The NATO summit and the G7 summit showed that the West does not intend to ease relations with Russia for the time being, but is promoting the escalation of confrontation. A few days ago, NATO officially stated that Russia is its most significant and direct threat. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that NATO is clearly declaring confrontation with Russia.
As we all know, NATO's will is a reflection of the will of the United States, and the United States' determination to target Russia remains firm. At the same time, EU is still deeply coerced by the United States and is advancing and retreating with the United States on the issue of Russia. Therefore, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov also criticized that, except for French President Macron , EU leaders have been satisfied with the fact that "the United States is in charge of everything."
Although Russia has not completely despaired of the West and has expectations for economic cooperation with the West, Russia has to fight back in the face of the West's cold face.
After Russia reduced its supply of natural gas to the West, Russia's "gas cutoff threat" further escalated. Starting from July 11, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that supplies gas from Russia to Germany will enter maintenance and outage status, and the maintenance period will be ten days. From the European perspective, this is more like a "gas cutoff test" by Russia and a lesson to the EU. Some EU countries are worried that even if Russia completes maintenance, the "Nord Stream 1" project may stop gas transmission.
So, after Russia dies, will the EU be soft on Russia? Moscow is actually not sure. However, when the West is not bright, the East is bright. The EU is not the only buyer of Russia's commodities . Russia clearly sees opportunities from the Indo-Pacific.
On July 1, Russian President Putin had a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Modi , promising that Russia would always be India's reliable supplier of food, fertilizer, and energy. Putin emphasized that Russia and India will further develop mutually beneficial relations in the economic field. Russia and India expressed that they were satisfied with the significant increase in bilateral trade volume, including the import and export of agricultural products, and that Russia and India were willing to comprehensively consolidate the preferential strategic partnership between Russia and India.
For Russia, India is indeed a relatively reliable partner.
First of all, Russia and India have always been close, and there is no geopolitical conflict. Russia can move closer to India with confidence;
Secondly, India is relatively independent and has always only cared about its own interests, without being coerced by the United States and the West. After the war between Russia and Ukraine, the West put pressure on India, but it was always helpless. India was quite enthusiastic about buying Russian energy. As long as Russia grasps the common interests of Russia and India, it does not need to worry too much about the destruction of Russia-India cooperation;
Third, the Indian market is quite vast. India has the second largest population in the world, and is also determined to promote industrialization, especially in need of Russian food and energy. The vastness of the Indian market is also an important reason why the West has attracted India. On the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has poured cold water on the West. However, the EU is still actively signing the free trade agreement with India.
Of course, since Russia has always had good relations with India and Russia is turning to the Indo-Pacific to build a greater Eurasian partnership, it cannot focus solely on India. In recent years, the United States has been particularly focused on wooing ASEAN , and Russia also sees the important status of ASEAN.
Recently, when Putin met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, he said that Russia hopes to strengthen cooperation with Indonesia in the fields of transportation and infrastructure, and Russian companies are interested in participating in the Indonesian capital relocation plan.
Indonesia is the most influential country in ASEAN, and its attitude is relatively sober.
The United States intends to create a new Cold War pattern and form cliques around the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific. However, Indonesia and its member ASEAN have always refused to take a clear stand. After the war between Russia and Ukraine, the United States used the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to force countries around the world to take sides, but ASEAN was quite quiet. As the host of this G20 summit, Indonesia refused the United States’ request to exclude Russia, and instead actively invited Russian President Putin, which allowed Russia to see Indonesia’s potential for cooperation.
However, although Russia attaches great importance to the Indo-Pacific, its own shortcomings are still difficult to make up for. Energy, food and some mineral resources are Russia's advantages, and they are also points of cooperation that Indo-Pacific countries look forward to cooperating with Russia. However, infrastructure has always been Russia's disadvantage, and Russia's own infrastructure is problematic.
Russia is determined to strengthen the development of Far East . Russia is clearly aware of the significance of developing the Far East to Russia's future. Russia has even come up with the idea of moving its capital to the Far East. However, its infrastructure capacity poses a great obstacle to Russia, let alone its external activities. infrastructure output.
After Biden came to power, in order to maintain the global hegemony of the United States, Biden was also ambitious and united with allies to build infrastructure. However, in comparison, the United States' ability to provide funds is still better than Russia's.
