Russia will continue developing relations with friendly countries and will oppose attempts to prevent that, according to the new Foreign Policy Concept approved on Friday by the decree of President Vladimir Putin.
Russia intends to proactively develop cooperation with allies and partners in all spheres and prevent attempts of unfriendly countries to interfere with such cooperation, the document reads.
The main goal of Russia in the CIS region is to transform it into the zone of peace, good neighborhood and prosperity, the Concept states. Russia focuses on peaceful resolution of international issues in the Arctic Region, the document reads.
Global changes lead to revisions of Russian foreign policy concept — Putin
The Russian foreign policy concept has been revised because of dramatic changes in the international life, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with standing members of the Security Council on Friday.
"We will discuss the foreign policy concept of the Russian Federation today as the first item on our agenda. Cardinal changes in the international life required for us to make major revisions in key strategic planning documents, including the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, where principles, tasks and priorities of the diplomatic activity are outlined," the head of state said.
The updated foreign policy concept will serve as a sound basis for further efforts at the international stage, the President added.
Putin approves updated Concept of Foreign Policy of Russia
President Vladimir Putin has approved a new version of Russia’s Concept of Foreign Policy. He announced the signing of the relevant decree at a meeting with permanent members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on Friday.
This document defines the priority areas, goals and objectives of the country's international activities, it will be a road map for the Russian Foreign Ministry and other ministries and departments.
"Today I signed a decree approving the updated Concept of Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation," the head of state said at a meeting with permanent members of the Security Council on Friday.
The previous version of the Concept was adopted in November 2016. Work on updating it has been carried out over the past few years. In particular, in January 2022, the prepared document was submitted for discussion with the permanent members of the Security Council. However, following the meeting, the President sent it back for revision.
In December last year, the head of state again reviewed a draft updated Concept at a meeting with the Security Council.
Spain still dependent on Russian gas – media
Spain’s imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia in January and February saw a massive year-on-year surge of 172%, El Confidencial reported on Friday, citing data from Spanish energy company Enagas.
Purchases of super-chilled fuel from the sanctioned country since the beginning of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine have soared by 84%, making Spain the biggest importer of Russian LNG among EU member states.
The impressive growth of LNG imports in spite of the EU’s pledge to eliminate its reliance on energy exports from Russia have reportedly caused major concern in Madrid and Brussels.
Earlier this month, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson called for Russian LNG shipments to be stopped, saying energy companies shouldn’t renew long-term contracts once current ones expire.
Similarly, Spain’s Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge asked companies – including Naturgy, Repsol, TotalEnergies, Axpo, Pavilion, Enagas, Met Energy, Enet Energy, EdP, CEPSA and BP – not to sign up for new purchases from Russia.
However, Spain and the rest of the EU have no mechanism to stop the flow of LNG from Russia, El Confidencial reports. The importers are reportedly private companies and trading operations are completely legal, since Russian LNG has not been targeted by EU sanctions.
Prior to its military operation in Ukraine, Russia supplied nearly 40% of the gas consumed by EU countries, mostly through the pipeline network. Over the past year, EU gas purchases from Russia have been in steady decline. They are currently hovering about 10% of the bloc’s entire consumption, according to Brussels. The latest increase in LNG purchases from the sanctioned country comes amid EU attempts to fill the void resulting from the sharp reduction in pipeline supplies.
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