in Ukraine last year, as well as two regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that used to belong to Georgia until Moscow encouraged them to declare independence in 2008.
While the concept doesn’t make specific mention of Ukraine, the attitude of Russia to those countries that the Kremlin deems to lie in its sphere of influence and the so-called Russkiy Mir (Russian World, a concept of social totality associated with Russian culture) was spelled out in the concept, where Moscow views itself as a bulwark of these Russian values.
"More than a thousand years of independent statehood, the cultural heritage of the preceding era, deep historical ties with the traditional European culture and other Eurasian cultures, and the ability to ensure harmonious co-existence of different peoples, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups on one common territory, which has been developed over many centuries, determine Russia's special position as a unique country-civilisation and a vast Eurasian and Euro-Pacific power that brings together the Russian people and other peoples belonging to the cultural and civilisational community of the Russian world," the concept reads.
As bne IntelliNews has argued previously, Russia rejects the Western values as enshrined in the so-called Washington consensus and has long ago adopted what has been dubbed the Moscow consensus, that does not have “the pursuit of individual happiness” at its core, but more emphasis on the wellbeing and security of the state, where citizens are expected to sacrifice some of their freedoms and prosperity for the sake of the state.
China has adopted a very similar outlook and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang echoed many of Putin’s foreign policy points during the Boao forum this week, dubbed “the Asian Davos”, where he also called for a multipolar world based on mutually beneficial relations based on equality.
China has become the biggest trade partner for every country in Asian but does not seek to use this economic power to its advantage but for the mutual benefit for all Asian countries. China has also become by far Russia’s single biggest trade partner with trade turnover set to top $200bn this year and then on to $300bn thereafter, Putin said earlier this month.
“Besides strengthening their ties with China, countries in Asia also need to deepen co-operation with one another. We should build a dense mesh of co-operation and interdependence, rather than a hub and spokes model, because this will result in a stronger and more resilient region,” the Chinese PM said.
“In this uncertain world, the certainty China offers is an anchor for world peace and development,” he added underscoring Beijing’s new assertiveness in international diplomacy. “This is the case in the past and will remain so in the future.”
Global war threat mounting
Moscow sees the risks of conflicts with the participation of large countries escalating and growing into a local or global war, according to the updated concept.
"The use of military force in violation of international law, the exploration of outer space and information space as new spheres of military action, the blurring of the line between military and non-military means of inter-state confrontation, and the escalation of protracted armed conflicts in a number of regions increase the threat to global security, enhance the risk of collision between major states, including with the participation of nuclear powers, and the probability of such conflicts escalating and growing into a local, regional or global war," the document reads.
Tensions in a number of regions are growing, threatening to destabilise the world further.
"Destabilising build-up and modernisation of offensive military capabilities and the destruction of the arms control treaty system are undermining strategic stability," according to the concept.
Eurasia to be transformed in a peace space
According to the foreign policy concept, ensuring peace and stability in Eurasia also requires a "comprehensive settlement in Afghanistan, assistance in building it as a sovereign, peaceful and neutral state with stable economy and political system, which meets the interests of all the ethnic groups living there and opens up prospects for integrating Afghanistan into the Eurasian space for co-operation."
"Russia seeks to transform Eurasia into a continental common space of peace, stability, mutual trust, development and prosperity," the document reads.
Achieving this goal implies the "comprehensive strengthening of the SCO's [Shanghai Cooperation Organization] potential and role in ensuring security in Eurasia and promoting its sustainable development by enhancing the organisation's activities in the light of current geopolitical realities," the concept said.
As bne IntelliNews reported, now that Russia has definitively broken with the West following its invasion of Ukraine a year ago, its hunt for new markets means uncorking the southern route out of Eurasia and into the massive markets of Pakistan and India has become a top priority. Afghanistan is the key to the region, as instability there has blocked the southern exit from the region into South Asia.
The end of Russia’s trade relations with Europe and the need to build new markets have given new impetus to remaking the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as both a market in its own right and as a collective vehicle to build new trade relations with the Global South, a goal that Russia shares with China, which has also focused on the importance of developing Eurasia and its ties with the broader region.
Putin highlighted the role EAEU will play in this process as well as the SCO as two of the key organisations in the region. China has also focused on the SCO as playing a leading role in developing Eurasia. Both Moscow and Beijing are keen to build up the international non-Western political and economic co-operation institutions to rival the Western lead organisations such as the World Bank, IMF and EBRD.
