The Baltic Sea region and increasing international tension
DOI:
10.5922/2079-8555-2016-1-1
Baltic Sea Region
Russia
European Union
NATO
regional cooperation
Abstract
For many years, the Baltic Sea region stood out for its remarkable stability. The dramatic changes following the end of the Cold War did not have a profound effect on the territory. However, Russia's cooperation with other states in the Baltic Sea region began to lose momentum. This paper discusses the negative effects of the Ukrainian and Syrian crises and the increasing tension between Russia and other countries in the Baltic Sea region. In the short term, these trends are unlikely to re¬verse. Of the two possible scenarios — suspending relations until a solution to the political and military problems is found or trying to make use of every opportunity in economy, culture, science, education, etc., — the latter is preferable. A breakdown in regional cooperation will weaken Russia’s position. However, gaining positive momentum may prove instrumental in overcoming the confrontation between Russia and the West in the future.
1. Putin, V. 2006, Joint Press Conference with the Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Sec-retary General of the EU Council and EU High Representative for the Common Fo-reign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister of Iceland Geir Haarde following the Russia-EU summit mee-ting. November 24, City Hall, Helsinki, Kremlin.ru, available at: http://archive. kremlin.ru/text/appears/2006/11/114447.shtml (accessed 21.01.2016).
2. Ukaz Presidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 13.07.2007 g. No 872 «O prio-stanovlenii Rossijskoj Federaciej deijstvija Dogovora ob obychnyh vooruzhennyh silah v Evrope I svjazannyh s nim mezhdunarodnyh dogovorov [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 13.07.2007 No 872 "On the suspension of the Russian Federation participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and in related International Treaties”], 2007, Kremlin.ru, available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/25785 (accessed 21.01.2016).
3. Koncepcija vneshnej politiki Rossijskoj Federacii, 2013. Utverzhdena Pre-zidentom Rossijskoj Federacii V. V.Putinym 12 fevralja [Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. Approved by President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin on 12 February], 2013, Mid.ru, available at: http://archive.mid.ru/ brp_4.nsf/0/6D84DDEDEDBF7DA644257B160051BF7F (accessed 21.01.2016).
4. Ukaz Presidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 31.12.2015 g. No 683 «O Strategii nacional’noj bezopasnosti Rossijskoj Federacii» [Decree of the President of the Rus¬sian Federation of 31.12.2015, No 683 "On National Security Strategy of the Rus¬sian Federation"], 2015, kremlin.ru, available at: http://static.kremlin.ru/media/ events/files/ru/l8iXkR8XLAtxeilX7JK3XXy6Y0AsHD5v.pdf (accessed 21.01.2016).
5. Federal’nyj konstitucionnyj zakon ot 21.03.2014 g. No 6-FKZ «O prinjatii v Rossijskuju Federaciju Respubliki Krym I obrazovanii v sostave Rossijskoj Federa-cii novyh sub’ektov – Respubliki Krym I goroda federal’nogo znachenija Sevasto-polja» [Federal Constitutional Law “On acceptance of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the creation of new constituent entities of the Russian Fe¬deration – the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol”], 2014, Krem¬lin.ru, available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/38220 (accessed 21.01.2016).
6. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 27 March, 2014, Territo-rial integrity of Ukraine, no 68/262, available at: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_ doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/68/262&referer=/english/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
7. Ischenko, R. 2015, Iskupitel’nyj vykup [The redemptive ransom], News-balt.ru, available at: http://newsbalt.ru/analytics/2015/04/iskupitelnyy-vykup/ (ac-cessed 21.01.2016).
8. Zhirinovskij v Arteke rasskazal o zhelanii vernut’ Rossiju v granicy dorevolyucionnoj imperii [Zhirinovsky in "Artek" spoke about the desire to return to the borders of pre-revolutionary Russian Empire], 2015, C-inform.info, available at: http://www.c-inform.info/news/id/29464 (accessed 21.01.2016).
9. Karaljunaijte, U. 2014, V Litve prozvuchala ideja blokady Kaliningrada [In Lithuania, the idea of blockade of the Kaliningrad was said], DELFI, available at: http://ru.delfi.lt/news/economy/v-litve-prozvuchala-ideya-blokady-kaliningrada.d?id=65537378 (accessed 21.01.2016).
10. Remarks by President Obama at 25th Anniversary of Freedom Day – War-saw, Poland, 2014, The White House, available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/04/remarks-president-obama-25th-anniversary-freedom-day-warsaw-poland (accessed 21.01.2016).
11. NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, 2015, NATO, available at: http://www.nato. int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2015_12/20151130_1512-factsheet_rap_en.pdf (accessed 21.01.2016).
