Russia in Global Affairs

Giving Iran a full-fledged membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is risky proposition that will reshape Russia’s regional integration strategy, the nature of post-Soviet institutions, and Moscow’s relations with other Middle Eastern and non-Middle Eastern states.

Almost all foreign policy concepts inherited from the bipolar and unipolar eras are either obsolete or false. Russia must stop dragging in the wake of the old foreign policy thought, which is obviously used more and more selfishly for protecting the waning positions of the West.

The year 2018 was marked by escalation in trade tensions among the world’s largest economies, mostly via bilateral trade restrictions.

Relations between the US and Russia are at their worst since the end of the Cold War, China and the US have tense relations, India and China are trying to stabilize relations after a period of acrimony. The major powers appear today to be like the unhappy families in Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: ‘Each unhappy family (major power in this case) is unhappy in its own way.’

The implementation of the “Belt and Road” initiative became dependent on the pro et contra balance that is not conducive to cooperation for the time being. “Gains and prospects” are abstract, while “risks and threats,” on the contrary, are quite concrete and cannot be ignored.

The Far East development strategy should focus on building an area of innovative resource-based economy. The production of innovative resource-intensive goods and services with a focus on the growing Asian markets running low on natural resources could be an attractive niche for the Russian Far East to take and succeed in.

The country’s geographic location largely predetermines its foreign policy, as well as the trajectory of its socioeconomic development. However, even the most negative geographical limitations can be overcome via connectivity and compatibility that are the passport to the success of Eurasian integration.

The emerging trend towards de-dollarization in the EAEU can make domestic monetary policy more efficient as well as facilitate economic integration in the Eurasian space.

The principle stated by George Orwell that all are equal but some are more equal than others seems to have been adopted at the international level. This is vividly borne out by the outcome of American interference in the Middle East countries and elsewhere. Russia will continue to espouse the principles of law and justice in international affairs.