Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a new russian foreign policy doctrine based on the concept of the "russian world", according to Reuters.
The 31-page document states that Russia must "defend, preserve and develop the traditions and ideals of the "russian world".
The doctrine is presented as a "strategy of soft power", while at the same time it consolidates in the official policy of russians the ideas of politics and religion, which were used to justify the occupation of Ukrainian territory by Moscow and support for separatist pro-russian formations in the east of the country.
"The Russian Federation provides support to compatriots living abroad in the exercise of their rights, ensures the protection of their interests and the preservation of Russian cultural identity," the doctrine says.
It also says that Russia's ties with compatriots abroad have allowed it to "strengthen its image in the international arena as a democratic country striving for the creation of a multipolar world."
Putin has over the years noted "the tragic fate of some 25 million ethnic Russians who ended up outside of Russia in the newly independent states when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 - an event he called a geopolitical catastrophe."
Under the new policy, Russia should expand cooperation with the Slavic countries, China and India, as well as strengthen its ties with the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.
The doctrine stipulates that Moscow should further deepen its ties with Abkhazia and Ossetia, two Georgian regions recognized by Moscow as independent after its war against Georgia in 2008, as well as two separatist entities in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed "DNR" and "LNR".
The American Institute for the Study of War said that Putin sets the stage for the continuation of aggression in the autumn and winter.