🇷🇺🌏 Over the past decades, Russia’s policy in Asia has fallen loosely into the so-called “Asian Paradox.”

This term that became popular in academic and expert circles in the 1990s. In other words, it can be described as “hot economics and cold politics”, a pattern characteristic of Asia, where difficult and often toxic political relations between countries go hand in hand with close trade, economic and investment cooperation.

There are two prerequisites that led to the current situation.

1️⃣ First, the largest sub-regions (South, Southeast and Northeast Asia) were not of existential importance for Russia to the same extent as Europe or the post-Soviet space. As a result, Russia has never been involved in political and economic processes in Asia as thoroughly as in Europe or the former Soviet republics.

2️⃣ Second, a specific and at the same time strategic asset of Russia for a long time was the absence (with the exception of relations with Japan) of any serious contradictions relevant for maintaining a bilateral dialogue. Relations were devoid of severe historical trauma, as well as territorial and other disputes regarding the most sensitive issues. This favourably distinguished Russia from other major players – the USA and China.

The peculiarity of Russian participation in Asia is that it has not only refused to accept the classic formula of the Asian paradox, but also promoted alternative models of interaction.

The classic model of the “Asian paradox” in the current conditions is not applicable for Russia’s interaction with all major countries in the region. Moreover, Asia itself and the balance of power in the region have undergone changes, taking into account the active rise of China and India and a number of regional and global trends, Alexander Korolev writes.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/new-paradoxes-of-russian-policy-in-asia/

📑 Read more on Russia-Asia relations in the Valdai Report, titled “Russia and Asia: The Paradoxes of a New Reality”

#Asia_and_Eurasia #Asia #Russia #WorldOrder

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🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russian-Indian strategic cooperation has been successfully developing for many decades.

The foundation of the Russian-Indian partnership is mutual respect for the uniqueness of the civilizations of the two countries. We recognise the unique nature of the civilizational choice of our peoples and recognise the value of the special path that our countries have chosen. This attitude is a decreasing value in modern world politics, which seeks to standardise and unify all approaches to the interaction of countries, presenting them as identical billiard balls.

Moscow and New Delhi stand for strengthening national sovereignty and refusing to interfere in each other's affairs. Russia and India also mutually respect the interests of their partner in international relations, recognise their legitimacy, and share an emphasis on equality in relations with each other and with other countries.

This is especially important in an environment in which international relations are beginning to be determined by a narrow circle of countries that consider themselves to have the right to dictate their will. 

Our common interest in the formation of polycentricity and the preservation of strategic autonomy and subjectivity in an international environment that is constantly becoming denser, as well as our intentions not to yield to the pressure of external forces that call for the channelling of foreign policy strategy in a direction beneficial to them, should unite our countries, writes Andrey Sushentsov, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club; Dean of the School of International Relations at MGIMO University.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/what-is-the-big-idea-of-russia-india-relations/

#ModernDiplomacy #Russia #India #BRICS

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🇷🇺🌏 So far, Moscow’s policy in its immediate circle is showing signs of such adaptability to inevitably changing conditions.

However, in order for this not to become just a form of retreat, which is delicate for our own pride, we have to solve several more important problems.

1️⃣ First, Russia will be faced with the question of how to find a relatively optimal combination of adaptability to changes that occur against our will, and consistent firmness where the problem is truly of fundamental importance.

2️⃣ Second, the general crisis of international institutions will inevitably force us to answer difficult questions in the case of those organisations whose condition now looks quite good. The aforementioned SCO, the Eurasian Economic Union or the CSTO — all of these organisations differ in their nature from Western institutions, which are built on the “leader — tribe” model. However, we still have no way of gauging the viability of organisations within which there is no strict disciplinary principle in the form of a patron power.

3️⃣ Finally, we do not yet know very well how to interact with medium- and small-sized neighbours when they find themselves in a crisis. So far, Greater Eurasia is a region with relatively established states capable of conducting responsible foreign policy. However, we must not forget that many of them in the coming years may face serious internal challenges.

In the coming years, Russia’s policy in the Eurasian space will most likely be aimed at avoiding excessive obligations, but at the same time strengthening relations with those countries that are really interested in cooperating with Moscow, as well as strengthening the influence of broad international institutions, particularly the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Such a strategy will have to meet Russia’s most important goals, which are internal in nature and consist of maintaining social stability, social harmony and economic growth, writes Valdai Club Programme Director Timofei Bordachev.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/mideast-crisis/

#Asia_and_Eurasia #Eurasia #Russia #MiddleEast

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🌐 In contemporary international relations, the balance between conflict and harmony is continually negotiated.

The rise of global challenges traditional notions of warfare and necessitates cooperative, multilateral approaches. By integrating insights from neuroscience, world leadership capabilities, and international relations theory, it is possible to create a global community of shared values and attitudes among nation leaders.

Through these efforts, leaders can work together more effectively to address trade, economic and technology challenges, promote peace, and create a more just and harmonious international community, in pursuit of a more just and peaceful world, writes Rahakundini Bakrie Connie.

https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/conflict-or-harmony-russia-s-global-leadership/

#valdaiclub #Russia #West #WorldOrder

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📆 ANNOUNCEMENT: On July 10, at 16:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host a discussion, titled “Russia in the World: Results of the Foreign Policy Season 2023-2024.”

The recent period has been a particularly successful one for Russia’s foreign policy. This can be seen in the expansion of the BRICS, the addition of new members to the SCO, and the increasing reach of Russia’s global presence. President Putin’s visit to China following his re-election, his recent visits to North Korea and Vietnam, the deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran, joint military exercises with China, and naval exercises held by Russia in the Atlantic demonstrate new priorities in Russia’s foreign policy strategy.

