Russia Direct: Mark Galeotti on Russia’s foreign policy in 2015
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), accompanied by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) and Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov, walks after delivering his annual state of the nation address at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 3.
Russia’s foreign policy in 2015 has been a big surprise for foreign experts and politicians, who discussed this topic rigorously during the recent ASEEES (the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies) Slavic convention in Philadelphia. While some argue that Russia engaged in a great deal of dangerous improvisation this year, others argue that the Kremlin has a big foreign policy strategy, with its core goal to reinvigorate its geopolitical positions and regain its lost influence in the global arena. The recent Syrian campaign is a good example of this.
