Russia eyes 'soft power' to achieve hard goals in foreign policy

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-11-1 9:02:01

Moscow would use "soft power" to achieve its diplomatic goals, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

"Good use of soft power objectively helps us reach priorities in international activities," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told a meeting of the Public Chamber's Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy.

Among Russian soft power tools, Gatilov listed the extension of cultural, informational and humanitarian presence abroad.

He also stressed the importance of more visible Russian participation in the world educational market, connection with fellow citizens permanently living abroad and more tangible migration programs.

"The world should receive more reliable information about Russia," Gatilov said, adding the government's attempts to increase its soft power would pay off in the near future.

The term soft power was coined by Harvard scholar Joseph Nye to describe the spread of a country's influence through non-military means and has become a widely used foreign policy objective worldwide.

Posted in: Europe

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