Moscow unilaterally changes diplomatic rules for hybrid influence
russia’s foreign ministry has prepared a draft presidential decree that would allow it to open consulates and visa centers without needing approval from host countries. This means the russian federation could now unilaterally determine the locations of its diplomatic missions, disregarding international norms and the sovereignty of other states.
▫️ The new measure would also authorize “honorary consular officials” — individuals who are not official diplomats — to perform some of these functions. This creates opportunities for russia to expand its influence abroad, particularly by opening offices under the cover of state enterprises like rosatom and rossotrudnichestvo. Such structures could be exploited for hybrid operations and intelligence gathering.
As previously reported by the Center, kremlin is intensifying its foreign influence efforts by revamping the rossotrudnichestvo network and planning to launch an organization modeled after the U.S. USAID.
