Despite Russia's economic slowdown, the Kremlin remains intent on pursuing an assertive foreign policy in 2016, says the Statement for the Record Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, published on the website of U.S. Senate on February 9.
According to the author, "Since the crisis began in Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has redoubled its efforts to reinforce its influence in Eurasia. Events in Ukraine raised Moscow's perceived stakes for increasing its presence in the region to prevent future regime change in the former Soviet republics and for accelerating a shift to a mulitpolar world in which Russia is the uncontested regional hegemon in Eurasia. Moscow will therefore continue to push for greater regional integration, raising pressure on neighboring states to follow the example of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan and join the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Meanwhile, the document says, growing Turkish-Russian tensions since Turkey's shootdown of a Russian jet in November 2015 raise the specter of miscalculation and escalation.
The Eurasian Economic Union involves Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.