The European Union’s Vilnius summit (November 28–29) helped to demonstrate that the Eastern Partnership program must pursue a more differentiated approach toward the individual partner countries.The EU had, broadly speaking, made identical offers to Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively. It proposed to each of them the... MORE

The construction of the South Stream natural gas pipeline was effectively put on hold after the European Commission (EC) announced that Russia’s bilateral agreements with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Greece and Austria were in breach of European Union law. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, director for energy markets... MORE

Typically, before delivering the annual address to the parliament, President Vladimir Putin takes a pause in order to build up expectations and create the impression of thoughtful work being carried out along crucial guidelines. Last week, however, the Kremlin staged a series of public events... MORE

On November 29, Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a visa-facilitation agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership summit. The agreement was signed by the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, by Linas Linkevicius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in... MORE

On November 21, a week before the planned signing of the Association Agreement (AA) with the European Union at the Eastern partnership Summit in Vilnius, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verhovna Rada) failed to pass legislation to allow the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko to receive medical... MORE

Among the European Union’s six Eastern Partnership countries (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), Moldova is moving closer to the EU at the fastest pace. The government, led successively by Vlad Filat (prime minister, 2009–2013) and Iurie Leanca (foreign affairs minister 2009–2013, prime minister... MORE

Ukraine’s refusal to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union at the November 28–29 summit in Vilnius has resulted in a sharp cooling of relations between President Viktor Yanukovych and the West. Kyiv is hosting the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)... MORE

Under Russian pressure, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign an association and free-trade agreement with the European Union at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius on November 29, triggering mass protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities (see EDM, December 2, 4). In the... MORE

According to Kirill Koktysh, an ethnic Belarusian and a professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, any souring of relations between Russia and Ukraine boosts Russia’s generosity with respect to Belarus. This is because relations with Ukraine are seen as a touchstone for... MORE

Recent developments in Ukraine have rapidly escalated into a political crisis after the authorities allowed special “Berkut” police units to crack down on protesters rallying in Kyiv’s Independence Square (“Maidan Nezalezhnosti”) before dawn on December 1, resulting in over a hundred people being injured. The... MORE