Putin Instructs Foreign Ministry to Develop New Foreign Policy Framework

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the Russian president has instructed the foreign ministry to develop a new, revised edition of Russia's official foreign policy framework.

Speaking to the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a nonpartisan organization committed to improving Russian-American relations, on Saturday, Lavrov said that as "the period of uncertainty in world affairs continues, trying to respond in one fell swoop to all outstanding issues, or to try to create some sort of 'magic formula' to solve any possible problem would be impossible."

At the same time, the minister added, "a general trend, of course, can be observed, and is something that we are working to reflect in our fundamental doctrinal documents."

"This includes the Russian National Security Strategy, and the Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. On the instructions of the president, we are working on a new edition of the latter."

The new doctrinal document will reflect the fact that the world is transitioning to a new, polycentric architecture in world politics, Lavrov said, and "should ideally be based on the interaction of the leading centers of power in the interests of the collective solutions to global problems."

"This vision is shared by many countries, although, as in all previous stages in history, nothing comes automatically in international affairs, and there is no guarantee that a positive vector will prevail," the minister emphasized.