Moscow is abuzz over a very interesting piece that appeared on Friday in Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The paper reported that the Kremlin does not intend to escalate the current state of confrontation with the West in general and the United States in particular. According to the article, in the near future a package of measures will be implemented with the goal of improving relations and easing tensions between Russia and its Western partners. The information is attributed to several sources within the presidential administration. Apparently, the decision to shift policy was influenced in part by Russia’s isolation in its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The West’s restraint with respect to sanctions against Russia was understood as a signal that the West ultimately does not want to raise the stakes over Georgia. Furthermore, the severity of the current financial crisis in Russia has shown that its economy cannot flourish in isolation. Nezavisimaya Gazeta tells us that an informal working group has been established, headed by Alexei Gromov, Deputy Chief of Staff of President Medvedev’s Executive Office. It is believed that Gromov was behind the establishment of the “Russia Today” TV channel, aimed at delivering Russian viewpoints to non-Russian audiences, and the “Valdai Discussion Club” annual meeting of foreign journalists and political scientists with the Russian leadership. The working group has had certain parameters set for it. For example, any climb-down on Georgia is excluded, as would be any significant concessions in “the economic sphere”, such as ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty. Nezavisimaya Gazeta says that the Kremlin may even liberate a number of Russian prisoners viewed in the West as political prisoners. However, according to the article, any such moves are unlikely to affect Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The article further states that while appreciated at home, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is perceived by some as having gone too far, for example in his heated exchanges with David Miliband. Lavrov now personifies the growing Russia-West confrontation. As a result, he may be moved from the Foreign Ministry to another position, perhaps given a vice premiership, allowing someone else to become the face and voice of Russian foreign policy. Gromov is cited as a possibility. The article concludes saying that a new era in Russian foreign policy may soon emerge, involving a constructive partnership with the West. In this new era, Russia will be a strong counterparty, not weak and timid. So a very interesting article, which is not quite consistent with the theme of the anti-Kudrin attacks that appeared in the Russian press at the height of last week’s stock market crash. Evidently, the clan wars continue.