Shift to multipolar world: Lavrov says Russia working to adjust foreign policy to new reality

Moscow is working out a new concept for Russian foreign policy that will reflect the current transition to a multipolar world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that this global trend presents new challenges for all global powers.

 “The international situation remains mosaic and controversial. Along with this, a common tendency could be observed,” Lavrov said during a meeting of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policies on Saturday, according to RT News.

According to the minister, we are moving from a world with a single center of power to one having a “polycentric international architecture.”

“We are trying to reflect this tendency in our fundamental doctrinal documents, namely Russia’s national security strategy and the concept of its foreign policy,” he said.

The work on the amended foreign policy concept was launched at the request of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

“A transition to polycentric architecture should be ideally based on the interaction of leading centers of power in the interest of finding joint solutions to global problems,” Lavrov explained.

However, he stressed that Moscow is under no illusions that the shift to a multipolar world will be easy or fast.

“This vision is shared by lots of nations, although like at all previous stages of history, there is nothing automatic about international affairs. There are no guarantees that the positive vector will prevail,” the FM said.

Even with universal international support, switching from a world with a single center to a multipolar one will be a task of “unprecedented difficulty,” requiring “a fundamentally new line of responsibility, wisdom and political will” from all players, he said.

“But under the conditions when the philosophy of equal partnership in the interests of ensuring effective global management is faced by resistance from our Western partners, the obstacles will likely multiply,” Lavrov concluded.

The foreign policy concept is a systemic description of the Russian government’s basic principles, priorities, goals, and objectives.

The document’s latest version was approved by Vladimir Putin in February of 2013, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.

M.Wassouf