LA COMUNITÀ INTERNAZIONALE Rivista Trimestrale della Società Italiana per l’Organizzazione Internazionale QUADERNO 19 The Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation in the Era of Multipolarism: Practical Application of the Primakov Doctrine EDITORIALE SCIENTIFICA Napoli LA COMUNITÀ INTERNAZIONALE RIVISTA TRIMESTRALE DELLA SOCIETÀ ITALIANA PER L’ORGANIZZAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE QUADERNI (Nuova Serie) 19 COMITATO SCIENTIFICO Pietro Gargiulo, Cesare Imbriani, Giuseppe Nesi, Adolfo Pepe, Attila Tanzi SOCIETÀ ITALIANA PER L’ORGANIZZAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE ERA OF MULTIPOLARISM: PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE PRIMAKOV DOCTRINE EDITORIALE SCIENTIFICA Napoli Il presente Report è stato realizzato con il contributo dell’Unità di Analisi, Programmazione, Statistica e Documentazione Storica del Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, ai sensi dell’art. 23 bis del d.P.R. 18/1967. Le posizioni contenute nella presente pubblicazione sono espressione esclusivamente degli Autori e non rappresentano necessariamente le posizioni del Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Proprietà letteraria riservata Copyright 2020 Editoriale Scientifica srl Via San Biagio dei Librai, 39 89138 – Napoli ISBN 978-88-9391-752-0 INDICE FRANCO FRATTINI, President of the Italian Society for International Organisation (SIOI) and of the Institute for Eurasian Studies – Some Preliminary Considerations ……………….…….….……….…...…..……………………………. 7 ANDREA GIANNOTTI, Lecturer of History of International Relations at the University of Pisa and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Director of the Institute for Eurasian Studies – Russia between East and West .……………….….……….…....…………….…..………..……......………….…....… 11 VALENTINA KOMLEVA, Dean of the Faculty of International and Regional Research. Head of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and International Cooperation of the Institute of Public Service and Management of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration – Different Actors in the Definition of Russian Foreign Policy (Economic, Military and Security Circles and Their Interaction) …………….…….…………...…….….…….…….. 53 ALEKSANDR KON’KOV, Lecturer of Political Science at the Moscow State University (MGU) and Director of “Rethinking Russia” – Russia’s Asymmetric Foreign Policy: Strategy or Tacticism? ….…..…..…..…..…..…………….…...…...…...… 81 ELENA DUNDOVICH, Professor of History of International Relations at the University of Pisa – Between Hopes of Collaboration and Lost Opportunities: The NATO-Russian Relationship ….…...……………..….....……….….……… 103 LUKIANA SUVOROVA, Researcher by the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the Rossotrudnichestvo Centre in Bruxelles – EU-Russian Relations Through the Eyes of the Primakov’s Doctrine .……...……..……… 123 SOME PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS FRANCO FRATTINI President of the Italian Society of International Organisation (SIOI) and of the Institute for Eurasian Studies The system of relations between the Russian Federation and the West has always been and remains today one of the fundamental themes of international politics, in particular as Regards European- Russian relations. After centuries of isolation and fear, with the reforms of Peter the Great at the beginning of 1700, Russia had launched a new approach towards Western Europe, overcoming the effects of the long Mongol domination. Since then Russia has represented a constant in many of the most important political and cultural events of the Old Continent. In spite of the shock, represented by the invasion of the Grande Armée in 1812, with the presence of military units of almost all European States, St. Petersburg took part in the later anti-French coalitions with Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and other powers and then participated in the establishment of the new world order by the Congress of Vienna. Similarly, after the troubled years, that followed the Crimean War in 1853-1856, Russia, both Imperial and then Soviet, played an essential role in the First and, above all, in the Second World War. The Cold War then saw in the Soviet Union one of the two superpowers on which the destinies of humanity and, in particular, of the then divided Europe, depended. Everything seemed to have ended in 1991, with the disintegration of the USSR and the slipping of the “new Russia” to the level of medium power, in a unipolar US-led world. But this did not happen. Over years of weakness and political and strategic hesitation, Moscow proved to be able to face the new challenges and progressively to re- gain the status of global power. The doctrine of an international multipolar system, theorized by Evgeniy M. Primakov and then implemented by President Putin has highlighted even more the importance of dialogue and cooperation with Western countries and 8 QUADERNI “LA COMUNITÀ INTERNAZIONALE” first of all with a broader Europe from the Atlantic Ocean not only up to the Urals, but beyond up to the Pacific coast. In this sense, also in the light of my past responsibilities in Brussels, I would like to underline the significance of the dialogue with the Russian Federation for Europe, moreover in such a context with the rising of Chinese power, Indian growth and the actual tendency of United States to concentrate on internal issues. First of all, socio-economic: the European Union has advanced technologies, on average very effective welfare systems and represents a market of over five hundred million consumers with high spending power. The Russian Federation has one of the best scientific potentials in the world, abundant natural resources and a territory of unique dimensions. The meeting of these realities would contribute to satisfy respective needs and strengthen European position in front of world interlocutors, starting from BRICS countries. We should not forget also the potential of a common effort on the environmental front: waste management, protection of ecosystems and animal species: common problems which need to find unitary solutions and to make use of the complementary experiences gained by the EU and the Russian Federation. A second aspect concerns strategic and security choices. In the light of the threats facing European Union member countries today, from terrorism to the risks associated with massive immigration (including integration or assimilation processes and religious pluralism), the Russian experience, its Eurasian nature and extraordinary ethnographic and religious wealth, can be a valuable starting point and, mutatis mutandis, a possible source of solutions also for Central and Western Europe. Furthermore, it is an issue, our American allies too could take advantage of. In this regard, it is important not to underestimate and even deepen contacts at the level of police and judicial structures, as well as security services, with information exchanges, elaboration of common strategies and political cooperation. Trans-national threats can only have equally trans- national approaches. We ought also to recognize that Russia’s unique strategic and political capacities have already shown their effects. For several years, Moscow has been actively engaged in fighting Islamic extremism in the Middle East. I just would like to briefly remember that on 18 December 1989, the then Soviet Union and the then European Communities signed the Agreement on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation. THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 9 The first major step towards a closer cooperation was the conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) in 1994. The PCA established a framework for the political dialogue between Russia and the EU in a number of key spheres, including economy, energy, internal and external security. In this framework Italy has always occupied a special position. Even during the hardest phases of the Cold War, our country was able to establish successful cooperation projects with the Soviet Union, firmly fulfilling our commitments as one of the founding members of the Atlantic Alliance. With the end of the ideological hostility, the dialogue with Moscow knew an ever broader development. We ought to remember, that the access of Russia to the G7 was proposed and supported first of all by Silvio Berlusconi in 1994. But in addition to President Berlusconi and his unique relation with President Putin, President Prodi also has always payed to the partnership with the Kremlin a very great attention, both as Italian Prime Minister and as President of the EU Commission. As Italian Foreign Minister, I had the privilege of attending, together with Berlusconi and Prodi, the fundamental passage of the agreement on four common EU-Russia spaces during the St. Petersburg Summit in 2003. Since then, a number of changes has occurred, but the significant of that dialogue and partnership has remained the same. RUSSIA BETWEEN EAST AND WEST ANDREA GIANNOTTI Lecturer of History of International Relations at the University of Pisa and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations-Mgimo There is no reasonable doubt that the Russian Federation represents nowadays one of the leading players in the system of international relations. Its activism in the most different scenarios, starting with the massive and decisive intervention in Syria in support of Bashar Al Assad’s government, places observers before the need to understand the dynamics and determinants of Moscow’s foreign policy, without stopping at superficial assessments.