... Georgian side tries to avoid terms like “settlement” and “benevolent approach”, as they do not reflect the current reality. In the absence of bilateral and diplomatic relations, there can be no talk of “settlement”.
The Ukrainian crisis has significantly altered the makeup of Russia’s foreign policy contacts. But it hasn’t affected the process of political rapprochement between Russia and Georgia. In particular, the Karasin–Abashidze dialogue has acquired ...
Belarus Sitting on the Geopolitical Splits
The Ukrainian crisis has compelled Belarus to reassess and develop its own foreign policy. Minsk is trying to work out how it can benefit from the international relations crisis that is unfolding across Europe and is adjusting its position on the international ...
... deep and comprehensive free trade area with Moldova, with these effective preferences expiring on January 1, 2016.
[18]
As for Moldova, it is trying to exploit the situation in order to impose regulative control over Transnistrian enterprises.
[19]
The Ukrainian crisis is making the life of Tiraspol much harder. Since consumer demand in Ukraine and Russia is falling, Transnistrian companies are losing their eastern markets. Moreover, in spring 2015, Kiev strengthened its blockade of Transnistrian exports ...
Working paper 24/2015
The events in Ukraine in 2013-2014 did not reveal any new, deep-rooted contradictions between Kiev and Moscow; they had existed long before, albeit not so acutely.
They have, however, triggered the fiercest confrontation between the two biggest countries in the post-Soviet space, which has raised numerous questions regarding the future of Russian-Ukrainian relations, along with exposing a whole range of serious problems within the entire international security system.
The...
The Ukrainian and Russian-Western crises seem a long way from resolution, and are starting to affect the areas of relations intended to maintain contact and help break political deadlock. What kind of future is in store for expert-level dialogue, educational exchanges and interaction between Russian and Western media?
Expert Dialogue Almost in Tatters
The trilateral report "
Managing Differences in European Security in 2015: US, Russian, and European Perspectives
" prepared jointly by the...
... what does that prove? It only tells us that for both the European Union and Russia their mutual relations seemed of secondary importance, and could therefore easily be shelved or even sacrificed for the sake of more central and more urgent needs.
The Ukrainian crisis has thus become a very explicit manifestation of the fragility of our relations. Both sides pursued their own policies toward Ukraine without any co-ordination, or at least consultations, with one another. The question of the “European ...
Sergey Rekeda: Who Benefits from it?
The Baltic countries, i.e. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which have rarely demonstrated a penchant for pragmatic relations with Russia over the past 25 years, seem to take the lead in the number of those who gain from the Ukraine crisis, with obvious benefits to be reaped simultaneously in several areas.
Domestic Politics
The Baltic elites’ non-stop crying wolf on Russia fits with European policies and is becoming increasingly loud. As a result, rightwing...
On July 2, 2015, the Russian International Affairs Council held roundtable "Prospects for Russia-Ukraine Relations" featuring presentation of RIAC's working paper "
Ukrainian Challenge for Russia
".
Opening the event, RIAC Deputy Program Director Timur Makhmutov stressed the significance of an expert analysis for the Ukraine crisis and presented the results of RIAC's Ukraine-related project efforts. Answers to numerous questions and commentaries of the discussants were provided...
... have realized the importance and necessity of its existence. Quite often, the OSCE has become an important tool in the maintenance of a constructive relationship between participating states. This point appears to have returned today, when during the Ukrainian crisis, the OSCE has proved to be the only institution of European security that could engage all parties of the conflict in dialogue to seek the crisis’ resolution
[1]
. This again has helped to reiterate the OSCE’s competitive ...
... alternatively, we are moving towards “
an age of entropy
”
[9]
, where international politics transforms into a system far more erratic, unsettled and devoid of behavioral regularities.
2. International institutions are playing catch-up
“The Ukrainian crisis – and prior to that, the crisis in the Middle East – underscored the evanescence of many post-Cold war institutions”
[10]
. Such post-Cold War institutions are no longer able to guarantee international security. Meanwhile,...
