Franco-Russian Conversation with Andrey Kortunov and Michel Duclos
On 25 November, Russia seized 24 Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is the first open clash between the two countries since 2014. What does this mean? Will it escalate? What is to be expected from foreign powers? Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the
Russian International Affairs Council
, and Michel Duclos, former Ambassador and Special Advisor for Institut Montaigne...
... the end of WW2 and twenty-eight years after the reunification, the new generation of Germans owes Russian nothing. After the Ukrainian crisis, no ‘business as usual’ is possible in any foreseeable future; Moscow and Berlin continue to sharply disagree ... ... many critically important international matters. Germany is and will always be a disciplined member of NATO and that of the European Union; it will not take any initiatives that might look risky, inappropriate or untimely to other members of these organizations....
... the country to reassess its policy with regard to Ukraine in the context of the current situation gains traction.
Before making any predictions about how events may unfold, we should first identify the key objectives pursued by Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States in their respective foreign policies (we believe it is necessary to assess the situation from the global perspective), as well as examine the results already achieved by the sides, particularly those that focus on ...
... foreign policy is not only part of the pre-election campaign, but also an attempt to offset the costs of unfavourable economic conditions in the East with the thus far untapped reserves of the West.
The model for the development of relations with the European Union, which Minsk has aspired to follow since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, can be successful in theory. Trade relations between Belarus and the European Union have developed over the past few years despite artificially created barriers. Removing these barriers will no doubt open up hidden growth reserves, especially ...
... offered easy access for Transnistrian goods on the basis of autonomous trade preferences. Beginning in 2008, TMR exports to the European Union surpassed those to Russia.
[17]
Today Brussels is insisting that Tiraspol shift its trade towards the format of ... ... 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 ...
... complications in the eurozone, the relentless rise of China, the Arab Spring, the U.S.-EU transatlantic trade and investment negotiations (TTIP) and so on. There may be some truth in this explanation, but 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 ...
On 30 June, 2015 at 11:00, the round table ‘Visegrad Europe and Russia Today’ will be held at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
The round table participants will include ambassadors of all the four countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), Russian experts and representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and foreign diplomatic corps.
The RIAC report ‘
Russia and the Visegrad Group: the Ukrainian Challenge
’ will be presented...
On April 9, 2015, Riga played host to the Second Meeting of the Young Expert’s Group on Resolving the Ukrainian Crisis and Ensuring Safety in the Euro-Atlantic Region. One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the role of civil society in establishing peace in Ukraine. The second session was dedicated to the issue of security in the Euro-Atlantic ...
... perspectives. Long-term issues concern Euro-Atlantic security, stable trade relations and democracy-building in the region. Short-term issues concern conflict-management in the Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian territorial integrity and economic stabilization. The Ukrainian crisis and atmosphere of distrust between Russia and the West showed that Europe’s security architecture is dysfunctional and has to be partially revised. Government efforts and official diplomatic channels seem unable to overcome the ...
... rapprochement here clearly exacerbate pre-existing fault lines and undermine the prospect of a settlement. And if Russia and the European Union are interested in minimising risks and damage, and even more in preventing an escalation of the Transdniestrian ... ... start shaping some kind of common “Moldovan-Transdniestrian” agenda.
The process and scope of any agreement
The Ukrainian crisis thus clearly demonstrates that
the basic interest
is in agreeing on how to maintain internal stability and prevent ...
