Deputy Prime Minister Rudenko's Interview with Izvestia

Izvestia has interviewed the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation A.Y. Rudenko who provides great answers to what might be termed basic questions about Russia's relations with the East. Lots of good information coming from a government official that doesn't get much exposure:

Question: The term "Russia's turn to the East" appeared many years ago, but it was the outgoing year that showed that the "turn to the East" is not only a matter of voluntary choice, but also a necessity. What specific steps has Russia taken to strengthen the infrastructure reserve in the eastern direction?

A: From the point of view of the Foreign Ministry, we see no reason to emphasize the "turn to the East". Our country has always been and remains an integral part of Asia. We are working confidently and consistently to ensure state interests in this part of the world.

Cooperation with the states of the region is developing in a wide range of areas. These are trade, economic and investment ties, joint infrastructure projects, cooperation in the field of energy and food supply.

Russia's experience is in demand by Asian partners in the areas of countering new challenges and threats, including the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, and cross-border crime. We stand high in the scale of foreign policy priorities of the countries of the region and in terms of strengthening their defense capabilities.

A solid place in the Russian-Asian agenda is occupied by humanitarian aspects – educational exchanges, tourism, healthcare. The resource of the latter was widely used during the pandemic, but the relevant work has been carried out for many years in the interests of combining efforts to counteract the spread of infectious diseases.

We have always advocated and continue to advocate the preservation and strengthening of regional cultural diversity, the unique traditional way of life and identity of the peoples of Asia. This, of course, impresses our partners.

We are stepping up cooperation through the multilateral mechanisms operating here. The backbone element of the regional architecture is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Relations with ASEAN have gone into their fourth decade, and next year it will be 5 years since they reached the level of strategic partnership. Russia is an active participant in such ASEAN-centric formats as the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum on Security, the Meeting of ASEAN Defence Ministers and Dialogue Partners.

Thanks to such purposeful work with the region, the necessary groundwork has been created, on the basis of which it is possible to further increase our multifaceted ties in Asia. This applies primarily to the business segment, which is now actively reorienting itself here from the western direction.

And the point is not in the forced nature or, as you say, in the need to work actively in Asia since 2022, but in the fact that, compared to how we act in the West, the Asian track of our foreign policy has not been widely covered in the media until recently.

Question: So far, Russia's most important trump card, which also has a political dimension, is our energy resources. In view of Europe's rejection of our oil and gas, large volumes of them are now going to China and India. What else can we offer both countries besides oil and gas at a discount?

A: Russian-Chinese trade and economic cooperation is quite multifaceted, is successfully developing in many areas and is not subject to the influence of short-term conjuncture. This year, bilateral trade showed double-digit growth rates and reached a new historical maximum. We are rapidly moving towards the milestone of $200 billion. The United States, which in accordance with the task set by the heads of state, our countries were supposed to take by 2024. Given the good dynamics of recent years, we believe that we can overcome this mark ahead of schedule.

Of course, energy is a key area of bilateral relations, cooperation in which has acquired a truly strategic and mutually beneficial character. At the same time, cooperation here is not limited to the supply of Russian hydrocarbons – their volumes are now really growing rapidly – but also includes the implementation of major joint projects in Russia and China. Thus, Rosatom, which has the most advanced and advanced technologies in the field of nuclear energy in the world, is in full swing the construction of four power units of Russian design at the Tianwan nuclear power plant and the Xudapu nuclear power plant in China. Chinese companies, in turn, take part in the production of liquefied natural gas on the Yamal Peninsula, the construction of oil and gas chemical complexes in other regions of our country.

There is great potential for cooperation in the field of agriculture. Domestic products in the large-scale Chinese market deservedly enjoy popularity and a reputation for environmentally friendly and high-quality. We not only maintain a leading position in seafood, increase the export of beef and dairy products, but also progressively expand the range of exports and facilitate the access of our producers to the Chinese market. In 2022, documents were signed providing additional opportunities for domestic wheat, poultry, peas and alfalfa.

