Russia in a Changing World 9 Russia in a Changing World: Continued Priorities and New Opportunities Andrei Denisov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation THe TITle of THIs article encapsulates the motto of an upcoming meeting of ambassadors and permanent representatives of the Russian Federation to international organizations. Traditionally, such meetings are held once per two years. They constitute an important ingredient of politico-diplomatic activities by the Russian Foreign Ministry and its missions abroad, allow for comprehensive analysis of the international situation and help to pinpoint the goals of Russian diplomacy in specific areas. The next, sixth, meeting will be held on July 9-11. By tradition, its main, pivotal event is to be the address of the President of the Russian Federation, who under the Constitution defines national foreign policy. Meetings with the Head of state are of great practical importance for the diplomatic service, facilitate a deeper grasp of our foreign policy priorities and keep Russian diplomacy geared up for the best defense of national interests. Invited to the gathering are leaders and senior officials from the Russian Presidential executive office and government, the Chambers of the Federal assembly, a number of federal ministries, departments and organizations, as well as eminent public figures and scholars, representatives of local business, the academic and expert community, and the sochi 2014 organizing Committee. of course, the meeting will be attended by veterans honored workers of the diplomatic service as well as young diplomats. The upcoming forum of ambassadors and permanent representatives will be out of the ordinary due to a range of circumstances. It is to be held at the very beginning of a new presidential term, which necessitates clarification of the foreign policy priorities. Immediately after inauguration, President Vladimir Putin on May 7, 2012 signed Decree No. 605 on Measures to Implement the Foreign Policy Course of the Russian
10 INTeRNaTIoNal affairs Federation. The Head of state in a concentrated form outlined in it the main tasks facing the Foreign Ministry and other executive bodies in foreign policy. In essence this laid down guidelines for our foreign policy activity in the period ahead. Their pursuit is to ensure national interests as a new polycentric system of international relations comes into being and helps to boost global security and stability. The meeting is intended to discuss professionally and substantively about how to implement orders of the President of Russia to the best of the participants abilities. The decree clearly reaffirms the continuity of Russian foreign policy, to be further underpinned by key principles of pragmatism, openness, multivectorness, and the consistent advancement, without slipping into confrontation, of national interests, which have fully proved their effectiveness and, in fact, become universal in character. They will continue to define the philosophy of our actions in the international arena. Implementing these guidelines is meant to boost Russia s position as a responsible and predictable partner, whose authority in international affairs is determined not only by factors such as military and economic power and cultural influence, but also by attitudes and basic guidelines that are coherent and distinct. The upcoming ambassadors meeting will also be special owing to the fact that the world has entered a period of tumultuous change, which by all indications will have a profound historic character. We are witnessing a transformation of the geopolitical landscape, accompanied by increased global and regional turbulence. The pulse of international affairs is unprecedentedly accelerating, and the ongoing processes in international relations are becoming ever more complex and multidimensional. In these circumstances, an impartial analysis of the trends prevailing in contemporary international relations is especially in order. so it is only natural that the Ministry of Foreign affairs has been instructed to prepare a new version of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation by this year s end. of course, we will work on its realization collectively, with maximum use of the intellectual potential of the staff at the Ministry and our missions abroad, and in close contact with other government agencies as well as experts. several aspects of the development of events cannot but arouse our concern. This is mostly about the actions of external actors with regard to intra-state conflicts; it s about attempts to solve existing problems by force, bypassing international law and the established decision-making formats. Russia is going to strongly assert the rule of law in international
Russia in a Changing World 11 affairs and to firmly uphold the central role of the united Nations and the fundamental principles of the Charter of the world body, which are the cornerstone of the entire system of international relations above all, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and noninterference in their internal affairs. We are convinced that the rule of law and democratic principles must be respected not only within individual states but also in international relations. a dangerous amplification of the elements of chaos in world politics will be unavoidable otherwise. In an article published before the March elections, Russia and the Changing We are witnessing a transformation of the geopolitical landscape, accompanied by increased global and regional turbulence. World, President Putin underscored that the goals of our foreign policy have a strategic rather than an opportunistic character. Therefore, Russia s foreign policy stance will remain balanced, proactive, constructive, and based on a desire to forge meaningful dialogue and cooperation with all who are ready for this. We do not gloss over the differences, but neither do we intend to dramatize them. In other words, Russia is set to move far in building up cooperation with its partners and bring relations to a new, higher level of course, on an equal, mutually respectful basis. a key foreign policy priority of our country is to deepen the multilateral collaboration and integration processes in the Commonwealth of Independent states area and to further boost multifaceted cooperation with the CIs member states in various fields. Russian diplomacy is also aimed at building active and dynamic relationships with partners in other sectors with the european union and the united states of america, with the states of the asia-pacific region, latin america and the Caribbean, and africa. at the same time, all of our foreign policy is focused primarily on the creation of favorable external conditions for the long-term development of Russia, the modernization of its economy, and the strengthening of its position as an equal partner in world markets. We are confident that such an approach is a natural basis for broad-based international cooperation, as the imperatives of development and modernization are today of paramount importance to all states without exception. Combining the efforts of responsible participants of international intercourse is the key to a successful solution of complex problems con-
