MAIN TAKEAWAY OF THE MONTH
Increased tensions along the Ukrainian border with Russia have been the most important source of concern for European stability and in particular for NATO’s Eastern Flank. Russia’s most recent demands include a guarantee that NATO will not expand further and that it will cease military operations in Eastern Europe. While the military threat of Russia invading Ukraine has reached a minimum at the beginning of January, negotiations are ongoing between Russia and the West. Talks between Russia and NATO on the matter are scheduled for January. A video call between the U.S. President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin is said to be held later, in February. All in all, the Ukrainian crisis and its reverberations is likely to dominate the first quarter of 2022.
At the same time, the problems at the border between Poland and Belarus aren’t going away. NATO and the EU are working in close cooperation to address a potential threat coming from a renewed migration crisis affecting the region and Europe. In the Balkans, the Bosnian Serb lawmakers have voted to withdraw from state-level institutions, bringing the Serb entity closer to secession, and sparking concerns about a possible regional destabilization.
More on the above as well as recent updates about Nord Stream 2 and other notable events having an impact in our regions can be found below, in our newsletter, which we hope you’ll enjoy! Let us know your feedback and any further question you may have regarding the wider regional stability.