International Affairs No. 5, 2021 – Table of Contents

Keywords: Russia-US summit, information and communication technology (ICT) security, the Minsk process, Normandy format, sanctions.

Question: Sergei Alekseyevich [Ryabkov], on June 16, a Russia-US summit took place in Geneva. Why did the Americans push so actively for that meeting? The impression is that it was more important to Washington than to Moscow. …

Keywords: strategic triangle; worsening relations between the US and China, Russia and the EU; common spaces; European integration; investment agreement; tariff war; military spending.

THE US-China-Russia strategic triangle became a geopolitical reality during the Cold War, when the world was divided into military-political blocs led by the two “superpowers” – the US and the USSR. Washington sought to shape that triangle to give the US the most advantageous position, maintaining optimal relations with each of the communist giants compared to relations between them. …

Keywords: Iran, nuclear issue, Persian Gulf, Middle East, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Hormuz initiative.

SIGNALS from Washington on the readiness of the Joe Biden administration to consider the possibility of concluding a new international nuclear deal with Tehran raised certain hopes for unblocking the situation around Iran. Positive forecasts were also expressed in Iran. …

Keywords: Leaders Summit on Climate, temperature analysis, greenhouse gases, renewable energy sources.

DEPENDING on its opportunities, Russia can vary the intensity and scope of its relations with the US, Europe, the Middle East, and other participants of international relations. But we are entering a unique, new period in world history: an energy transition based on entirely new principles. Russia, as a leader of the world hydrocarbon market, cannot and should not be left out of this process. …

Keywords: regional cooperation, Central Asia, Trans-Afghan railway corridor, South Asian market.

WITH the election of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has embarked on an open, proactive, pragmatic, and constructive foreign policy aimed at creating a space of mutually beneficial cooperation, stability, and sustainable development in Central Asia (CA). The new approaches of official Tashkent have found comprehensive support in all capitals of Central Asia, which has become the basis for positive changes in the region. …

Keywords: international communications, communication regime, friendliness, good-neighborliness, unfriendly countries, information security, international cooperation, securitization.

ASSESSING the friendliness of communication regimes is imperative given the increasing role of communications and information in international affairs; the fragmentation of the global communication order (which has failed to develop despite the efforts of global institutions and UN agencies); and the desire to create a multipolar world and establish good neighborly relations if not across the world, then at least in some of its regions and between countries in bilateral and multilateral formats. Interest in the issue increased significantly after the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 243 was signed on April 23, 2021, On Measures (Countermeasures) against Unfriendly Actions of Foreign States. Despite the already existing Federal Law No. 127-FZ of April 6, 2018, On Measures (Countermeasures) against Unfriendly Actions of the United States of America and Other Foreign States, the new decree touched off heated debate and garnered a lot of international attention. An analysis of sociopolitical discourse has allowed us to identify the principal approaches and criteria that have served as a guide for Russia in assessing the unfriendliness of countries. This is important for understanding the essence of friendliness in international relations. …

Keywords: politics, fake news, information operations, counterwave, security.

FAKE news has become one of the most dangerous modern global phenomena. The 2016 presidential election campaign in the United States was a turning point in the perception of fake news: The publication and viral spread of disinformation nearly put an end to the rising political career of Donald Trump, who was forced to fiercely fight off lies coming from CNN and other media. Due to its unique ability to practically instantly capture large audiences and manipulate people’s minds, fake news was put in the “absolute” weapons category [4]. In 2016, fake news triggered panic, and nobody knew how to thwart it [5] – there were no tested methods to counter it [6]. In modern information operations, fake news is a specialized tool for controlling people’s minds and behavior. …

Keywords: European Union (EU), common migration and asylum policy, European Commission, migration crisis, Pact on Migration and Asylum, Dublin system, quotas.

THE development of a common EU migration policy and the approval of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, proposed by the European Commission (EC) on September 23, 2020, is one of the most important tasks before the EC in 2021 [9]. But even if adopted, the pact would hardly be a breakthrough in efforts to solve the migration problems besetting the EU. To prove this point, we will examine the reasons for the European Commission’s continued close attention to migration issues, the nature of the new proposals, and how they are perceived by politicians and the public in EU member states. …

Keywords: Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), combating Islamophobia, xenophobia, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), Istanbul Process, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

THE Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second-largest international organization after the United Nations and was created to ensure the unity of the ummah, defend it, and advance its interests. The OIC seeks to promote moderate Islam, interreligious dialogue, and sociocultural harmony both in Muslim countries and in non-Muslim countries where there are Muslim minorities. The OIC strives to combat Islamophobia, which for a long time has been a systematic policy in parts of the world, primarily in leading Western countries (the US, Canada and European Union nations), where there are old and growing trends to oust Islam from society, discriminate against it, and fan anti-Islamic sentiments. …

Keywords: World War II, archives, historical documents, Russian-Czech relations.

