On March 31, Russia adopted a new foreign policy strategy citing the US and the West as sources of an "existential threat" to Moscow, amid a diplomatic crisis linked to the conflict in Ukraine.
"Upheavals on the international scene" are forcing Russia to "adjust its strategic planning documents, especially the one on the conception of Russia's foreign policy," President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the National Security Council, reports AFP.
Russia has made it a "priority" to eliminate the "dominance" of the US and the West, while describing itself as a "civilization" that defends Russian-speaking citizens.
According to the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, the new document states "the existential nature of threats created by the actions of enemy countries", citing the US as "the main mover and conductor of the anti-Russian attitude".
"Generally speaking, the West's policy aims to weaken Russia in any way possible, and this is a new type of hybrid warfare," Lavrov said.
The new Russian foreign policy strategy is based on the principle that "the anti-Russian measures taken by enemy countries will be constantly responded to, and if necessary harshly," he added.
The adoption of this new foreign policy strategy confirms the deep gap between Moscow and Western countries since the beginning of the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
That conflict sparked a diplomatic crisis of gravity reminiscent of the Cold War era.
Washington and its allies have imposed heavy economic sanctions against Moscow, which accuses them of waging a proxy war in Ukraine, particularly by supplying weapons to Kiev.
Isolated in the West, Russia seeks to economically and diplomatically get closer to Asia, especially China.
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