Threatening a pivot towards Asia: a new Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation

On 30 November 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, which replaced the document issued in February 2013. This new concept, like the previous one, assumes the decline of the West and the end of American dominance in the system of international relations, which is becoming multi-polar.

The main objective of the concept is to convince the West to make concessions to Russia, in order to end the conflict with it and normalise mutual relations. The concept suggests that such normalisation is primarily needed by the West, while Russia could find alternative partners in Asia, with which it has successfully been developing cooperation.