Foreign relations of Russia

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Regarding the foreign relations of Russia, Russia has taken important steps to become a full partner in the world's principal political groupings.

Contents

1 UN membership, NATO/EU partnership
2 Countries formerly part of the Soviet Union
3 International conflicts / Peace efforts
4 Territorial Disputes
5 Illicit drugs / Human rights
6 Participation in International organizations
7 References and Notes
8 See also

UN membership, NATO/EU partnership

On December 27, 1991, the Russian Federation assumed the seat formerly held by the Soviet Union in the UN Security Council. Russia also is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Union of Russia and Belarus, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). It signed the NATO Partnership for Peace initiative on June 22, 1994. On May 27, 1997, NATO and Russia signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which provides the basis for an enduring and robust partnership between the Alliance and Russia--one that can make an important contribution to European security architecture in the 21st century. This agreement was superseded by the NATO-Russia Council that was agreed at the Reykjavik Ministerial and unveiled at the Rome NATO Summit in May 2002. On June 24, 1994, Russia and the European Union (EU) signed a partnership and cooperation agreement.

Countries formerly part of the Soviet Union

The non-Russian countries that were once part of the USSR have been termed the 'Near Abroad' by Russians. More recently, Russian leaders have been referring to all 15 countries collectively as "Post-Soviet Space," while asserting Russian foreign policy interest throughout the region.See Vladimir Socor, "Kremlin Refining Policy in 'Post-Soviet Space'," Eurasia Daily Monitor (Feb. 8, 2005) at http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2369222. There remain large Russian minority populations in many countries of the near abroad, an issue that has been dealt with in various ways by each individual country. They have posed a particular problem in countries where they live close to the Russian border, such as in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, with some of these Russians calling for these areas to be absorbed into Russia. By and large, however, Russians in the near-abroad do not favor active intervention of Russia into the domestic affairs of neighboring countries, even in defense of the interests of ethnic Russians.Lowell W. Barrington, Erik S. Herron, and Brian D. Silver, "The Motherland Is Calling: Views of Homeland among Russians in the Near Abroad," World Politics 55, No. 2 (2003) : 290-313. Moreover, the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) have clearly signaled their desire to be outside any claimed Russian sphere of influence, as is reflected by their joining both the NATO alliance and the European Union in 2004.

Close cultural, ethnic and historical links exist between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Traditionally, at least from a Russian perspective, they have been treated as one ethnic group, with Russians called 'Great Russians', Belarusians 'White Russians' and Ukrainians 'Little Russians'. This manifested itself in lower levels of nationalism in these areas, particularly Belarus, during the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, few Ukrainians accept a "younger brother" status relative to Russia, and Russia's efforts to insert itself into Ukrainian domestic politics, such as Putin's endorsement of a candidate for the Ukrainian presidency in the last election, are contentious.

International conflicts / Peace efforts

Russia has played an important role in helping mediate international conflicts and has been particularly actively engaged in trying to promote a peace following the Kosovo conflict. Russia is a co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process and supports UN and multilateral initiatives in the Persian Gulf, Cambodia, Angola, the former Yugoslavia, and Haiti. Russia is a founding member of the Contact Group and (since the Denver Summit in June 1997) a member of the G-8. In November 1998, Russia joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). Russia has contributed troops to the NATO-led stabilization force in Bosnia and has affirmed its respect for international law and OSCE principles. Russia has accepted UN and/or OSCE involvement in instances of regional conflict in neighboring countries, including the dispatch of observers to Georgia, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Nagorno-Karabakh. It has attempted to strengthen defense and security ties within the CIS and maintains military bases in Armenia, Tajikistan, Georgia, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan.

Territorial Disputes

Disputes over the boundary with the People's Republic of China were resolved after 40 years of negotiations. In July 2001, the two countries signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. On June 2, 2005 Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov exchanged ratification documents signifying a 50-50 share of the disputed land between the two countries. The talks in Vladivostok resolved the last region of contention, demarcating the 4300 kilometre border between Russia and China. Further disputes center around the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among all littoral states.

Issues between Russia and the states bordering it - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - were settled in 2003.

Russia has no common land or Caspian-sea border with Turkmenistan and Iran, which do not agree with the Caspian Sea settlements.

With respect to the Baltic states, Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996 which has not been ratified. A draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been signed; and a 1997 border agreement with Lithuania has not yet been ratified.

Russia has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation.

An additional ocean boundary dispute exists in the Barents Sea with the neighbouring Kingdom of Norway. Russia applies a sector line spanning from Cape Nemetskii to the North Pole for delimitation purposes whilst Norway applies the equidistance principle. Neither method is acceptable for either state since they arguably lead to an inequitable result, so the matter is subject to negotiation where a compromise is likely to be attained.

Citations:

Illicit drugs / Human rights

Limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of amphetamines, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe, possibly to the United States, and growing domestic market; major source of heroin precursor chemicals. Russia has faced criticism for perceived violations of human rights. For more on Russia's human rights record, see human rights in Russia.

Participation in International organizations

APEC, BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), Zangger Committee