Russia and the Eastern Partnership States in a New European Security Architecture

President Dmitry Medvedev’s European security initiatives of 2008-2009, culminating in his draft European Security Treaty of November 2009, sparked considerable debate regarding the potential and desirability of a new European (really Euro-Atlantic) security architecture. Generally, a rising cooperative mood in Russian-Western relations has set the tone for such deliberations. Still, formal progress has not really been achieved and the most difficult issues of Euro-Atlantic security have not been seriously addressed. Outstanding issues mainly involve the states of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, currently members of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) program. What progress has been made on issues of Euro-Atlantic security cannot be regarded as irreversible, unless: a) cornerstone components (like the new strategic arms control treaty, New START) are finalized and b) a road map for resolving difficult issues is established. Progress on these issues requires two things: political goodwill and new proposals for rational, realistic, and legitimate solutions to the challenges of the Eastern Partnership states. […]

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