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Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Russia’s Asia Strategy: Bolstering the Eagle’s Eastern Wing

Russia must avoid strictly bilateral relations with Asian countries, even China. All regional relations should be considered part of a broader Asian-Pacific strategy and coordinated to fit that strategy.

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By Dmitri Trenin
Published on Jun 6, 2016

Source: Russie.Nei.Visions, No. 94, June 2016

Among Russia’s strategic priorities, Asia traditionally played a secondary role compared to the West. In the mid-1990s, then Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov initiated a rapprochement with China and India. Then, in 2014, deteriorating relations between Russia and the West prompted Moscow to begin its “great pivot to the East”.

Russia’s “new” Asian policy must avoid two pitfalls: focusing excessively on China, and managing relations with the countries of the region in a strictly bilateral way. Bilateral relations, even with China, need to be parts of a whole, and closely coordinated with other parts. As part of a broader Asian-Pacific strategy, Moscow should seek to build a “Great Eurasia”. This requires an integrated approach to the region as a whole, and an overall approach that embraces geopolitical, geo-economic, military, informational and cultural dimensions.

This policy paper was published by the French Institute of International Relations.

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About the Author

Dmitri Trenin

Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center

Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.

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Dmitri Trenin
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Foreign PolicyEast AsiaChinaRussia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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