MP indicates new foreign policy concept lays out clear guidelines for new realities

MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. Russia’s new foreign policy concept provides clear guidelines for all those involved in this area, given the new realities, head of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, told reporters on Friday. The senator noted that the new concept was endorsed not because the previous one "was incorrect in some of areas or did not fully correspond to the realities at that particular period of time." "It’s just that reality itself has changed dramatically. The three years that have passed since the previous foreign policy concept was adopted turned out to be the most intense since the end of the Cold War," he said. According to Kosachev, "in general, the new foreign policy concept is, of course, much closer to the changing realities of the modern world giving clear guidelines to all those involved in the foreign policy one way or another, and determining the logic and meaning of these efforts." "I believe this is a very timely and relevant document that should be studied by every practitioner," he elaborated. The senator also focused on the growing role of "soft power" tools in the concept, above all, civil society resources. "The role of parliamentary diplomacy is growing, too. We can see this in our daily realities, when parliamentary channels are often the key ones for dialogue with a number of countries, which curtailed relations with Russia along other lines," Kosachev said. He added though that one should not search for any "revolutionary innovations in this new concept." "It thus ensures the continuity, consistency and predictability of the country’s policy and of Russia itself as a partner and an influential world power," he explained. Read more