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| Vladimir Putin (Wiki Info) |
By Richard Weitz
Worried Russia will be marginalized by China, expect Vladimir Putin to push his Eurasian Union vision – and perhaps spring a surprise over Pakistan.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current prime minister and future president, has shown a strong interest in Asian affairs. In his second term, Putin would undoubtedly like to maintain good ties with China, consolidate Moscow’s first-among-equals status in Central Asia, manage the regional repercussions of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, prevent a war or major crisis in the Koreas, and deepen Russia’s integration into East Asia’s more dynamic and prosperous economic networks. At the same time, Putin is eager to strengthen Russia’s position in Europe.
It’s a big to-do list, but Russia has already succeeded in raising its profile in Asia over the last few years. Its partnerships with China and India are solid, while relations with Iran and North Korea are stable despite all the complications surrounding both countries. Last year, Russia joined the East Asian Summit, which could emerge as the most important multinational security institution in East Asia. Russian government representatives regularly participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting and Dialogue Partners, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, and other important regional meetings where they were once absent. But Russia is still too often treated as an afterthought in Asian-centered initiatives. Even eastern Russia is poorly integrated into East Asia’s dynamic economies, while Moscow’s diplomatic flexibility is constrained by its conflict with Tokyo, the mutual Russian-U.S. failure to extend their reset to Asia, and Russia’s inability to either align with a rising China or develop a means to manage its consequences.
Read the full 3 page story at The Diplomat