No dramatic changes in Russia’s foreign policy after Putin’s election
Kazakhstan, Astana, March 6 / Trend D. Mukhtatov /
No fundamental changes will occur in the foreign policy of the country after Vladimir Putin’s election as the Russian president, CIS experts said.
“There is no reason to expect dramatic changes in the agenda of Russia’s foreign policy,” the head of the Ukrainian Center for Applied Political Studies “Penta” Volodymyr Fesenko said during the videoconference Moscow – Astana – Kyiv – Yerevan – Chisinau “Russia and the CIS: a new scenario of relations”, organized by RIA Novosti today. “The main coordinator will be Putin. One should expect more changes in style, rather than Medvedev’s style. It will be tougher.”
The director of Caucasus Institute (Yerevan) Alexander Iskandaryan shares this view.
“Russia’s policy towards the CIS countries is unlikely to change much, Iskadaryan said. “We see that there is continuity in the relationship that persists during the period of Putin – Medvedev – Putin.”
The director of the Political Analysis Center (Moscow) Sergei Mikheyev, Putin clearly expressed his position on foreign policy even during the election campaign.
“The main points contained in the Eurasian project will be the main ones in Russia’s foreign policy for the next six years,” Mikheyev said. Russia will have integration processes with those countries which want to have them.”
The elections were held on Sunday, March 4. According to the CEC, after totaling 99.3 percent of the ballot, Putin secured 63.75 per cent of the votes, Gennady Zyuganov – 17.19 per cent, Mikhail Prokhorov – 7.82 per cent, Vladimir Zhirinovsky – 6.23 per cent and Sergei Mironov – 3.85 per cent.
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