Russia overviews its foreign policy

Russia's Foreign Ministry has prepared an overview of the country's foreign policy. Parliamentary committees, the Public Chamber, a series of institutes and political centres were all involved in the preparation of the report.

The overview includes such issues as Russia's work at the UN, the G8, international co-operation in fighting challenges and threats, conflict regulation and many others.

NATO is one of the issues addressed in the overview. According to the document, Russia's relationship with the alliance is “complicated”. This is due to NATO's suggested enlargement towards the East, including the accelerated admission of Georgia and Ukraine, together with the closeness of the alliance's military infrastructure to Russia's border.

When it comes to Iran, the overview suggests that the existing situation can only be handled by diplomatic means. A policy of ultimatums is doomed to fail.

In its relationship with Georgia, the overview suggests, Russia has been facing an anti-Russian campaign in the media, initiated by Georgia. Georgia's current policy is based on ethnic nationalism, and is being supported by a range of Western states, with the U.S. in first place. The Foreign Ministry's overview recommends sticking to the principle stance in relation with Georgia, which is to prevent of any sort of action which may damage the national interest of the Georgian people in the long run.

The document also says the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) instead of being a forum for equal political dialogue and collective decision-making has been facing attempts by the U.S. and several other states to use the organisation for their own foreign policy interests.

Concerning Russian-American interaction, the overview says the difference is obvious when it comes to the future of the world order in the understanding of the two countries. The U.S. prefers a unipolar world, whereas Russia wants to promote multipolarity, with international interaction in solving problems, basing actions on international law and multipolar institutions, such as the UN.