The New Russian Federation’s National Security Strategy Allowed "Forceful Methods" If Protecting Russian Interests

Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said that the document also pays special attention to information security The updated version of Russia's national security strategy admits that it can use forceful methods in response to unfriendly actions of foreign states. This was stated by a senior Kremlin official in a published speech. Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev said that the new version of the strategy "notes the legitimacy of taking symmetrical and asymmetric measures to suppress and prevent unfriendly actions that pose a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation." In an interview with the government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta, published on Monday, he said that this, first of all, means " introducing special economic measures but, if necessary, forceful methods of coercion as well." Patrushev noted that, in comparison with the previous version of the strategy, published in December 2015, in the new edition, information security is separated into a separate strategic sovereignty.