... New Opportunities
Having faced a certain de-intensification of relations with the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in the 1990s, Russia in the 2000s began to restore its presence through economic tools, such as investment. The Western Balkans (former Yugoslavia) happened to be one region where this was particularly intense. This region was selected for a number of reasons, namely weak local economies resulting from the events of the 1990s (war and the transition from socialism to a ...
On September 23-25, Vienna hosted panel discussion "Periphery at Risk" held by Bruno Kreisky Forum, Bulgarian Center for Liberal Strategies, European Council on Foreign Affairs and Austrian Ministry of National Defense.
The participants included analysts and politicians from the Balkan and EU countries, Turkey and Russia represented by RIAC Program Coordinator Daria Khaspekova, who have discussed ways for development of Balkan states in the modern world.
In 2004, when the European Union...
... The war’s outcome divided former allies: they found themselves on different sides of the barricades during the two world wars, and paid put to Russia’s almost 150 year old dream of establishing a union of Christian Orthodox states in the Balkans. The region has often been referred to as Europe’s powder keg. What many would like to know is whether there are any signs that this keg will be set off in the 21st century, and if so, when?
The Balkans has always been in conflict, and there ...
