As a Eurasian country Russia — similarly to the former Soviet Union — has strong national interests in Asia in general and in Southeast Asia in particular. They are formed not by mere geography but by a rich variety of political, economic, security, demographic, cultural and other factors. Obviously at different periods of the Soviet/Russian history some of these factors became more prominent than the others thus influencing the choice of national objectives and means of their achievement.

Reflecting fundamental geopolitical changes and new security challenges in the post-Cold War world, Russia's foreign policy in the post-Soviet period became fundamentally different from that of the Soviet times both in its goals and in methods of achieving them. The former great power's assertive goals were replaced with the need to create a favourable external environment for Russia's economic development. And while the Soviet Union's main instruments of pursuing its strategic goals were ideological and military, the new democratic Russia places emphasis on diplomatic and political methods in its foreign policy.

Shortly after Vladimir Putin was elected Russian President in 2000, a revised “National Security Concept” and a new “Foreign Policy Concept” were adopted by him. In both of these documents, economic issues were placed at the centre of the long-term national development strategy. The “Foreign Policy Concept” stated in particular that in order to ensure Russia's national security and to strengthen its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Russian Government should concentrate on: