MOSCOW, January 14, /ITAR-TASS/. Russia has considerably strengthened its status of a great power in 2013, Yevgeny Primakov, president of the Mercury Club, ex-premier of the Russian Federation, said delivering a traditional address at the New Year meeting of the club.

Primakov highlighted among Russia’s foreign policy successes the prevention of a US military strike at Syria. “Russia’s suggesting a political way of settling the Syrian crisis prevented a US military strike at that country,” Primakov stressed.

The Russian ex-premier believes such a strike would have caused destabilization in the Middle East and the growth of terrorism in the world and would also have damaged the United Nations prestige. “The United Nations functions then would at best be limited to dealing with social problems,” Primakov said.