Vladimir Putin’s statement regarding Russia’s potential supply of weapons to adversaries of several NATO countries demonstrates Moscow’s preparedness to take retaliatory actions in the event of increased military support for Ukraine. The 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, which seemed promising to Russia’s opponents, was intended to culminate in a “peace summit” in Switzerland, where an ultimatum was to be presented to Russia. However, Russian military operations and diplomatic efforts thwarted these plans.

Thus, both the Ukrainian offensive and the planned conference in Switzerland ended in a failure. Russia’s proposals for conflict resolution outlined during the Istanbul negotiations in April 2022 had been rejected.

❓Given these developments, what can be expected from the upcoming foreign policy period?
❓How will the crisis in Ukraine evolve, and what are the prospects for a resolution?

Participants in this discussion will address these and other questions.

🎙️ Speakers:

🇷🇺 Andrey Rudenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia @MFARussia

🇷🇺 Vladimir Chizhov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security

🇷🇺 Alexey Krivopalov, Senior Research Fellow of the Central Asia Sector, Fellow of the Post-Soviet Studies Centre, IMEMO

🇿🇦 David Monyae, Director, Centre for China-Africa Studies, University of Johannesburg

Moderator:

🗣 Ivan Timofeev @sanctionsrisk, programme director of the Valdai Discussion Club

https://valdaiclub.com/events/announcements/valdai-club-to-discuss-results-of-the-foreign-policy-season-2023-2024/

Working languages: Russian, English.

ℹ️ Information for the media: Dear journalists, to be accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our website. If you have any questions about the event, call +79269307763.

Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #diplomacy #Russia

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⏰ TODAY at 16:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), the Valdai Club will host a discussion, titled “Russia in the World: Results of the Foreign Policy Season 2023-2024.”

❓Given these developments, what can be expected from the upcoming foreign policy period?
❓How will the crisis in Ukraine evolve, and what are the prospects for a resolution?

Participants in this discussion will address these and other questions.

Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VKontakte, Telegram and Dzen.

#Return_of_Diplomacy #diplomacy #Russia

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🎥 LIVE: at 16:00 Moscow Time (GMT+3), we are starting a discussion, titled “Russia in the World: Results of the Foreign Policy Season 2023-2024.”

https://vk.com/video-214192832_456239201

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #diplomacy #Russia

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🗣 On July 10, 2024, the Valdai Discussion Club held a discussion, titled “Russia in the World: Results of the Foreign Policy Season 2023-2024.”

📷 Photo gallery

🎥 Video

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #diplomacy #Russia

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🌏 The Results of Foreign Policy Season: A Multipolar Whirlpool

On July 10, 2024, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion, titled “Russia in the World: Results of the Foreign Policy Season 2023-2024”.

💬 Moderator Ivan Timofeev called this season quite eventful. He highlighted the emergence of the concept of a Eurasian security structure in Russian foreign policy philosophy, the expansion of BRICS, Vladimir Putin’s visits to the DPRK and Vietnam, deepening interaction with Iran, joint exercises with China, Russia's presence in the Atlantic Ocean, the development of the Ukrainian conflict, and the failure of the Swiss summit. “We are in the centre, in a whirlpool of events, however, it is under control,” Timofeev concluded.

💬 “The world has changed dramatically since February 2022 and continues to change. What happened in February 2022 was the culmination of trends that have developed over the past decades, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko. “We were waiting for this, preparing for it, but it was difficult to be fully ready for such dramatic and tectonic shifts.” Now the world is completely different - the era of Western dominance is ending, new centres of power are emerging among the countries of the Global South, and Russia occupies a special place as a Eurasian power with its own geopolitical priorities, he stressed.

💬 Vladimir Chizhov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defence and Security, presented a brief outline of the situation in Europe. He noted that Europe today prefers to associate itself more with the Euro-Atlantic than with Eurasia, and called this a conceptual mistake. According to him, Russia has always advocated for the European Union to be an independent centre in a multipolar world, but the Europeans have chosen the opposite path, turning Europe into an appendage of the United States, and the EU into an appendage of NATO. As for relations with Russia, in the eyes of the European Union it gradually turned from a strategic partner first into a strategic opponent, and later into the main enemy. NATO, which had lost its reason for existence, also regained it in the confrontation with Russia.

💬 David Monyae, Director of the Centre for China-Africa Studies at the University of Johannesburg, spoke about Russian-African relations. He recalled that the Soviet Union had played an important role in the liberation of the African continent. In the transition from a US-dominated world order to a multipolar world, the African countries prefer to stay away from the struggle between the superpowers; they reject the idea of a zero-sum game, strive for non-alignment and choose neutrality. Africa and Russia are united by the fact that they advocate respect for strategic interests and global reforms of international organisations. Russia supports Africa's desire to take a more worthy place in the international system.

💬 Alexey Krivopalov, Senior Research Fellow of the Central Asia Sector, Fellow of the Post-Soviet Studies Centre, IMEMO, raised the issue of military operations in Ukraine and the connection between foreign policy, military-strategic and operational-tactical horizons in this context. According to Krivopalov, while Russia’s foreign policy position looks exceptionally strong, and at the military-strategic level the picture as a whole does not cause concern, then at the operational-tactical level, from the very beginning of the political season under discussion, the unresolved problem of positional balance still remains, and tactics do not have simple recipes for overcoming. He called this a reason to look into the future with cautious optimism.

https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/the-results-of-foreign-policy-season-a-multipolar-whirlpool/

#Multipolarity_and_Connectivity #diplomacy #Russia

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