Konstantin Kosachev, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on international relations, discusses President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy priorities in an interview.

Konstantin Kosachev is deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Relations and a member of the Fatherland-All Russia (OVR) faction in the Duma.

Kosachev was an advisor to Yevgeny Primakov during his time as prime minister. He headed the OVR election campaign headquarters during the December 1999 Duma elections.

He talked to The Russia Journal about President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy priorities and Russia's current place on the world scene.

RJ: A new Russia with a new president – what's the image forming in the world today?

KK: The image of Russia abroad lately hasn't adequately reflected the situation here or Russia's place in the world. That Putin is trying to correct this image is a good thing. He's right to make a priority of this. But the first months of Putin's presidency have shown that not everything always goes according to plan. This often results from lack of coordination between different bodies. Some of our law enforcement agencies have their own interpretation of how to "equally distance" the oligarchs from power. And you end up with [Vladimir] Gusinsky arrested at the worst possible moment or the review of privatization, as in the case of Norilsk Nickel. Russia's reputation suffers as a result, especially the investment climate – a fundamental part of its image abroad. I think that in trying to win over the West, Putin has neglected to put things in order at home first, especially putting some order into power. I hope he'll pay more attention to this now.

RJ: Perhaps Putin is counting on the West to support him personally?

KK: Putin doesn't have the reserve of trust that [former President Boris] Yeltsin had. Many in the world saw Yeltsin as fulfilling a historic mission, leading Russia from totalitarianism to democracy, and so were willing to forgive some of his mistakes. Putin doesn't have that image and Western partners will be more demanding of him. His mission is a tougher one than Yeltsin's was. Building a new Russia will require carefully thought-out action, and Putin will have less right to make mistakes.

RJ: Should he be doing a bit of public relations for the state?

KK: I don't like the term PR, it makes me think of a shell with no substance. Putin has to work on the substance, sort things out with his subordinates. If he does not do this, he won't get anywhere on the international scene.

RJ: But he could pretend all is fine at home and just do nothing about his subordinates.

KK: I think he was right to emphasize the independence of the prosecutor's office. But he wasn't consistent. First he can't get hold of the prosecutor general, then he's commenting on Gusinsky's business activities. There's no single logic here.

RJ: What if his logic is one of "Russia has nuclear weapons, and therefore can't be ignored no matter what it does."

KK: He would be very shortsighted to think that way and I don't think he does. Closed societies have had their day. If we want civilized, open relations, we have to make democracy a foundation of our society.

RJ: What do you think of Putin's planned visit to North Korea?

KK: Putin will visit China on the same trip. I can't imagine a visit to just North Korea. China is developing fast, and in ten years, could be a great strategic partner for Russia, or it could be a serious competitor, or at worst, an opponent. Don't forget that as Russians leave the Far East region, the Chinese will move in. Demographic factors aside, there are also economic and political issues. The U.S. recently gave China most favored nation trading status, showing that they know who they want as partners. Putin is right to pursue contacts with major Western nations, but it's good also that he's correcting the balance a little by going to China. As for North Korea, it&#0

39;s a good moment for a visit as there has been a breakthrough in relations between the two Koreas, and Russia could help in this process.

RJ: What sort of military alliances could Russia be looking at today?

KK: During discussions on the START II treaty, a government official said that Russia's only real allies today are Belarus and Armenia. It's hard to swallow, but it's perhaps true. I think that's why Putin is so keen to pump some life into the CIS, but in the long term, even the CIS isn't enough and Russia will have to look further for allies. Europe could be an ally if we build good relations with the European Union and reach a compromise on NATO expansion. Europe is also concerned about increasing U.S. influence. We could, with time, find allies in China and Japan.

RJ: What do you think of Putin's idea that Russia joins NATO?

KK: Putin's suggestion that Russia could join NATO provoked a negative reaction. We were told that NATO didn't need Russia.

RJ: In Germany, Putin suggested that if NATO didn't want Russia, Russia would continue to take a hard line against NATO expansion.

KK: We're not against NATO expansion in principle, but we thought that NATO would transform into more of a military-political alliance and normalize its relations with Russia. But everything is following a different scenario.

RJ: Why is Russia losing its traditional allies?

KK: Alliances should come about naturally. If Russia wants allies, it has to have something to offer militarily, economically and politically. We don't have anything to offer just yet. Politically and economically, we're a fairly unstable society and have been weakened militarily. But we'll quickly find allies if we become predictable and bring order to our society, in the good sense of the term.

RJ: Could regional alliances become a pole of attraction?

KK: Yes, our CIS partners are all quite different. You can't offer Ukraine and Belarus exactly the same thing. There has to be a more tailored approach to each region – the Caucasus, Central Asian countries. This also has to take into account the personalities of these countries' leaders.

RJ: Putin's first visit abroad was to the U.K. Was that a good move?

KK: Yes, among the major Western European nations, the U.K. had been long neglected by Russia as a partner. Putin was right to begin with this, Russia's least cultivated area of Europe.

RJ: But couldn't it be seen as a slight by Germany?

KK: The U.K. was slighted earlier by Russia's attempts to base its European relations on a troika of France, Germany and Russia. That Russia has now begun

an active dialog with the U.K. shows that we're thinking of how now to right the balance a little.