Russian scholar advises US to focus on problems, not 'adversaries'

MOSCOW - It is "an obsolete foreign policy concept" in the modern world that the United States emphasizes on "adversaries," including Russia and China, instead of resolving issues, a Russian expert has said.

"A smart foreign policy has to focus on international problems rather than on foreign adversaries," Andrey Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, wrote recently in an article published on the council's website.

"No reliable security architecture in Europe can be built and sustained without Russia's participation. No robust economic ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region could function without China's engagement," he said.

Kortunov stressed that the fundamental challenge to the United Sates comes from inside the country, not from outside.

He stressed the need to upgrade infrastructure in the United States, and address its budget deficits and debt problems, rising inflation, low approval ratings of the Biden administration and the deep national division.

"No foreign adversary is in a position to harm the US as much as it can harm itself," Kortunov wrote.