Yulia Latynina
President Dmitry Medvedev visited Ulan Bator on Aug. 25 and 26 and signed a commercial agreement with the Mongolian authorities. Hardly a month passes without Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin or, in rare cases, Medvedev visiting one exotic country after another and signing ground-breaking commercial agreements. This summer alone, Russia also closed big deals with Nigeria, Cuba and Venezuela.
These commercial deals are a direct reflection of Russia’s foreign policy. Our friends are the countries that are willing to sign a deal directly with Russia’s leaders. Our enemies are the countries whose leaders refuse to sign such deals. But the most surprising thing is that none of these deals has been carried out, and this is mostly Russia’s fault.
02 September 2009