Moscow is calling for the "strengthening of the economic and transport interconnectivity in Eurasia, including through the modernisation and increased capacity of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian railway; the rapid launch of the International North-South Transport Corridor; improvement of infrastructure of the Western Europe-Western China International Transit Corridor, the Caspian and the Black Sea regions, and the Northern Sea Route; creation of development zones and economic corridors in Eurasia, including the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor, as well as increased regional co-operation in digital development and establishment of an energy partnership."
Developing relations with China and India is especially important for Russia, the concept says, and mirrors Beijing’s desire to develop land-based connectivity between Asia and Europe both to bind Eurasia more closely together and also to get away from maritime trade routes due to the US navy’s dominance of the sea.
"Russia aims at further strengthening the comprehensive partnership and the strategic co-operation with the People's Republic of China and focuses on the development of a mutually beneficial co-operation in all areas, provision of mutual assistance and enhancement of co-ordination in the international arena to ensure security, stability and sustainable development at the global and regional levels, both in Eurasia and in other parts of the world," the document said.
The Chinese leader Xi Jinping was in Moscow for a three-day visit between March 20-22 in an ostentatious display of support for Putin. India has also clearly come out in support of Russia and trade between the two countries has soared in the last year.
According to its policy, Russia "will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand co-operation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances."
In related news, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in his state of the nation speech on the same day that Minsk will make a “pivot to the East” amid the United States’ attempts to counter Russia, China and Iran.
"The so-called policy pivot to the East is the most reasonable step, which is in line with the spirit of the times. After all, the sun sets in the West and rises in the East," he pointed out in an address to the country’s people and parliament. Lukashenko has also been travelling recently to shore up his ties in Asia and was in Beijing earlier this month to meet Xi and also join the SCO. He followed that with a trip to Tehran and signed co-operation agreements.
Lukashenko pointed out in his speech on March 31 that in terms of foreign trade, Belarus gave priority to its strategic partners and allies, namely Russia and China. "Our exports to Russia increased by half last year, exceeding $23bn, while overall trade passed the $50bn mark," he specified.
Trade and FX
The concept says that Russia will focus on increasing non-energy exports to states pursuing a neutral policy. The document says that Russia will pay attention to enhancing its presence on world markets and increasing non-resource-based, non-energy exports.
It also aims to diversify economic ties geographically to redirect them to states that pursue a constructive and neutral policy towards Russia while remaining open to pragmatic co-operation with business circles of unfriendly states.
The statement also says that Russia will contribute to adapting the global trade and monetary and financial systems to the realities of the multipolar world and the consequences of the economic globalisation crisis.
Russia has already abandoned the dollar and the yuanisation of the economy is proceeding at full steam as Russia adopts the Chinese currency as its foreign exchange of choice. During Xi’s visit to Moscow Putin said that half the mutual trade between the two countries was already settled in yuan and called on the other Eurasian countries to make use of the Chinese currency in international trade deals.
According to the statement, Russia is going to accommodate the world trade and monetary and financial systems, “taking into account the realities of the multipolar world and consequences of the crisis of economic globalisation.” This is aimed at narrowing the possibilities for unfriendly states to “excessively use their monopolistic or dominant stand in certain spheres of the world economy, while enhancing the participation of developing countries in global economic management.” In other words, Putin wants to denude the US of its ability to weaponise the dollar.
Lack of trust
The concept went on to say that diplomacy has been undermined by the growing lack of trust amongst the international community.
Russia itself started that process off with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “new rules of the game” speech in February 2020 that said the Kremlin would no longer tolerate the dual policy towards Russia of doing business with one hand, but applying sanctions with the other.
Lavrov humiliated EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the same time and threatened to break off diplomatic relations with Europe if the EU didn’t respond to this new demand. Ironically, Borrell was in Moscow to suggest rolling back tensions with Russia and building more constructive relations based on pragmatic trade development. But as far as the Kremlin was concerned the European offer was too little, too late.
"The culture of dialogue in international affairs is degrading, and the effectiveness of diplomacy as a means of peaceful dispute settlement is decreasing. There is an acute lack of trust and predictability in international affairs," the foreign policy concept says.
