Leonid Slutsky: “Russian President Vladimir Putin today actually presented the outlines of the new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, which should continue to provide the most favorable, safe conditions for the development of Russia, solve large-scale social and economic problems, and improve the quality and standard of living of our people. And this is perhaps the most important thing.
The priority of the foreign policy line, according to the President, remains the development of partnership, mutually beneficial, constructive relations with all countries of the world, as well as countering common challenges and threats. Among them he named terrorism, cross-border crime, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation.
We are really ready for mutually beneficial and equal cooperation, as we have repeatedly stated at many international platforms. But Russia does not intend to give up its positions (and this was especially emphasized by Vladimir Putin), the experience of the 90s cost the country too dearly.
And here in an absolutely fair way it is necessary to demand the very guarantees of safety, which the President also spoke about. The recent exercises in the Black Sea well demonstrated NATO’s attitude towards Russia – emphatically confrontational.
The EU does not lag behind NATO in its anti-Russian rhetoric. As the President noted, “the previously rather fruitful cooperation between Russia and the EU is experiencing serious difficulties at the current stage,” the European Union continues to repulse Moscow with “sanctions, unfriendly actions and unfounded accusations”. It is obvious that the “cogs” of this process in recent years have become “Young Europeans” who, in their Russophobic impulse, are ready to crush the last constructive seeds in the dialogue.
Simply put, we are not going to be friends with someone against someone else. Alliances of this kind are doomed to fail. I am sure that this is exactly the fate awaiting the project “anti-Russia”. We will pursue a pragmatic foreign policy aimed at protecting our interests. Of course, on the principles of protecting sovereignty and non-interference, which are often forgotten in the West lately. “
