Valdai Club

George Friedman

Li Fenglin

Mikhail Fedotov

Heinz Fischer

Andrei Frolov

Andrey Filatov

Thomas Flichy de La Neuville

Kirill Filippov

Andrey Fesyun

Alexei Fenenko

Russian Federation

Leading Research Fellow, Institute of International Security Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Materials

Expert Opinions

Euro-Atlanticism: Demand for America?

In the last 20 years Germany has become for Moscow a kind of a bridge to the United States and NATO. Closer coordination between Berlin and Washington would mean the end to this. Politically Germany – Russia’s closest partner until recently – would become less hospitable. This would reduce the potential of Russia’s European policy against the backdrop of closer partnership between France and the UK.

Expert Opinions

Russia-NATO Cooperation on Afghanistan: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Russia-NATO cooperation on Afghanistan is coming to an end for objective reasons. If NATO withdraws most of its troops from Afghanistan by late 2014, it won’t need Russia’s help as much. If there’s no cooperation on the Afghan problem, Moscow and Washington will have nothing to show for their partnership.

Expert Opinions

What's Behind the Conflict on the Korean Peninsula?

Moscow’s primary challenge is to prevent an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula, which would most likely cause an environmental catastrophe in the neighboring Russian Far East. Moscow is not interested in an American military operation near Russia’s borders. In this respect, Russia’s aims are nearly identical to China’s interests.

Expert Opinions

Russia’s Eurasian Priorities

The first four months of Vladimir Putin’s new presidential term have shifted the focus of Russia’s foreign policy to post-Soviet countries. The Eurasian Union concept, announced in October 2011, is coming to the fore. This involves the creation of essentially a confederation of states with shared political, economic, military, customs and cultural spaces.

Expert Opinions

APEC Remains an American Project

The APEC agenda continues to be shaped by the United States and its allies, while the Kremlin has only a limited influence on the processes in the Pacific. The result of the Vladivostok summit is not fatal for Russia, but it does show how difficult it will be for Moscow to integrate into the Pacific system of relationships.

Expert Opinions

U.S.-Vietnamese Rapprochement and Hanoi’s Dilemma

The importance of the Asia-Pacific region in U.S. foreign policy has risen sharply this summer. U.S.-Vietnamese rapprochement is based on a mutual desire to counterbalance China’s power in the region and is narrowing Russia’s resources and opportunities in Asia.

Expert Opinions

Can Russia Play an Active Part in the Pacific Game?

Russia is facing a difficult choice. In the early 1990s, it opted for strategic partnership with China and now has a number of bilateral obligations within the framework of the 2001 Russian-Chinese Treaty of Friendship. At the same time, Russia has been trying to balance the excessive influence of Chinese business in the Russian Far East.

Expert Opinions

Who Lost the Libyan War?

The Libyan war changed the balance of power between the great powers. The structure of the Libyan war was different from NATO military operations in the former Yugoslavia, and even more so from U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Expert Opinions

Russian Foreign Policy: Focusing on Asia

The new Russian president will be confronted with complex tasks in the Asian Pacific Region. Moscow will need to preserve good relations with China, find an economic counterbalance to influential Chinese businesses in the Far East and expand its trade relations with ASEAN. The main thing is to avoid having to choose between the US and China amid mounting U.S.-China contradictions.

Expert Opinions

London Regains Leadership Position in World Politics

Britain’s return to active European politics does not bode well for Russia. With the leadership role being taken over by the French-British tandem, Russia's possibilities to continue pursuing its Euro-Atlantic strategy are narrowed, as London is working to reinforce the military and political capabilities of NATO.

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