12 INTeRNaTIoNal affairs fronting the world community. all countries face common global challenges, among them the danger of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, piracy, climate change, illegal migration, natural and man-made disasters, food shortages, and mass epidemics. The list goes on. In the search for appropriate joint responses to these challenges, network diplomacy is in ever greater demand, presupposing the formation of flexible, overlapping associations on the basis of coinciding interests. Hence derives our insistence on promoting a positive agenda, and resolving existing problems on the basis of international legal entrenchment of the principle of equal and indivisible security. We are convinced that under present conditions, this principle acquires a universal character and should be the basis of a new architecture of security and cooperation in the euro-atlantic and asia- Pacific regions and elsewhere in the world. We proceeded exactly from this idea when we came up with the european security Treaty initiative in 2008, and we will continue to keep our doors open for constructive and focused dialogue to seek out mutually acceptable solutions to the full range of security issues in the euroatlantic space. But of course we see the problem potential, which may cause inhibition of the interaction dynamics and lower the bar of trust. at issue are primarily u.s. plans for a global missile defense system. our fundamental condition is that there should be firm guarantees that it will not be directed against Russia s nuclear deterrent and be verifiable by agreed military-technical and geographic criteria. The united states needs to abandon the illusion that it can try to deal with the core issues of european and world security and stability without Russia and to the detriment of our interests. one proof of Russia s enhanced international standing is the presidency of our country in a variety of multilateral formats: in apec this year, in the group of Twenty next, and in the group of eight in 2014. We will hold the chair of the shanghai Cooperation organization and the BRICs group in 2015. our country occupies a firm place among the world s top centers of power and influence today. and there is a lot of work on the road ahead. To streamline the mechanisms for protecting the rights and interests of Russian citizens; nurture cooperation with compatriots abroad; broaden the Russian cultural presence and strengthen the position of Russian language in the world; make more efficient use of the resource of public diplomacy; and raise the level
Russia in a Changing World 13 of public awareness of foreign policy. Previously a two-day event, the ambassadors and permanent representatives meeting will be expanded to three in the present year. There has been a whole array of innovations on our part to ensure the most productive outcome of the forum. Thus, topical issues of interest to basically all the ambassadors and permanent representatives, such as foreign trade activities, multilateral diplomacy, problems stemming from new threats and challenges, informational work, consular issues, and interaction with compatriots, are going to be examined in plenary sessions, the number of which will be increased. The debates in the sections will focus on regional topics and issues related to participation in international organizations. The agenda also includes various logistical aspects of the Ministry s business from personnel and financial ones to material and technical supply and social amenities. It is obvious that carrying out the tasks of increasing the vigor and efficiency of our foreign policy work requires improving the tools at the disposal of Russian diplomacy. President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to develop a concept for enhancing the resource and human potential of the Foreign Ministry system, along with that of the Ministry of economic Development and Rossotrudnichestvo with their own networks of overseas agencies trade missions and cultural centers. This is designed to ensure efficient operation of our diplomatic service at a level appropriate to the scope and complexity of its tasks. The Russian foreign affairs agency is trying to keep up with the times, by opening its activities to the public as much as possible and expanding opportunities for the media. This has found reflection in the procedural rules of the meeting. Members of the press corps will be invited to attend the start of the meeting and will be able to be present at the public part of the speech of President Vladimir Putin. given the interest of the media, including those outside our country, in the meeting and the participation in it of the President of Russia, drawing on previous years experience, a special section will be created on the Foreign Ministry s website. It is also proposed to publish interviews with senior officials of the Ministry and with ambassadors, as well as the proceedings of the meeting in the journals Mezhdunarodnaia zhizn (International affairs) and Diplomaticheskaya sluzhba (Diplomatic service). after the official end of the meeting, plans are made to organize additional interest-based events and hold cluster meetings of heads of agen-
14 INTeRNaTIoNal affairs cies abroad, designed to help maximize the impact of this Congress of Russian ambassadors. Trips to Russian regions for groups of ambassadors and permanent representatives are scheduled for the subsequent days. We have no doubt that Russian diplomacy, true to its centuries-old tradition of service to the Fatherland, will continue to work at full steam to implement the foreign policy priorities in a bid to secure a worthy place for Russia in the emerging new international system and to bolster global security and stability. Key words: meeting of ambassadors and permanent representatives, the continuity of foreign policy, Russian diplomacy.