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The recent summit between France, Germany, and Russia led to no major developments, but it laid the path toward further improving Russia’s relations with its neighbors and toward a serious discussion about creating a security community spanning North America, Europe, and Russia.
Maintaining the balance between Russia and Europe in Ukrainian foreign policy has become increasingly challenging, as Kyiv struggles to find a way to integrate its economic future with one or both of the larger powers without losing its political autonomy.
The Ukrainian Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn the political reform of 2004 acts as a relative guarantee that, should the opposition win the majority in future parliamentary elections, it will not be able to threaten the president’s agenda.
The return of Viktor Yanukovych, who was elected president of Ukraine in February, has sparked fears among some that the momentum of Ukraine’s domestic political and economic reforms would be lost.
Recent developments in Russia's foreign policy reflect the country's struggle to preserve its status as a “great power” through modernization.
The real challenge facing Kyiv today is to deliver on the promise of effective government in the short term, without sacrificing Ukraine’s long-term strategic interests.
Russia, Europe, and the United States are critical players in Moldova’s development and have an opportunity to help transform Moldova into a real post-Soviet success story and prove that a prosperous democracy can exist in the space between East and West.
Given Moldova’s economic potential and political openness, the United States, the European Union, and Russia can play a significant role in aiding Moldova on the path to EU membership and helping to transform the country into a prosperous pluralistic democratic state.
If Russia wants to be a principal security provider and peace guarantor in the CIS space, it will need to refocus its strategy away from resisting NATO's drive and U.S. deployments and toward conflict prevention and conflict resolution.
Resolving the conflict over Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdnestr would have wide-reaching positive implications for Russia, the EU, and the United States, but this opportunity will be lost if the issue is not addressed in the near future.
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