Experts Commentaries

Fascination with Russian culture and history has too many times been confused with having an understanding for Russia’s imperialist policies, disguised as justified interests in the so-called zone of influence.

The capital of Slovakia, even less so that of Moldova, is not used to the role of a location that produces big headlines on strategic issues of European politics. But this is exactly what happened in the last few days. President Macron chose the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava to deliver a timely and important vision of political changes that he believes need to be applied in Europe. Then, almost fifty leaders met in Chisinau for the summit of the recently inaugurated European Political Community initiative.

Information on the principles and objectives of Poland’s foreign policy (the so-called exposé), delivered by Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on April 13th, points at the strategic vacuum that Warsaw has been in.

During the last summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Ankara on 16th of March 2023, president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed Armenia with a demand that the so-called “Western Azerbaijanis” must be guaranteed a safe return as a condition for the safety and rights of Karabakh Armenian population, on a basis of alleged reciprocity.

I was very excited about the invitation from the Polish Embassy in Tbilisi to attend a special conference in Georgia to mark the tragic anniversary of the new, full-size invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The gathering on 24 February, hosted by the respected Rondeli Foundation (the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies) and supported by the Ukrainian Embassy, turned out to be well-attended event, bringing together diplomats, experts and media. Even Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili, made a brief appearance. Debates reflected strong unity of views on the international consequences of the war and confrontation started by the Putin regime.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has uncovered serious shortcomings when it comes to a broader understanding of security among most Central European countries and their governments.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Ukraine’s resistance has produced several stunning reversals in the fortunes of war, drastically limiting the territorial and political gains of its adversary.