Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at the first Readings in Memory of Yevgeny Primakov, Moscow, October 29, 2015
Dear Mrs Primakova,
Friends,
I am very pleased to be here. I actively support this initiative and I’m sure it will strike root and become a tradition.
It is usually believed that the scale of a personality fully reveals itself only in retrospect, when a person leaves this world. Only in this case it becomes obvious why he is remembered and what trace he left on Earth. I don’t think this fully applies to Yevgeny Primakov because he won genuine recognition in Russia and abroad as one of the most outstanding politicians of our era during his lifetime.
Mr Primakov was not merely a politician of a global scale. Importantly, he beamed positive energy and exerted constructive influence on the processes he had to deal with.
No doubt, Mr Primakov went down in history as a man who promoted stabilisation in the country and its economy as prime minister during a difficult turn in Russia’s history, about which Mr Zyuganov has just spoken in detail. He managed to make another turn – literally and symbolically (we all know about it) to assert Russia’s independence on the international arena during the Balkan crisis.
However, I think Mr Primakov will primarily be remembered as a thinker. As President Vladimir Putin aptly said, Mr Primakov thought globally, openly and boldly. Not everyone can do this. His reflections and numerous publications are particularly important as he invariably focused on upholding Russia’s interests and cared about its future, displaying deep intellectual integrity.
As I understand, previous speakers said much about the legacy left by the academic Primakov in the economy, finance, and the art of running a state. A considerable part of this legacy belongs to the foreign policy to which he devoted a large part of his life. Therefore, I fully support the initiative of RAS IMEMO (Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences) to hold annual, “Readings in Memory of Primakov;” all the more so as it was he who initiated the formation of an organisational framework for a versatile analysis of the international situation. I’m referring to the RAS Department of Global Problems and International Relations and the RAS Centre for Situation Analysis.
Much was said about Mr Primakov’s enormous contribution to the formation of the basic principles of Russia’s modern foreign policy doctrine. Encyclopedic knowledge, a wealth of experience, remarkable intuition and understanding of the historical roots of events unfolding in world affairs enabled Mr Primakov to formulate a concept of a multi-polar world and contribute to its adoption in practice. I remember that initially many people in Russia and abroad considered these ideas exotic and at variance with the assertion of the unipolar world. Now the majority of serious politicians and researchers all over the world recognise the objective character of the movement to a polycentric international system.
This testifies to the caliber of this man, who was capable of genuine intellectual leadership. This fact is universally recognized – both by his associates and those who often acted as his opponents. In his obituary the British Economist wrote that the West perceived his appointment as the foreign minister as the confirmation of Russia’s status of a great power. Incidentally, in January 1996, immediately after Primakov’s appointment, Henry Kissinger told me about this when we had lunch with the Israeli ambassador in New York. The news about his appointment had just arrived and someone at the table asked what Mr Kissinger thought about this, considering that Primakov’s predecessor was very suitable for the West whereas the new foreign minister had completely different views. Mr Kissinger replied that he always preferred to deal with people who clearly understand their national interests. Let me recall that this was in 1996.
Mr Primakov firmly and consistently upheld the independence of our foreign policy. He realized only too well that Russia’s history, geography and political culture did not leave us any other choice. Russia was, is and will be a major player in the world arena, one of those countries that are actively shaping the outline of the international system in a radically changing environment. This is what Mr Primakov always proceeded from.
This is logically linked with the multi-vector character of Russia’s foreign policy, which is also part of his legacy and is reflected in our Foreign Policy Concept and other doctrines. It is impossible to achieve genuine independence and freedom of maneuver by sticking to only one geographic or geopolitical direction. Today, we are developing Mr Primakov’s initiatives, such as the start of Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral cooperation. Later on, it developed into BRICS, which is now becoming one of the leading centres of the multi-polar world. Despite a heap of skeptical opinions, this association is dynamically developing and successfully playing the role of a major element in the modern global political arrangement.
Mr Primakov devoted much time and attention to the consolidation of cooperation with our next door neighbours – former Soviet republics. He was well aware of the advantages offered by the prospects of shaping a common future on the basis of overlapping and intertwined interests.
Nothing can be further from the truth than attempts to portray Mr Primakov as a politician advocating confrontation and trying to derive advantages by escalating tensions. His turnaround over the Atlantic Ocean was not an appeal to aggravate Russia-US relations but a firm reminder that relations with our country can only be built on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
Mr Primakov was wholly devoted to consistent multi-faceted efforts to promote relations with all Russia’s partners, including the European Union and the United States. He was convinced that without the serious partnership rooted in the Allied relations of World War II it is impossible to cope with the serious challenges of our time. I’d like to hope that this idea is also making its way and gaining more supporters in leading Western countries.
Mr Primakov believed that cooperation of external players was indispensable for overcoming numerous problems in the Middle East. Developments in that region convincingly confirm the correctness of this analysis. We see that thoughtless, unilateral actions are merely pushing the Middle East and North Africa into further degradation and expanding the scope of instability and anarchy in the region. We made an initiative to coordinate the actions of all forces that can help curb challenges to security and stability in the region, primarily the terrorist threat, and it remains valid. Today, in less than an hour, I will fly to Vienna to attend a meeting that took a long time to arrange. Finally, all major players, including five permanent members, Iran, Egypt, Gulf countries and Iraq, agreed to meet at the same negotiating table. We will be inspired by Mr Primakov’s example in this work, as well as in all other undertakings.
Needless to say, we must continue studying and using Mr Primakov’s wealth of experience and baggage of ideas, assessments and proposals on his favourite Middle East, whose destiny he had always taken close to heart. We know how much he did to prevent the Middle East from sliding into a quagmire of conflicts. When he was foreign minister, his busy schedule, which inevitably accompanies this position, did not prevent him from following the slightest nuances in the developments of individual Arab countries and the Muslim world as a whole.
In conclusion, I’d like to say a few words about Mr Primakov’s diplomatic method. His work was built on the traditions of the highest professionalism of the Russian foreign policy service. He never accepted simplified, black-and-white approaches and insisted on studying all details. He attached much importance to personal contacts with heads of state and foreign ministers. Mr Primakov justifiably believed that the foreign policy of a country such as Russia should be essentially fine, multi-layered, smart and far-sighted. Also, he never retreated at first failures and always tried to use every opportunity and take unconventional steps, fighting until the last minute. In other words, he was a remarkable master of diplomacy.
Mr Primakov belongs to those people who will be remembered for a long time. He will certainly remain in our hearts forever. Thank you.