Eastern Partnership Countries: Buffer Zone or Platform for Dialogue?
... strategy, betting on one player only and thus putting themselves in a more vulnerable position. If their chosen side loses, they also lose. The bridge metaphor has not taken root, and experts lean somewhat toward the platform for dialogue metaphor. Belarus is active here, providing a venue for the peace talks on the Donbass; Armenia acts as a prototype testing range for EU–EAEU economic cooperation; Azerbaijan, which was, until recently, a closed state geared toward its prosperity, is another example. The position of a platform for dialogue is stronger and more stable in the long term, though it is costlier to implement ...