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Author : V. Denisov
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Professor, Doctor of Science (History)
RUSSIA has fallen on hard times. The entire pro-U.S. army
has turned against this country, which seeks to assert in in-
ternational relations the principles of law, equality, justice,
equal security for all states and nations in the world, good
neighborliness, and mutually beneficial cooperation. How-
ever, this approach toward international affairs is not to
the liking of those forces in the U.S. and some other states
that are trying to preserve the system of dictate, subordi-
nation and sanctions, which is humiliating for the world community.
These attempts are doomed to failure. Russia has been and will remain a great intellectual and
spiritual Eurasian power.
A.V. Lukin's new work is a collection of articles published in various academic editions and pe-
riodicals mostly in the past decade. It is a study of general issues of Russia's foreign policy and
its relations with the U.S. and other countries, prospects for the development of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the complicated situation in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan). A special section is devoted to Russia's Asia policy and our country's relations
with certain states in the Asia-Pacific Region. In this context, I would like to mention in particular
the Korean problem, which is given considerable attention in the book under review.
According to the author, one of Russia's principal goals at the present stage is the concentration
of resources to provide a fitting response to the existing challenges and threats and to "strengthen
itself and its position in the fast changing world".
The author believes that economic cooperation within the framework of the SCO is not yet de-
veloping as actively as it should. It is necessary to step up the creation of an effective financing
mechanism and launch the SCO Development Bank and the SCO Energy Club (p. 214). There
is plenty of work to be done here.
The author analyzes the U.S. policy in Central Asia. Washington actively promotes all sorts of
concepts, in particular the Greater Central Asia Partnership for Cooperation and Development
(GCAP).
The section of the book entitled "Russia and Asia: Strategy and Tactics" considers the situation
in different countries on the Asian continent. These include Iran, Kampuchea, North and South
Korea, Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Russia maintains friendly relations with these states, devel-
oping equal cooperation and ties with them.
A.V. Lukin's work is well written and contains interesting and profound albeit not indisputable
ideas that require further elaboration and analysis. His book, without a doubt, deserves the at-
tention not only of the expert community but of all those who take interest in Russia's foreign
policy.
Russia's Policy in Asia: New Opportunities for a Breakthrough