BY VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN
A new appraisal names the United States as one of the threats to
Russia's national security for the first time, a sign of how relations with the
west have deteriorated in recent years.
The document, "About the Strategy of National Security of Russian
Federation", was signed by President Vladimir Putin on New Year's Eve. It
replaces a 2009 version, endorsed by then- President Dmitry Medvedev, the
current prime minister, which mentioned neither the United States not NATO.
It says Russia has managed to heighten its role in solving global
problems and international conflicts. That heightened role has caused a
reaction by the West, it says.
"The strengthening of Russia happens against the background of new
threats to the national security, which has complex and interrelated
nature," the document says.
Conducting an independent policy, "both international and
domestic" has caused "counteraction from the USA and its allies,
which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs."
That in turn is likely to lead to "political, economical, military
and informational pressure" on Russia, the document says."
Relations between Russia and the West reached a low after Russian forces
annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, after protests in
Ukraine forced its pro-Moscow president to flee to Russia.
Since then, the West has accused Russia of aiding insurgents in eastern
Ukraine. Moscow denies actively assisting the rebels.
The United States and the European Union have since imposed wide-ranging
sanctions against Russian individuals and companies. Moscow has reacted by
restricting food and other goods from the EU.
The document says that the United States and the EU have supported an
"anti-constitutional coup d'etat in Ukraine", which led to a deep
divide in Ukrainian society and a military conflict.
It also names the expansion of NATO as a threat to Russia's national
security and said that the United States has expanded its network of
military-biological laboratories in neighbouring to Russia countries.
The document, which serves as a basis for planning strategy related to
national security by different state bodies, does not mention Syria. On Sept.
30, Russia began air strikes against anti-government rebels opposed to the
government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally.
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