NEW DELHI: In an updated foreign policy that Russia announced on Friday, it said that it faced ‘existential threats’ to its security and development from ‘unfriendly states’, adding that it will build a privileged strategic partnership with India.
The 42-page document sets out changes to Russia’s view of the world – in particular its increasing confrontational relationship with the West.
“Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances,” according to their foreign policy.
Russia has constantly supported India in G20 and SCO and has also spoken about continued enhancement of bilateral trade in defence and oil sector. Recently, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, had said that Russia had increased its oil exports to India by a massive 2200 per cent since sanctions. India has increased oil imports from Russia as it gets a good discount and continued supplies.
“In order to help adapt the world order to the realities of a multipolar world, Russia, the policy says, intends to make it one of priorities to enhance the capacity and international role of the interstate association of BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the RIC (Russia, India, China) and other interstate associations and international organizations, as well as mechanisms with strong Russian participation,” the policy says.
Russia says that its foreign policy is independent and driven by its national interests and the awareness of its special responsibility for maintaining peace and security at the global and regional levels.
“Russian foreign policy is peaceful, open, predictable, consistent, and pragmatic and is based on the respect for universally recognized principles and norms of international law and the desire for equitable international cooperation in order to solve common problems and promote common interests,” the document adds.
