Russian embassies were left without ambassadors

Dmitry Medvedev will come to the Foreign Ministry

“An energetic foreign policy is the most important resource for the further progressive development of Russia” - this is the motto of the two-day meeting of Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives to international organizations opening today at the Foreign Ministry. Heads of Russian foreign diplomatic missions arrived in Moscow from many countries around the world to participate in it. According to Vremya Novostei, preparations for this already traditional forum this year were carried out with special care. There was a sense of excitement in the building on Smolenskaya Square yesterday.

The keynote address at the forum will be a keynote address by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on foreign policy. It should put an end to the ongoing debate among domestic and foreign political scientists about whether foreign policy will become the responsibility of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. These disputes are taking place despite the fact that Russia's foreign policy, according to the Constitution, is the prerogative of the president, and despite the international initiatives already put forward by President Medvedev.

Meetings of Russian ambassadors and permanent representatives to international organizations are held on Smolenskaya Square usually every two years in the summer. This is a common form of work for global diplomatic practice. But the Russian forum has begun to attract increased interest since this decade, when former Russian President Vladimir Putin laid down the tradition of the head of the country regularly speaking at it.

Former Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at Smolenka three times: in 2002, 2004 and 2006. The first head of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, did not indulge in regular meetings between diplomats. What Medvedev’s algorithm will be will probably become clear today, at his first meeting with leading Russian diplomats.

The presidential guidelines expressed at this meeting will apparently become the basis for the practical work of diplomats for at least two years to come. Moreover, according to VN, intensive work is underway in the building on Smolenskaya Square on a new concept for the country’s foreign policy, although it is difficult to say when it will be ready.

Previously, heads of other Russian ministries and departments, representatives of the Federal Assembly, the presidential administration, and veterans of Russian diplomacy were invited to similar meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Who will be invited this time is an equally interesting question. In addition, according to VN, if time allows the head of state, he will be able to briefly familiarize himself with the history of domestic diplomacy from the museum exhibition prepared by the Center for the History of the Russian Diplomatic Service and exhibited in one of the halls in the building on Smolenskaya Square.

Katerina LABETSKAYA