Question: June 22 marks the 80th anniversary of the launch of Operation Barbarossa – Germany’s attack without a declaration of war against the Soviet Union, which included Russia. How do you remember this date in your country? Will there be any commemorative events? …

Keywords: ICT, IIS, OEWG, GGE.

TODAY, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have the same decisive impact on national and global development and determine the status of states in the international arena and the degree of their sovereignty as did nuclear technologies in the 1940s and rocket and space technologies in the 1950s and 1970s. …

Keywords: ICT, cybercrime, constructive dialogue, negotiation platform.

THE COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to plunge into the virtual space and to digitalize economic and everyday life. Crime, having rapidly adapted to the new conditions, has rushed to take advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Phishing, ransomware, DDoS attacks, and cyberattacks are constantly in the news and have become part of our everyday lives. In an era of unrestrained digitalization, computer attacks could have devastating consequences and lead to disasters related to national security. Meanwhile, the activities of cyber criminals are still mostly aimed at seeking financial gain. The pandemic has given them a new impetus and exposed long-standing issues. They are largely related to the shortcomings of states’ national legislation and the current system of international cooperation in this area. The existing multilateral instruments were elaborated 10 to 20 years ago and objectively are not keeping pace with cybercrime activity. Bilateral communication channels between states’ law-enforcement agencies are far from perfect. It is especially noticeable when crimes are committed within just a few minutes, while it can take from a few weeks to two to three years to receive a response to a request for electronic evidence. …

Keywords: IIS, ICT, international law.

THE ISSUE of the applicability of international law in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) security is being actively discussed at relevant UN platforms on international information security (IIS): the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security, and the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Advancing responsible State behavior in cyberspace in the context of international security. This issue has become a kind of “watershed” in key nations’ positions in this area. Despite lengthy, years-long deliberations, the international community is still far from not only a consensus but even a common understanding of the basic categories of the applicability of international law to ICT. In order to clarify the issue, it is important to understand the substantive content of this phenomenon, its procedural aspects, and stages of implementation. …

Keywords: International Information Security (IIS), digital sovereignty. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), UN Cybercrime Conventions, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

IN TODAY’S world, preserving digital sovereignty is not only an immutable basis but also a guarantee of the existence of a state itself – a means of avoiding potential conflicts in the information environment. Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in March 2021 at a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, where the [document] Fundamentals of Russian State Policy in the Field of International Information Security was being considered, stressed, in particular, that “Russia stands for the inviolability of the digital sovereignty of all states…. This means that each country can independently determine the regulatory parameters of its own information space and corresponding infrastructure.” …

Keywords: information and communication technology (ICT), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 5G, Internet.

RAPIDLY developing, increasingly sophisticated information and communication technologies (ICTs) have not only transformed human space, making it limitless, but also changed the system of international relations. …

Keywords: Latvian Orthodox Church, Archbishop John (Jānis Pommers), Tomos of Autonomy of the LOC, Holy Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin), the Baltic region, the interwar period.

ON JULY 19, 1921, Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Tikhon (Belavin) signed the Tomos of Autonomy of the Latvian Orthodox Church. …

Keywords: Harry Hopkins, Franklin Roosevelt, World War II, Lend-Lease, Second Front, Big Three.

JUNE 30, 2021, marks 80 years to the day since Harry Hopkins, US President Franklin Roosevelt’s personal representative, made his first visit to the Soviet Union. This is an excellent opportunity to recall some of the most significant moments in the political biography of this amazing person. Hopkins is one of those rare individuals to whom fate has given an opportunity to make history with his own hands. A larger-than-life personality – bright, talented, driven, strong-willed, and resolute – he was always in the public eye, although he remained modestly in the shadow of his great patron. …

Keywords: disinformation operation, OKW, OKH, Schulenburg, Köstring, Krebs, Hilger, Dekanozov.

ON DECEMBER 18, 1940, Hitler signed his directive on preparations for attacking the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). The High Command of the German Armed Forces (OKW) subsequently began planning disinformation measures to conceal Germany’s military preparations at the Soviet border. The plan was approved on February 15, 1941, but was subsequently revised and elaborated. That disinformation operation has already been described in detail.¹ …

Keywords: diplomacy, monograph, “green diplomacy.”

FOREIGN policy issues always attract increased attention from state figures, politicians, experts, and analysts. At the same time, the development and implementation of foreign policy decisions have traditionally been the purview of a limited circle of individuals who are often not inclined to reveal the nuances and inner workings of this process. …

Keywords: Russia-Africa Conference of May 18, 2021, Botswana politicians, tribal leaders, Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, importance of the book.

COOPERATION with African countries is gathering momentum. Russia is gradually returning to the continent, offering its African partners a new format of bilateral relations that is drawing interest from state and business elites. Contacts with heads of state and governments are being reestablished, parliamentary diplomacy is advancing, agreements on cooperation in various fields are being reached (93 agreements were signed at the 2019 Russia-Africa summit alone). …