Russia's European agenda and the Baltic States

ENThe place and the role of the Baltic States in the region and in Europe cannot be assessed without taking into account the context of their relations with Russia. This paper analyses Russia’s approach towards European security architecture and establishes how the Baltic States are seen in this framework. This study seeks to achieve two key aims: The primary aim is to provide an analysis of Russia’s European agenda in general, and her agenda in the Baltic region in particular. The secondary aim is to define threats and challenges, as well as prospects, in Russo-Baltic relations. The attainment of these aims should provide Baltic foreign policy makers with new perspectives on the dynamics of Russo-Baltic relations. Seeking to facilitate the achievement of these aims the following objectives are set: First, to examine Russia’s European policy in the context of global developments and their interplay, including post-9/11 security environment and the dual enlargement of NATO and the EU; Second, to define the peculiarities of asymmetric relationship between Russia, as a great power, and the Baltic countries, as small states, in relation to the Knudsen model; Third, to assess to what extent Russia’s foreign policy trends vis-à-vis her ‘near abroad’ manifest themselves in Russo-Baltic interaction; Fourth, to analyse the role of international institutions and cooperation frameworks in mitigating relations between Russia and the Baltic States and in the changing security regime in the Baltic Sea region; Fifth, to provide future perspectives for the Baltic States in countering Russiarelated threats and shaping their cooperative relations with Russia.