In comments following the release of the concept, Lavrov highlighted the new relations that Russia wants to build, emphasising that Russia is willing to co-operate with any country that treats it as an equal – an echo of his new rules of the game speech – but will “oppose” any country that tries to force its will on Russia.
"In the concept we have explained our vision of the principles of a more balanced and fair world order. They include polycentricity, the sovereign equality of states, their right to choose models of development, and the world’s cultural and civilisational diversity. The promotion of a multipolar world order is defined as a framework task on all foreign policy tacks," Lavrov said.
Ominously, Lavrov went on to explain that the right to resist impingements on Russia’s sovereignty includes the right to use force, which is a scaling up of potential Russian aggression from Lavrov’s February 2020 speech.
"A provision has been introduced that armed forces can be used to repel or prevent an armed attack on Russia or its allies. This is how we unequivocally state that we will defend the right of the Russian people to exist and develop freely," the minister said at the meeting of the permanent members of the Russian Security Council. "Important modifications have been enshrined in terms of the conditions for the use of force for self-defence within the framework of unconditional compliance under Article 51 of the UN Charter."
In a sign of things to come, Putin signed decrees dismissing Russian Ambassador to Latvia Mikhail Vanin and Russian Ambassador to Estonia Vladimir Lipaev on March 31, as they are no longer needed.
Estonia has reduced bilateral relations with Russia to an absolute minimum since the start of the Russian special military mission. The Estonian Foreign Ministry stated in January 2023 that Russia, in order to achieve parity in the number of employees in embassies, should reduce the number of its employees to 8 diplomatic posts and up to 15 administrative, technical and service staff positions by February 1.
Putin’s long-preferred platform to run his concept of a multipolar world has been the United Nations. He has in the past appealed to the international community to put aside its post-Cold War rivalries and unite against the global challenges of terrorism, pandemics and climate change, but to little avail.
In 2015 Putin travelled to New York to call for the international community to form an international coalition against terrorism at his speech during the United Nations annual assembly on September 28.
"We need a genuinely broad alliance against terrorism, just like the one against Hitler," Putin told the delegates assembled in New York, bar the Ukrainian delegation, several of whom walked out of the Security Council chamber as the president walked in.
However, as the speech came only a year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and a military separatist movement in the Donbas well underway, even if Putin was sincere, Russian credibility was already in shreds at that time. In a stark admission of Russia’s powerlessness within the UN, the new concept says this platform has been degraded and “artificially devalued.”
"Serious pressure is being put on the UN and other multilateral institutions, the intended purpose of which, as platforms for harmonising the interests of the leading powers, is artificially devalued," the concept reads.
The upshot is that Russia now intends to go it alone, with whatever help it can muster from the likes of China, India and its friends in Africa.
"The Russian Federation proceeds from the indivisibility of international security (in global and regional aspects) and seeks to ensure it equally for all states on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. On this basis, Russia is open to joint actions together with all interested states and interstate associations to shape a renewed, more stable international security architecture," the document said.
Register here to continue reading this article and 8 more for free or purchase 12 months full website access
Register to read the bne monthly magazine for free:
Already registered
Google Captcha Failed!
Password could contain only a-z0-9\+*?[^]$(){}=!<>|:-_ characters and have 8-20 symbols length.
Please complete your registration by confirming your email address.
A confirmation email has been sent to the email address you provided.
Forgotten password?
Email field can't be empty.
No user with this email address.
Access recovery request has expired, or you are using the wrong recovery token. Please, try again.
Access recover request has expired. Please, try again.
To continue viewing our content you need to complete the registration process.
Please look for an email that was sent to with the subject line "Confirmation bne IntelliNews access". This email will have instructions on how to complete registration process. Please check in your "Junk" folder in case this communication was misdirected in your email system.
If you have any questions please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
Sorry, but you have used all your free articles fro this month for bne IntelliNews. Subscribe to continue reading for only $119 per year.
Your subscription includes:
For the meantime we are also offering a free subscription to bne's digital weekly newspaper to subscribers to the online package.
Click here for more subscription options, including to the print version of our flagship monthly magazine:
More subscription options
Take a trial to our premium daily news service aimed at professional investors that covers the 30 countries of emerging Europe:
Get IntelliNews PRO
For any other enquiries about our products or corporate discounts please contact us at sales@intellinews.com
If you no longer wish to receive our emails, unsubscribe here.
Magazine annual electronic subscription
Website & Archive annual subscription