Russian Foreign Policy Prospects for 2023 Were Discussed at the 116th Winter Anniversary Session of the “Trialogue” Club International

ZVENIGOROD. DECEMBER 23. PIR PRESS. «Those 30 years brought us 116 sessions, if we include this one. We had 142 Speakers, because sometimes we have keynote speeches, and sometimes we have panels, like we do today. I would like just to recognize those individuals who throughout those 30 years contributed most importantly to the existence, development, and the progress of the Trialogue Club International. Those who have launched the process: with pleasure we recognize the role of Mr. Viktor Loshak for giving the idea of the Club, and who chaired our first sessions of the first years. I would like to recognize the role of those who helped me in funding and managing the first sessions of the Club: Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Mr. Alexey Zakharov, Mr. Vladimir Rudakov, and Dr. Dmitri Evstafyev. I would like to recognize a very important leading and guiding role of those who were chairing the Club: Dr. Dmitri Polikanov, Mr. Albert Zulkharneev, our current Co-Chairs General Evgeny Buzhinsky and Dr. Elena Chernenko», – Vladimir Orlov, Founding President of the Trialogue Club International, Founding Director of PIR Center.

On December 16, 2022, the 116^th Winter Anniversary Session of the Trialogue Club International took place in Zvenigorod. The event`s agenda was devoted to the question “Russian foreign policy in 2023: what’s next?”. Within the Session we celebrated the 30^th anniversary of the Club, which since 1993 has been following its key mission – to promote international dialogue on global security issues.

The Founding President of the Trialogue Club International, Dr. Vladimir Orlov gave the Opening Remarks in which he summed up the results of the 30-year Club`s activities as a platform for the exchange of views on issues on the international agenda, as well as the Russian foreign and defense policy. «Those 30 years brought us 116 sessions, if we include this one. We had 142 Speakers, because sometimes we have keynote speeches, and sometimes we have panels, like we do today. I would like just to recognize those individuals who throughout those 30 years contributed most importantly to the existence, development, and the progress of the Trialogue Club International. Those who have launched the process: with pleasure we recognize the role of Mr. Viktor Loshak for giving the idea of the Club, and who chaired our first sessions of the first years. I would like to recognize the role of those who helped me in funding and managing the first sessions of the Club: Dr. Vadim Kozyulin, Mr. Alexey Zakharov, Mr. Vladimir Rudakov, and Dr. Dmitri Evstafyev. I would like to recognize a very important leading and guiding role of those who were chairing the Club: Dr. Dmitri Polikanov, Mr. Albert Zulkharneev, our current Co-Chairs General Evgeny Buzhinsky and Dr. Elena Chernenko», – Dr. Vladimir Orlov noted in his speech.

The 116^th Winter Anniversary Session of the Trialogue Club International was held in the panel discussion format. PIR Center Executive Board Member, Lead Researcher of the Center for International Security of IMEMO RAS Dr. Dmitri Trenin; Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council, PIR Center Advisory Board Member Dr. Andrey Kortunov; Dean of the School of International Relations of MGIMO University; Program Director of the Valdai Discussion Club Dr. Andrey Sushentsov; Founding President of the Trialogue Club International, Founding Director of PIR Center Dr. Vladimir Orlov; Director of the Crisis & Situation Awareness Centre (Department) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Mr. Yury Gorlatch took part in the Session as panelists.

The Session was moderated by the Co-Chairs of the Trialogue Club International: Special Correspondent of the Kommersant Daily, Member of PIR Center Executive Board Dr. Elena Chernenko and Lieutenant-General (Retired), Chairman of PIR Center Executive Board Evgeny Buzhinskiy. Among the participants of the Session were members of the Trialogue Club International and special guests, in particular, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation H.E. Pavan Kapoor; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federative Republic of Brazil to the Russian Federation H.E. Rodrigo Baena Soares; representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, military and (or) political departments of the Embassies of Germany, Norway, Romania, Turkey, France, as well as Members of PIR Center Executive Board.

The discussion was held in the Chatham House Rules format. During the Session, the participants raised the following issues:

— results of the year for Russian foreign policy and the world;

— transformation processes in the Russian society and in the international arena;

— stress resilience factors of the international system against the background of recent shocks and scenarios of the future of global development;

— interests and strategies of the players directly and indirectly involved in the crisis around Ukraine;

— the main causes of the crisis in the Russian-Western relations;

— relations in the Russia-NATO system;

— conceptual and philosophical bases of Russia’s foreign policy and the country’s growth potential;

— risks of nuclear weapons proliferation in the world. Recall that in November 2022, PIR Center published a report New Nuclear Nine? Assessing Nuclear Proliferation Threats in the World, which analyzes possible threats to the nuclear nonproliferation regime in the long term.

The detailed program of the 116^th Winter Anniversary Session of the Trialogue Club International can be found in the attachments.

The 116^th Winter Anniversary Session of the Trialogue Club International was held in the banquet format on the occasion of its 30^th anniversary in 2023. At the end of the official part of the Session, Club members and special guests took part in an auction of publications of PIR Center and moved to informal communication on the most pressing issues of Russian foreign and defense policy and the international agenda in general.

For the Trialogue Club International membership, please contact the Executive Secretary Elena Karnaukhova by email at secretary@trialogue-club.ru. More information about the Trialogue Club International you can also find on the website www.trialogue-club.ru.

The detailed program of the 116^th Winter Anniversary Session of the Trialogue Club

F13/MIN – 12/22