Moscow does not know how ‘person far from Russia=?UTF-8?B?4oCZIA==?=was about to come to power in Armenia – Russian paper

Recently Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry has published a document entitled "Foreign Policy Concept of Russian Federation" which presents Moscow's basic principles in foreign policy and its priorities. The document says one of the priorities of Moscow is the development and expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations with the CIS member-states.
 
Russian Nezavisimiaya Gazetta newspaper, analyzing the recent political developments in the post-soviet countries, referred in its today's editorial to the concept saying that it is not effective for the post-soviet territory.
 
As a bright example of concept's failure, the editorial mentions the February 18 presidential elections in Armenia and the success of Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian who the paper described as 'pro-western' political figure being 'far from Russia'.
 
"Russia sees itself as a leader and offers to consider it a core that will attract other entities of international right. Meanwhile, the gravitation will not deprive them of their status of 'entity of international right' like during the soviet times. That is to say, instead of hard power and forcible attraction, the idea of Soft Power works with volunteer and even natural gravity of weak to strong," the paper writes.
 
Arguing the attractiveness of the concept for post-soviet countries, the paper says a question rises – if so, why Ukrainian Rada adopts a resolution reinforcing the country's political course to Europe and Georgia's political minority is disputing with the majority for adopting pro-western course for the country and in this 'big dispute' the new authorities do not oppose the previous ones.
 
And if Georgia is a country with which Russia has no diplomatic relations, what should be told about ally Belarus which is turning its face away from Moscow from time to time?
 
"What to do with Armenia in case when a week ago it has barely elected a US citizen in presidential elections? A political figure who is so far from Russia and even does not understand Russian. Yerevan, by the way, is Moscow's strategic alley, the only one in the South Caucasus. The post-electoral developments in the country have not ended and the 'almost won candidate' seems to be ready to make colorful revolution," the paper says.
 
Russia seems not to be ready for such developments in the post-soviet territory where it has a military base. "It is also not ready to answer how it happened that if not 'obvious pro-American' but at least 'incomprehensible' candidate was about to come to power," the paper continues.
 
Forming certain goals and ambitious tasks relating to its neighbors or interests of other countries, Moscow seems to ignore the processes taking place inside these countries. "Though having brilliant relations with the leadership, Moscow is not paying attention to the moods of the people," the paper writes, adding that the adopted Soft Power us not a way of life it is concrete cheap business-loans, grants to local NGOs, humanitarian projects, opportunity of getting high-quality education. "The top of this pyramid should be freedom of election, human rights and multi-party system, that is to say traditional democratic values without which Soft Power is deprived of content," the paper writes.
 
"By the way, the right of freedom of election that was brought to life in Georgia at the recent parliamentary elections and which resulted in change of power, does not witness that the Georgian people is disappointed of the West but that it was possible to conduct such elections in the state that has chosen a western vector. Can Russia fill this Soft Power with something that will make it a magnetic core? The question is not rhetoric one from the point of view of foreign policy concept. The talks 'be with us but understand that it is not currently easy with us' as well as the calls about having common history are not proper. These are in favor of poor who cannot think of being dominating yet," the paper says.   Read more... (661 words)

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