Zespół: Eastern Team

Belarus and Ukraine: a new market for crude oil from the US?

In 2020, both Belarus and Ukraine purchased US crude oil, albeit for different reasons. The scale of import is small, but the market and international conditions could change it. In particular, if Belarus decides to create a more diversified structure of imports, it could count on the US (export of a similar crude oil grade). Unfortunately, the current political situation is not...

The Importance of Local Elections in the Political Life of Ukraine

Local elections in Ukraine will be held on October 25, 2020. The growth in the number of candidates for local government bodies, the transfer of politicians from the central to the local level, the strengthening of the local elites and their self-organization into political parties to fight for power, the involvement of professional political strategists in the election process,...

Belarus and Russia – a Fraternal Iron Grip

On September 14, 2020 in Sochi, Vladimir Putin met with Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and the meeting, as expected, did not bring about any crucial changes. It was supposed to be a symbolic message – Russia has confirmed that Belarus would remain in the sphere of its influence and in the “Russian world” the West should not interfere. Humiliated and put in a spot, Alyaksandr...

Ukraine and NATO – a turbulent relationship

Further complications with regard to the agreement on a border treaty between Estonia and Russia (Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik)

The border treaty is one of the most problematic aspects of Estonian-Russian relations. The political consensus developed in Estonia in recent years has been undermined recently by the populist Estonian Conservative People’s Party (EKRE), which has raised the issue of territorial claims against Russia. The controversial statements of EKRE politicians demanding the return of...

100 days of Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidency: foreign affairs (Hanna Bazhenova)

27 August marked 100 days of Volodymyr Zelensky’s term as the president of Ukraine. In this time, he succeeded in acquiring control over the executive government and legislature. The initial foreign visits of the president manifested that the general direction of Ukrainian foreign affairs will not be altered. The issue of Donbas and relations with the Russian Federation remain...

Economic cooperation between Belarus and China – the pursuit of independence from Russia (Roman Romantsov)

An evident intensification of cooperation between Belarus and the People's Republic of China has been observed since 2017. Alexander Lukashenko’s latest presidential visit to China occurred on 25-27 April in the framework of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. During the trip, the president met with several politicians, e.g. Xi Jinping, the President of...

The Moldovan “grand chessboard” (Jakub Olchowski)

A change of power occurred in Moldova in June. It was motivated by an understanding and engagement of external actors – Russia, USA, and the EU. This understanding bears significant implications not only for Moldova, but in a greater picture, for the structure of the international order as well, especially in Eastern Europe. It may stimulate the emergence of a new, more...