In Secret Report, Russia Shifts Westward By GREGORY L. WHITE
MOSCOW—In a confidential report, Russia outlined a shift toward a more pragmatic foreign policy aimed at building closer ties with the U.S. and Europe to help modernize its outdated industries.
The program detailed a shift away from the more confrontational line the Kremlin had taken in past years. It singled out the Obama administration for praise for its more cooperative approach to Moscow.
A Russian official confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was addressed to President Dmitry Medvedev by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It was first reported Monday by Russian Newsweek, which ran the document's full text on its website.
A Kremlin spokesman said the program, dated February, hasn't been officially approved. But some elements, such as a deal with the U.S. to reduce nuclear weapons, have already been implemented. Its spirit was reflected Sunday, when U.S. and European troops for the first time marched alongside Russian forces during Moscow's annual military parade marking the end of World War II.
"It's a document that reflects the mainstream in today's Russian political leadership," said Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.
The report also includes insights into Moscow's relationships with former Soviet republics. It calls for taking advantage of the global financial crisis to acquire industrial and energy assets in the Baltics, Belarus, Ukraine and Central Asia—all areas where Russian influence is a sensitive political issue.
On many issues, the Kremlin hasn't lined up completely with the West. On a visit to Syria on Tuesday, Mr. Medvedev suggested Moscow might be interested in nuclear-energy deals there. The U.S. has opposed any nuclear cooperation with Syria until Damascus allays international concerns a suspected nuclear-weapons program destroyed by an Israeli strike in 2007.
On the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions, U.S. officials say Russia has largely come around to supporting Washington's efforts to tighten sanctions on Tehran. But the report leaked Monday names Iran as a potential flash point for renewed conflict with the West in the event of a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, which Moscow staunchly opposes.
The report details a foreign-policy approach Mr. Medvedev called for during his annual address to parliament in November. Saying that "puffing up our cheeks" was pointless, he declared then that foreign policy should aim to help modernize Russia's underdeveloped economy.
In a cover letter to the report, Mr. Lavrov calls for creating "alliances of modernization" with European countries to attract needed technology and wrote that "It is necessary to find opportunities to use American technological potential." The report singled out Germany, France, Italy and Spain as Russia's closest partners in Europe.
Though the document includes traditional denunciations of U.S. ambitions to maintain global dominance, it hails the Obama administration for its "transformational potential" in relations with Russia. President Barack Obama has sought to revive ties with Moscow, dropping many initiatives that had irked the Kremlin, including plans for missile-defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic and staunch support for leaders in Georgia, and previously Ukraine, who took an anti-Russian stance.
"The overall climate is better than it has been since the time of Perestroika," said Vyacheslav Nikonov, a foreign-policy analyst and frequent Kremlin adviser. "Russia has started to react to the more cooperative policy from the West."
He and other analysts noted that the Kremlin's new approach bears some risks, especially as Moscow reasserts its influence in the former Soviet Union.
Mr. Nikonov noted that Mr. Medvedev's focus on weaning Russia's economy from its dependence on oil and other natural resources and stimulating high-technology industries mandated the Westward focus. "The sources of modernization and innovation are in the West, not the East," he said.
Though the report notes Moscow's partnership with China and other major developing countries, it gives much more attention to ties with the U.S. and Europe. The report also says that after several years of military buildup, the Kremlin aims to reduce defense spending as a share of the economy.
—Ira Iosebashvili contributed to this article.