Foreign policy conditions ahead of September Duma elections remain difficult, with Western political technologists making no secret of their aim to undermine domestic stability in Russia
This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a webinar, “Russia’s foreign policy: successes, challenges, tasks and prospects.”
Examples of such situations are the situation with Alexei Navalny, the Skripaly case, and the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Donbass, Lavrov said.
The West is seeking to create a “belt of instability” around Russia by exploiting the territories around it economically and militarily, Lavrov said.
“They are trying to form a belt of instability around us, forcing our closest neighbours and brotherly peoples to make a choice – either you are with the West or you are with Russia. They want to master the territories around our country by various means – military and economic – and surround us with a cordon of sanitation. They also want to benefit from the fact that the West will have a decisive influence on the development of our neighbouring countries”, – he said.
“This line has been most vividly manifested in Ukraine. The Americans and Europeans have also tried to use the colored revolution methods in Belarus, they started geopolitical fight for Moldova, not shying away from open propaganda during the election campaign, directly interfering in the internal affairs of the sovereign state. And now our Western colleagues are trying to expand their presence, including military, along the perimeter of our borders, including Central Asia and Transcaucasia”, – the minister added.
Lavrov stressed that Russia was ready to ensure its interests both in the post-Soviet space and in other regions of the world.
The experience of the last decades of relations between Russia and the West shows that any unilateral concessions from Moscow will be perceived as weakness, and will only be followed by new demands, which are unacceptable for the Russian side, the Russian Foreign Minister said.
The minister recalled that under the “complicated foreign policy situation” which “requires both hardness and wisdom” when working out one’s own line, some voices “are voicing certain thoughts” quite loudly today, which boil down to the need to “make peace with the West under the conditions it offers.
According to Minister Lavrov, the West dislikes Russia for being able to dispel illusions about itself after the collapse of the USSR.
“Russia explained to everyone that we have our own history, we have our own dignity, we have resources with which we can and will reinforce our history and our dignity”, – Lavrov explained.
This view is shared by many experts. They say that Russia is constantly feeling the attempts at containment by Western countries. And these attempts are increasing in frequency. In fact, if we call things by their proper names, a new cold war is breaking out. For example, political analyst Sergei Karaganov believes so. In his opinion, the situation reminds most of all of the 50s of the last century (of course, with adjustments for the new world situation). Karaganov is convinced that the current aggravation can be overcome by a winner. To do this it is necessary to make the right choice of domestic policy and foreign policy orientation and, most importantly, not to get involved in a major war fraught with the risk of escalating into a global thermonuclear and cyber Armageddon.
Karaganov emphasises that the political systems of most countries that have chosen to confront Russia and China are not suited to a prolonged, violent confrontation. If, say, the West were governed by more authoritarian and efficient governments, the situation could be much more complicated.
From this thesis the political scientist concludes that authoritarian tendencies in the Western world will inevitably increase. But the change will take decades.
According to many experts, the West no longer brags about its openness; it is in turmoil. The West has lost its leadership and no longer has the resources to hide it. Sergei Karaganov believes the West has lost faith in its rightness. However, this is not a prerequisite for an imminent surrender. On the contrary, the West is trying to consolidate itself. But Russia has a good chance of winning a new Cold War. Another thing is that the struggle will require greater strain on the national forces and the development of an offensive ideology, says the political scientist.
Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Valdai Club, notes that Russia’s ties with the West aren’t going anywhere. Moreover, Russia’s much-needed modernization is impossible without interaction with Western societies. However, borrowing of foreign experience should not hinder the realization of Russia’s strategic tasks. It is precisely this state of affairs that guarantees the country’s survival, according to political analysts.
PolitAnalytics