Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Russian experts formulated the main foreign policy tasks and national priorities, the solution of which could be considered a success of Russian foreign policy in the coming year.

1. Extension of the START-3 Treaty. Without this treaty, the bilateral Russian-American format of strategic arms control will finally collapse.

START III expires in early February 2021.

2. Moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range missiles in Europe. Although reviving the corresponding Treaty (INF Treaty) is no longer realistic, the de facto fulfillment by Russia and the West of its terms is an attainable goal.

3. Summit of the Five of the UN Security Council. The Russian proposal to hold a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council was put forward at the beginning of 2020. For various reasons, such a summit has not yet taken place. If successful, the summit could provide a serious impetus for further work to increase the level of global governance.

4. Restoration of the military dimension in the work of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). In April 2014. NATO countries suspended military cooperation with Russia, which was reflected, among other things, in freezing the dialogue between the military within the framework of the NRC.

5. Inclusion of Russia in the implementation of the "green deal" of the European Union. The coming year could be a breakthrough in cooperation between Moscow and Brussels on a wide range of issues related to climate change and environmental protection. Projects in line with the "green deal" can become new drivers of Russian-European interaction.

6. Belarusian political transit. It would be in Moscow’s interests to consistently promote controlled changes so that 2021 would become a turning point in the development of Belarusian statehood. Russia’s orientation towards supporting the status quo is fraught with serious political risks.

7. Prevention of escalation in Donbass. In 2020, it was not possible to achieve decisive progress in resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine. It is important to preserve at least what has already been achieved - stability on the line of contact between the DPR / LPR and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the implementation of the ceasefire agreement by the parties, the continuation of the exchange of prisoners, etc.

8. Prevention of a new outbreak of armed clashes in Karabakh. The conflict potential in the region remains high, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has not been fixed, claims against Moscow can be put forward by both sides of the conflict.

9. Expansion of the agenda of the Arctic Council. In the spring of 2021, Russia becomes the chairman of the Arctic Council for another two-year term. This is a good opportunity to prevent the organization from being drawn into the global geopolitical confrontation between East and West.

10. Completion of work on "Nord Stream-2". The implementation of the long-suffering gas project in 2021 would be a major foreign policy victory for Russia. New opportunities would appear for the development of economic cooperation between Russia and the EU.

11. Preservation of the OPEC + mechanism. Continuation of cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the coming year, it is critically important in order to maintain the relative stability of the oil market at about US$50 per barrel, which would be optimal for the Russian energy sector.

12. Diversification of economic cooperation with the PRC. In the outgoing year, Russia managed to avoid a sharp drop in trade with China. The most important task in 2021 should be the formation of new bilateral technological chains and the implementation of large investment projects.

13. The beginning of economic and political reforms in Syria. In 2021, presidential elections will be held in Syria, which will sum up the country’s development over the past seven years. After the elections, Russia will have the opportunity to exert a more active influence on Damascus, encouraging the improvement of the efficiency of the Syrian economy, the formation of a more inclusive political system, the revitalization of the work of the Constitutional Committee of Syria, etc.

14. Prevention of the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations. Ankara remains an important partner of Moscow, but the positions of the parties differ significantly on many important issues, including Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, Nagorno-Karabakh, Crimea and others. The success of Russian foreign policy in 2021 would be the ability to prevent the aggravation of relations with Turkey, without making excessive concessions to the Turkish leadership. In general, preliminary estimates of both British and foreign scientists, as well as WHO experts on the level of infectiousness of the new strain of coronavirus, agree. On the other hand, news of the mutation has led to new restrictions in Europe and overshadowed the agreement reached in the US Congress on an economic stimulus package worth US$900 billion. Experts are concerned that all this raises concerns about a slower global economic recovery.