MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russia is ready to normalize relations with those countries which will refuse to bow Western policies, but everyone should remember that places on the domestic market may be occupied soon, the Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Alexander Venediktov, told TASS in an interview.
"We keep the doors open. If any country decides to stop following the West’s anti-Russian policies and to normalize relations with Moscow, we will be ready for a dialogue," he said. "But everyone should remember that we cannot guarantee their restoration to the pre-crisis level. Let's put it this way: places on the Russian market may already be occupied by then," Venediktov warned.
He stressed that Moscow, "in contrast to the Americans, does not divide sovereign states into sorts and categories."
"For Russia, any country that does not commit destructive actions against us and is committed to mutually beneficial cooperation is friendly by default," Venediktov said. Russia is building up cooperation with such countries in every possible way, "for example, in the sphere of supplying grain, energy and other strategic raw materials, which are now in short supply in the world."
Asked whether Russia needed to create new alliances or expand the existing ones, Venediktov drew attention to the fact that "under the new conditions, the role of a number of diverse multilateral formats", including the SCO, BRICS, the CSTO and the EAEU was growing.
"They are becoming a true embodiment of the multipolar world. The surge of interest towards the SCO in recent months is a bright confirmation," Venediktov said. "For us, these formats are of a strategic nature. Their value does not depend on the situation. In this respect, the Russian strategy differs from the US policies of forging alliances and blocs for specific tasks: such as QUAD (quadripartite security dialogue uniting Australia, India, the United States and Japan - TASS) or AUKUS (Australian-UK-US security partnership - TASS)," he stressed.
At the same time, Venediktov remarked that Moscow was establishing new schemes and models of interaction, if they were of interest to partners.
"We are actively working through the Security Council, for example, we are organizing consultations of high representatives of Russia and ASEAN responsible for security affairs. Also, we support the multilateral mechanism on Afghanistan," Venediktov said.