At the annual meeting of Russian diplomatic personnel yesterday, Medvedev unexpectedly gave a revolutionary speech, which sources say was written by the president himself. Russian foreign policy must be tied to the objective of internal modernisation and the development of ties with the countries that are best placed to help it technologically and commercially: Germany, France, Italy, the EU as a whole and the United States. The former Soviet countries who have been considered “strategic” by Moscow until now were mentioned only after Asia's Pacific-rim countries. Furthermore, until now, no Russian leader has ever said, as Medvedev did yesterday, that it is in his country's interest to humanise social systems and democratise the greatest number of states possible, starting with Russia. Ambassadors and Russian consuls were asked to abandon old scholastic stereotypes and a confrontational style of politics, as in the case with Poland this year, relations with whom have improved dramatically. Those who do not wish to comply with these criteria will have to look for a new job. Medvedev also (jokingly) alluded to the imminent replacement of the minster Lavrov. It seems there were some in the subsequent behind-doors meeting who (like the Russian EU representative, Chiznov), resentfully made the point that, as far as the agreement with Europe concerning the country's modernisation (at recent summits in Stockholm and Rostov-na-Donau) is concerned, Russia does not need to take advice on how ensure the primacy of the law within its own borders and how to work with civil society.
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