12. Voennye itogi goda: chem zapomnilsja 2015 god dlja rossijskoj armii [The military results of the year: the memorable 2015 for the Russian army.], 2015, Zvezda TV Channel, available at: http://tvzvezda.ru/news/forces/content/201512310750- ycjf.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
13. Chernenko, E. 2015, Rossija i SSHA ogljanulis’ na 1945-yj [Russia and the United States looked at the year 1945], Kommersant, available at: http:// www.kommersant.ru/doc/2715103 (accessed 21.01.2016).
14. Gref, G. 2015, Tekuschij krizis trebuet sistemnyh izmenenij [The current crisis requires a system change.], available at: http://council.gov.ru/press-center/ news/62225/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
15. Ukaz Prezidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 06.08.2014 g. No 560 «O prime-nenii otdel’nyh special’nyh ekonomicheskih mer v celjah obespechenija bezopas-nosti Rossijskoj Federacii» [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 06.08.2014. № 560 "On the application of certain special economic measures in or-der to ensure the security of the Russian Federation"], 2014, Kremlin.ru. available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/46404 (accessed 21.01.2016).
16. Baltic Leaders Balk At Anti-IS Coalition With Russia, 2015, Vaelisminis-teerium, available at: http://www.vm.ee/et/uudised/eesti-valismeedias-19-november- 2015-25-november-2015 (accessed 21.01.2016).
17. Statement by the NATO Secretary General after the extraordinary NAC mee¬ting, 2015, NATO, available at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_125052.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
18. Defence Minister visited soldiers in Skwierzyna, 2015, Ministry of Na-tional Defence Republic of Poland, available at: http://en.mon.gov.pl/news/article/ latest-news/2016-01-16-defence-minister-visited-soldiers-in-skwierzyna/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
19. Sipilä, J., Löfven, S. 2016, Vår alliansfrihet bidrar till stabilitet i norra Eu-ropa, Dagens Nyheter, 10 januari.
20. Rossija gotova k konkurencii s saudovskoj neft’ju na evropeijskom rynke [Russia is ready to compete with Saudi oil on the European market], 2015, Prav-da.ru, available at: http://www.pravda.ru/news/economics/materials/oil/14-10-2015/ 1278203-neft-0/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
21. Li Kecjan prinjal uchastie v 4-oj vstreche rukovoditelej KNR i stran Cen-tral’noj I Vostochnoj Evropy [Li Keqiang attended the 4th meeting of the leaders of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe], 2015, Russian.news.cn, available at: http://russian.news.cn/2015-11/25/c_134851187_2.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
22. Prime Minister urges Chinese entrepreneurs to strengthen cooperation with Latvia, 2015, Latvia-China Business Council, available at: http://www.latviachina. eu/en/aktuali/prime-minister-urges-chinese-entrepreneurs-to-strengthen-cooperation- with-latvia/66/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
23. Beijing Foreign Studies University, School of European Languages and Cultures Official Web-site, available at: http://en.bfsu.edu.cn/index.php?s=/Home/ article/index/category/UndergraduateProgrammes (accessed 21.01.2016).
24. Liuhto, K. 2015. Motivations of Russian firms to invest abroad: how do sanctions affect Russia’s outward foreign direct investment? Baltiс region, no. 4, p. 19—20. DOI: 10.5922/2079-8555-2015-4-1.
2. Ukaz Presidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 13.07.2007 g. No 872 «O prio-stanovlenii Rossijskoj Federaciej deijstvija Dogovora ob obychnyh vooruzhennyh silah v Evrope I svjazannyh s nim mezhdunarodnyh dogovorov [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 13.07.2007 No 872 "On the suspension of the Russian Federation participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and in related International Treaties”], 2007, Kremlin.ru, available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/25785 (accessed 21.01.2016).
3. Koncepcija vneshnej politiki Rossijskoj Federacii, 2013. Utverzhdena Pre-zidentom Rossijskoj Federacii V. V.Putinym 12 fevralja [Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. Approved by President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin on 12 February], 2013, Mid.ru, available at: http://archive.mid.ru/ brp_4.nsf/0/6D84DDEDEDBF7DA644257B160051BF7F (accessed 21.01.2016).
4. Ukaz Presidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 31.12.2015 g. No 683 «O Strategii nacional’noj bezopasnosti Rossijskoj Federacii» [Decree of the President of the Rus¬sian Federation of 31.12.2015, No 683 "On National Security Strategy of the Rus¬sian Federation"], 2015, kremlin.ru, available at: http://static.kremlin.ru/media/ events/files/ru/l8iXkR8XLAtxeilX7JK3XXy6Y0AsHD5v.pdf (accessed 21.01.2016).
