UK mocks Russia's foreign policy, calls it ‘April Fool's Day joke'
3 min read . Updated: 01 Apr 2023, 07:15 AM IST
Premium- Russia's new foreign policy was adopted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The new 42-page document also identified China and India as its main allies on the world stage.
United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office mocked Russia over its recently released foreign policy. Sharing a screenshot of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweet where it announced its foreign policy, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, in a tweet wrote, "April Fool's Day is TOMORROW."
The statement from UK FDDO came after the Russia's Foreign Ministry described the country's foreign policy as ‘peaceful, open, predictable, consistent and pragmatic.’ Furthermore, it stated that Russia's foreign policy is based on respect for universally recognized principles.
In a tweet, the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote, “Concept of the Foreign Policy of Russia (2023) Russian foreign policy is peaceful, open, predictable, consistent, & pragmatic & is based on the respect for universally recognized principles & norms of international law."
Russia's new foreign policy was adopted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. The new 42-page document also identified China and India as its main allies on the world stage.
"Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances," the statement said. Russia plans to build a ‘particularly privileged strategic partnership’ with India spanning all possible areas. The country is also prioritising its capacity and role within internationals groupings such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the RIC (Russia, India, China). Russia has been the largest supplier of weapons to India, accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the latter's arms imports from 2016-2020.
The document said that the majority of the European nations pursue an aggressive policy towards Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of Russia.
"Most European states pursue an aggressive policy toward Russia aimed at creating threats to the security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation, gaining unilateral economic advantages, undermining domestic political stability and eroding traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and creating obstacles to Russia's cooperation with allies and partners," reads Russia's foreign policy document.
With regards to European nations, Russia in the document said, "Objective prerequisites for the formation of a new model of coexistence with European states are geographical proximity, historically developed deep cultural, humanitarian and economic ties of the peoples and states of the European part of Eurasia."
The updated foreign policy document names the United States as the main threat to international stability and driver of an "anti-Russian line".
"The main factor complicating the normalization of relations between Russia and European states is the strategic course of the USA and their individual allies to draw and deepen dividing lines in the European region in order to weaken and undermine the competitiveness of the economies of Russia and European states, as well as to limit the sovereignty of European states and ensure US global domination," reads the document.
(With inputs from agencies)