Russia’s security strategy envisages ‘forceful methods’

MOSCOW — A revised version of Russia’s national security strategy says it may use forceful methods to respond to unfriendly actions by foreign countries, a top Kremlin official said in remarks published Monday,

Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the presidential Security Council, said that the document foresees that Moscow could take “symmetric and asymmetric measures to thwart or avert unfriendly actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.”

An interview published Monday by the government daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta said those “primarily will be special economic measures, but also coercive forceful methods if necessary.”

Patrushev said that in comparison with the previous version of the strategy, published in December 2015, the revised version also emphasized information security as one of the top priorities.

Russia’s relations with the U.S. and its allies have been at post-Cold War lows over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, accusations of Russian interference in elections, hacking attacks and other irritants.

The revised national security strategy comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden set for June 16 in Geneva.

Patrushev, who last week had talks with Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, to discuss preparations for the summit, noted that their conversation was “constructive and productive.” He added that Moscow and Washington could work out “mutually acceptable solutions for certain issues,” but didn’t elaborate.

莫斯科——克里姆林宫一位高级官员周一发表声明称，俄罗斯修订后的国家安全战略表示，俄罗斯可能会采取强硬手段回应外国的不友好行为。

总统安全委员会秘书尼古拉·帕特鲁舍夫表示，该文件预见到莫斯科可以采取“对称和非对称措施，以阻止或避免威胁俄罗斯联邦主权和领土完整的不友好行动”。

俄罗斯官方日报《俄罗斯报》周一发表的一篇采访文章称，这些措施“主要将是特殊的经济措施，但如有必要，也将采取强制性的强力手段”。

帕特鲁舍夫表示，与 2015 年 12 月发布的上一版战略相比，修订版还强调信息安全是首要任务之一。

由于莫斯科在 2014 年吞并乌克兰克里米亚半岛、俄罗斯被指控干预选举、黑客攻击以及其他摩擦，俄罗斯与美国及其盟友的关系已降至冷战后的最低点。

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京正准备与美国总统乔·拜登于6月16日在日内瓦举行峰会，在此背景下，俄罗斯发布了修订后的国家安全战略。

帕特鲁舍夫上周与拜登的国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文举行了会谈，讨论峰会筹备工作。他指出，他们的谈话“富有建设性和成效”。他还补充说，莫斯科和华盛顿可以就某些问题找到“双方都能接受的解决方案”，但他没有详细说明。