Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly has been heard by both Russian allies and by countries which are in confrontation with the Russian Federation, due to this there is hope for the implementation of Russian initiatives in the sphere of international law, the strengthening of the United Nations as the key international organization to ensure peace and stability, as well as the joint fight against terrorism. Politicians and political scientists summed up the first results of Putin's speech in New York in interviews with Vestnik Kavkaza.
The deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Andrey Klimov, expressed confidence that the United Nations states have heard Putin's initiative, but "they will respond to it differently." "Those countries which were ready for constructive cooperation with Russia will, I think, respond positively. Other countries, such as the Baltic states, could perceive his words negatively. They hoped that Russia would look weak and isolated, but the opposite happened. So I do not think that they are pleased about our leader's performance, and how much attention he attracted," Klimov stressed.
Andrei Klimov expects that Russian foreign policy will contribute to reducing tension in the world. "If the people who define the global agenda won't come from personal ambitions or theoretical calculations, such as abstract democracy, then I think the script which was proposed by the president is quite feasible; I do not see any irresistible obstacles. Although, of course, in any case, we need to move along this path through compromise, because it concerns a large number of sovereign states, many of which have great economic and political influence," he pointed out.
According to him, countries will support the Russian initiatives not because they consider themselves to be allies of the Russian Federation. "I cannot say that the BRICS supports us. The same thing about the organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union. It's not about their support for Russia, but about their readiness to follow the proposed route. I hope the G20 will also contribute to a positive momentum, but that is much more difficult, because its composition is quite diverse, and not all members of the G20 are in a state of strategic partnership with one another," the deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs noted.
The deputy head of the Editorial Council of Vestnik Kavkaza, the Director General of the Institute for Caspian Cooperation, Sergey Mikheyev, told Vestnik Kavkaza that he is more skeptical about the ability of the West to hear Russia's calls and proposals. "I think the West didn't hear anything. Of course, Putin appealed to the Europeans to show them that the problem in Syria is being solved in the wrong way. But I do not think the US will seriously change its position on this issue," he said.
Mikheyev said that a positive impact is still theoretically possible. "Russia's course in international politics will help to reduce tensions in the world, if there is some sort of counter-movement, and it can theoretically arise from the West. There is potential, the only question is whether the US will hear us," the expert noted.
The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador Andrey Baklanov, said that the Russian president reminded the UN about the immutability of the Russian positions. "On the one hand, Vladimir Putin emphasized the leading role of the UN, on the other hand, he took the initiative on the anti-terrorist coalition, which is the implementation of the UN capacity in the peacekeeping sphere. In the first direction, there is a need for more vigorous steps to ensure that the erosion of the United Nations' role no longer occurs in the future," Baklanov noted.
According to him, the West has not yet decided how to respond to Russia's position. "It is important that we reinforce the idea that, in the absence of other alternative mechanisms for peace and security, we need to focus on keeping what we have. So we will, despite the criticism of the UN, do everything to improve the authority of the UN and the mechanism of its action. Firstly we have suggested the formation of a regional mechanism to monitor the removal of tension in the Middle East in 1994 in the framework of the multilateral group on regional security," the diplomat reminded.
The expert expressed hope that the West will accept the Russian proposals. "Apparently, the negative trends in the policy of the United States and the West have not stopped. We hope that this session would be a turning point," the deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador said.
The Director General of the Institute of Foreign Policy Research and Initiatives, Veronica Krasheninnikova, described the president's speech as constructive. "He offered concrete ideas to address the most pressing global issues, including the establishment of an international anti-terrorist coalition," she noted.
"Yesterday the presidents of Russia and the United States recorded a contradiction in their approaches to solving the Syrian crisis. Of course, these differences are inherited by the new coalition, but in any case, it is necessary to do," Veronica Krasheninnikova stressed.
"The president also talked about the importance of the UN as a major international platform, he said that the problems should be solved necessarily by the international community and using the tools provided to address them. Hence the unacceptability of regular regime change, as Washington likes to do," the analyst added.
According to Krasheninnikova, the chances are that there will be changes in the position of individual states after Vladimir Putin's speech. "The US has been fighting terrorism in the Middle East since 2001, and it has been particularly active in Syria since March 2015. A simple question: are there fewer or more terrorists? IS did not exist four years ago at all. The international community will soon realize that the US approach towards the fight against terrorism does not bring the desired results," the Director General of the Institute of Foreign Policy Research and Initiatives explained.
