Russia adopts new anti-West global strategy

Agencies | Moscow

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing Western “dominance” and identifying China and India as key partners for the future.

The new document cements the deep Cold War-style rupture between Russia and the West over Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, according to AFP.

“The Russian Federation intends to give priority to the elimination of vestiges of the dominance of the United States and other unfriendly countries in world politics,” the strategy document said.

The term “unfriendly countries” is used by Russia to refer to those countries, particularly in Europe and North America, that have condemned Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine and adopted sanctions.

The 42-page document, which was published on the Kremlin’s website, said that Russia would aim to “create the conditions for any state to reject neo-colonialist and hegemonic aims”. Announcing the document at a security council meeting, Putin said that updates to Russia’s strategy for engagement on the global stage were necessary due to “radical changes” in the world.

The strategy reflects the Russian leader’s increasingly anti-Western stance in the face of sanctions and Western military aid to Ukraine, as was also seen in his state of the nation speech last month. In the new strategy, Russia stressed the importance of “the deepening of ties and coordination with friendly sovereign global centres of power and development located on the Eurasian continent.”