Russia is shifting cooperation on the foreign territory, the Vedomosti daily reported. Several walkouts from the international agreements and several closures of Russian offices in the international organizations should prove that Russia is already a developed country and can not only cope with economic, social and ecological problems, but also to help other countries. In view of a crisis in Europe and the world, this would sound even generous, but for the problems with the domestic budget, the newspaper believes.
Moscow does not intend to extend the Russian-US Nunn-Lugar program for the scrapping of the missiles and other ammunition. Russia explains its refusal by an opportunity to settle the problem of their safe disposal on its own and the struggle against the leaking of the state secrets. The program is in effect since 1991, in the 1990s the US completely funded the work under the program.
In March 2012 Russia refused from 127 million dollars, which the UN Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria proposed to allocate to cure people infected with the stable type of tuberculosis. The Ministry of Health and Social Development stated that Russia intends to become a donor country of the fund. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry intends to spend about 600 million roubles (about 20 million dollars) for anti-tuberculosis medicines, the number of people infected with an active, most dangerous stage of tuberculosis (17.8 people for 10,000 residents) is 3-4 times higher in Russia than the average level in Europe. The phthisiologists are concerned over a probable outbreak of a lethally dangerous infection already this autumn.
Since October 1 the operation of the US Agency of International Development (USAID) was halted in Russia on the demands from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Kremlin was indignant with the USAID assistance to Russian human rights nongovernmental organizations that was taken as "the attempts to influence the political processes."
USAID helped Russia, particularly with the programs to curb the spread of AIDS and tuberculosis, improve the protection for the health of mother and child, adopt the orphans and integrate the disabled people in the society.
On October 8, UNICEF (the UN Children's Fund) stated about a new type of partnership relations over the end of the program for Russia and the closure of the UNICEF office in Russia. In translation from the diplomatic language this means that Russia refused from the UNICEF funds, the methodological aid of the fund and intends to fund its previous programs itself.
Many countries, which settled economic and social problems, refused from the foreign assistance, the newspaper recalled. But Russian restrictions on international cooperation cannot be taken separately from public "patriotic" campaigns in the country. The law on nongovernmental organizations – foreign agents, the bill on high treason, which envisages criminal persecution for people, who have some ties with the foreigners, and more insistent attempts to control the Internet – all this should protect the state authorities and nothing more. If some funds can be found in the budget for the scrapping of outdated weapons, the funds lack for social needs, the Vedomosti daily reported.