Good prospects are also observed in terms of increasing the supply of Russian metallurgical and chemical products to China, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fertilizers. Our timber is still in demand, while due to the measures taken in recent years, there has been an increase in the share of goods with a high degree of processing in exports.

It should be noted that in practical cooperation with China, we focus not only on trade, but above all we are aimed at transferring cooperation to a higher quality level through the implementation of joint investment, infrastructure and industrial projects, deepening cooperation in such high-tech areas as space, civil aircraft construction, communications and ICT. In the current difficult conditions, new opportunities are opening up in many areas, which we intend to implement together with our Chinese partners.

Our cooperation with New Delhi is by no means limited to oil and gas supplies. There are significant prospects in the nuclear power industry. The showcase of our cooperation in this area is the Kudankulam NPP project. Together, we are successfully carrying out the construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The issue of allocating a new site in India for the construction of nuclear power plants of Russian design is being resolved. We are focused on providing our strategic partners with clean and cheap energy. Unlike Western countries, we willingly share technologies for the production of critical components used in nuclear power plants.

Cooperation in the military-technical sphere is traditional for our countries. India has been buying the latest weapons from Russia for many decades. Intergovernmental agreements on the organization of production of AK-203 assault rifles on Indian territory and the production of spare parts for Russian (Soviet) military equipment, as well as contracts for the supply of S-400 air defense systems and Project 11356 frigates are planned to be implemented. The portfolio of orders is constantly growing.

The priority is to expand the range of exported agricultural products and supplies of mineral fertilizers. Developing countries suffer the most from Western sanctions against Russia, including their food security. It is important for us that the fraternal Indian people do not lack vital food.

There are significant opportunities in terms of intensifying cooperation in the field of high technologies, including in the framework of ensuring manned space flights and the functioning of satellite navigation.

Do not forget about the cooperation between Russia and India in the field of pharmacology, including the fight against the new coronavirus infection and other diseases. Our countries are aimed at providing the population with affordable medicines and preventing the spread of dangerous pathogens in the world. Indian partners have impressive production facilities for this, we have a scientific school with a long history. Combining these advantages, we successfully solve current problems in the field of healthcare.

Question: Some experts believe that Moscow's Asian policy is unnecessarily "Sinocentric" and in the future it could harm Russia, as it once turned out to be "Western-centric" as the basis of Russian foreign policy. What do you think about that?

A: The policy of strengthening comprehensive cooperation with China remains an unconditional priority of our foreign policy, is sustainable and long-term, and fully meets the interests of the peoples of the two states. An additional catalyst for deepening Russian-Chinese foreign policy coordination was tectonic shifts in the modern geopolitical landscape, a deep transformation of the system of global governance and the world order, the violation of fundamental international norms and agreements by the countries of the collective West with impunity, and their use of the practice of "double standards" and illegitimate sanctions pressure. An important unifying factor of the Russian-Chinese connection on the world stage is also the coincidence or proximity of the approaches of the two countries to international affairs in the global and regional dimensions.

Our countries play an important stabilizing role in the current, far from simple, international situation, contribute to the democratization of the system of interstate relations in order to give this system a more equitable and inclusive character. Together we are working to strengthen the central coordinating role of the United Nations in world affairs and strive to prevent the erosion of the international legal system, which focuses on the UN Charter.

Russia and China adhere to a constructive and sensible approach to building relations with third countries, sharing their positions on the absolute majority of topical issues on the international agenda. The presence of their own interests in the field of national security does not prevent our countries from listening to each other's point of view and acting in solidarity in the formation of approaches to various global and regional challenges.

In general, we do not operate in terms of country "focus" or "centricity". Of course, the volume of cooperation with China and, for example, any state in Southeast Asia is incomparable. But the task of comparison as such in this case is not worth it. Russia is working in all geographical and economic vectors in the interests of creating the widest possible field of opportunities for the realization of our interests.

Question: What other significant "footholds" does Russia have in the vast region of Asia besides China?

A: One of the most important spaces for us is Southeast Asia, where we interact both with individual countries bilaterally and with ASEAN as a whole. We are developing multi-component cooperation with India. Broad cooperation programs are being implemented with Mongolia, including in a trilateral format with China.

