Eastern Partnership initiative can strain relations with Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Polish-Swedish Eastern Partnership initiative can have a positive impact on the post soviet countries but it also can strain relations with Russia pursuing its own interests in the region, a Russian expert said.



"The initiative will bring insignificant improvement but at the same time will cause deterioration of relations with Russia, what will be a serious blow on the economy of the post soviet republics," said Sergei Markov, the Director of the Institute of Political Studies.



"Russia will be glad if citizens of the six countries to be engaged in the initiative are granted free entry to Europe. However, I do not think that it's the whole case. The real goal s establishment of political influence," he said.



Mr Markov supposes that EU political influence upon the post-Soviet states produces no positive results. "The EU was privy to frustrating the settlement process between Moldova and Transnistria. Actually, the low standard of living in Moldova is the direct responsibility of the EU, which also blocks any opportunity to normalize relations between Georgia and Abkhazia. The EU prevented Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan from forming a united economic zone and thereby, caused lowering in living standards in these countries," he said, Trend Azeri news agency reports.



Poland and Sweden unveiled joint proposals for a new Eastern Europe policy at an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday (26 May), in a mini-version of France's Mediterranean Union.



The Eastern Partnership envisages a multinational forum between the EU-27 and neighboring states Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.