We are strengthening ties with the states of the Indian Ocean zone, including in view of Russia's acquisition of the status of a dialogue partner of such a major regional platform as ARSIO (Association for Regional Cooperation of the Coastal Countries of the Indian Ocean) last year.

And the key and even systemic driver of growth, of course, is the expanding and consolidating cooperation space of the SCO.

Question: Recently, Japan and South Korea have been included in the list of states unfriendly to Russia for obvious reasons. But if Tokyo demonstrates a clear anti-Russian attitude, often going to the forefront of sanctions, then Seoul, let's say, looks moderately unfriendly. Does this mean that Moscow will still maintain relations with South Korea a little closer than with Japan? Or is it a "cut off piece" for Russian diplomacy in the coming years?

A: Of course, when building relations with countries that have taken unfriendly actions against Russia, we adhere not to a black and white, but to a differentiated approach.

As you rightly noted, back in February-March 2022, the Republic of Korea limited itself to a moderate – as far as possible for one of the closest allies of the United States – a program of anti-Russian restrictions in the areas of finance and export control, which entailed proportionate retaliatory measures in accordance with the well-known decrees of the President of the Russian Federation.

Despite a number of significant differences in assessments of the international situation, we are determined to work together to preserve the potential of bilateral cooperation and create conditions for its further development to the extent that Seoul is ready for this. This, of course, also applies to cooperation in the process of resolving the situation on the Korean peninsula, a traditionally honest and open dialogue on ways to resolve the problems of the subregion.

It is quite obvious to us that official Tokyo is unquestioningly fulfilling Washington's political order, fully involved in the so-called sanctions work. However, as practice shows, real life forces the Japanese to sacrifice their "principles" divorced from national interests in those areas where they cannot do without cooperation with Russia.

In particular, under the pretext of "ensuring national energy security," the Japanese government strongly recommended that local shareholder companies Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 continue to participate in these oil and gas projects. In addition, the administration of F. Kishida asked its partners in the "seven" to withdraw crude oil coming to Japan from the Sakhalin-2 project from the restrictive scheme, which assumes a "ceiling on prices" for energy of Russian origin.

Question: It is no secret that the United States and its Western allies in Ukraine have been actively pushing the political leadership in different regions of the world to condemn Russia and join the anti-Russian sanctions from the very beginning of the SVO in Ukraine. But many states have chosen to remain neutral. Do you think that attempts to attract Asian countries to the anti-Russian front will continue in the new year? And what can Moscow do to counter this?

A: The main political and economic nightmare for the West within the framework of its strategic anti-Russian line – regardless of whether it is implemented against the background of the SVO or comes from other underlying motives – is our dynamically developing relations with Asia.

Russia's opponents have not been able to prevent us from this regard before, and 2022, which from the point of view of world politics and economics puts a lot in its place, including in the context of determining the contours of the future world order, shows that today the world thinks in other terms and does not want to follow the "rules of the game" imposed by the West. Positively oriented countries are in no hurry to enroll in new closed "coalitions of like-minded people", to throw resources at block schemes, to fuel the geopolitical and geo-economic ambitions of Washington and its allies. These processes are brewed in an intra-Western "cauldron". Let them stay there.

The priorities of the Asian states, and we clearly see this, others are co-development, the collective fight against new challenges and threats, the well-being and prosperity of peoples, and not geopolitical rivalry, the redistribution of markets and the closure of production and logistics chains.

Western politicians and diplomats travel around the region, persuade to close cooperation programs with Russia, and at this time the countries of the Middle East and South Asia, figuratively speaking, are lining up to "enroll" in the SCO. They make it clear and unambiguous that they are interested in working in the non-toxic space of international cooperation.

We see prospects for the expansion of the external contour of BRICS. Not a single area of our interaction with ASEAN has stopped. Moreover, 2022 became the focal year of scientific and technical cooperation. We are developing contacts in the fields of economy, energy, security, education, tourism, healthcare, and volunteering. These topics are relevant and understandable for everyone. Therefore, we do not need to oppose anything to anyone.