5. Federal’nyj konstitucionnyj zakon ot 21.03.2014 g. No 6-FKZ «O prinjatii v Rossijskuju Federaciju Respubliki Krym I obrazovanii v sostave Rossijskoj Federa-cii novyh sub’ektov – Respubliki Krym I goroda federal’nogo znachenija Sevasto-polja» [Federal Constitutional Law “On acceptance of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the creation of new constituent entities of the Russian Fe¬deration – the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol”], 2014, Krem¬lin.ru, available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/bank/38220 (accessed 21.01.2016).
6. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 27 March, 2014, Territo-rial integrity of Ukraine, no 68/262, available at: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_ doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/68/262&referer=/english/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
7. Ischenko, R. 2015, Iskupitel’nyj vykup [The redemptive ransom], News-balt.ru, available at: http://newsbalt.ru/analytics/2015/04/iskupitelnyy-vykup/ (ac-cessed 21.01.2016).
8. Zhirinovskij v Arteke rasskazal o zhelanii vernut’ Rossiju v granicy dorevolyucionnoj imperii [Zhirinovsky in "Artek" spoke about the desire to return to the borders of pre-revolutionary Russian Empire], 2015, C-inform.info, available at: http://www.c-inform.info/news/id/29464 (accessed 21.01.2016).
9. Karaljunaijte, U. 2014, V Litve prozvuchala ideja blokady Kaliningrada [In Lithuania, the idea of blockade of the Kaliningrad was said], DELFI, available at: http://ru.delfi.lt/news/economy/v-litve-prozvuchala-ideya-blokady-kaliningrada.d?id=65537378 (accessed 21.01.2016).
10. Remarks by President Obama at 25th Anniversary of Freedom Day – War-saw, Poland, 2014, The White House, available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/04/remarks-president-obama-25th-anniversary-freedom-day-warsaw-poland (accessed 21.01.2016).
11. NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, 2015, NATO, available at: http://www.nato. int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2015_12/20151130_1512-factsheet_rap_en.pdf (accessed 21.01.2016).
12. Voennye itogi goda: chem zapomnilsja 2015 god dlja rossijskoj armii [The military results of the year: the memorable 2015 for the Russian army.], 2015, Zvezda TV Channel, available at: http://tvzvezda.ru/news/forces/content/201512310750- ycjf.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
13. Chernenko, E. 2015, Rossija i SSHA ogljanulis’ na 1945-yj [Russia and the United States looked at the year 1945], Kommersant, available at: http:// www.kommersant.ru/doc/2715103 (accessed 21.01.2016).
14. Gref, G. 2015, Tekuschij krizis trebuet sistemnyh izmenenij [The current crisis requires a system change.], available at: http://council.gov.ru/press-center/ news/62225/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
15. Ukaz Prezidenta Rossijskoj Federacii ot 06.08.2014 g. No 560 «O prime-nenii otdel’nyh special’nyh ekonomicheskih mer v celjah obespechenija bezopas-nosti Rossijskoj Federacii» [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 06.08.2014. № 560 "On the application of certain special economic measures in or-der to ensure the security of the Russian Federation"], 2014, Kremlin.ru. available at: http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/46404 (accessed 21.01.2016).
16. Baltic Leaders Balk At Anti-IS Coalition With Russia, 2015, Vaelisminis-teerium, available at: http://www.vm.ee/et/uudised/eesti-valismeedias-19-november- 2015-25-november-2015 (accessed 21.01.2016).
17. Statement by the NATO Secretary General after the extraordinary NAC mee¬ting, 2015, NATO, available at: http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_125052.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
18. Defence Minister visited soldiers in Skwierzyna, 2015, Ministry of Na-tional Defence Republic of Poland, available at: http://en.mon.gov.pl/news/article/ latest-news/2016-01-16-defence-minister-visited-soldiers-in-skwierzyna/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
19. Sipilä, J., Löfven, S. 2016, Vår alliansfrihet bidrar till stabilitet i norra Eu-ropa, Dagens Nyheter, 10 januari.
20. Rossija gotova k konkurencii s saudovskoj neft’ju na evropeijskom rynke [Russia is ready to compete with Saudi oil on the European market], 2015, Prav-da.ru, available at: http://www.pravda.ru/news/economics/materials/oil/14-10-2015/ 1278203-neft-0/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
21. Li Kecjan prinjal uchastie v 4-oj vstreche rukovoditelej KNR i stran Cen-tral’noj I Vostochnoj Evropy [Li Keqiang attended the 4th meeting of the leaders of China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe], 2015, Russian.news.cn, available at: http://russian.news.cn/2015-11/25/c_134851187_2.htm (accessed 21.01.2016).
22. Prime Minister urges Chinese entrepreneurs to strengthen cooperation with Latvia, 2015, Latvia-China Business Council, available at: http://www.latviachina. eu/en/aktuali/prime-minister-urges-chinese-entrepreneurs-to-strengthen-cooperation- with-latvia/66/ (accessed 21.01.2016).
23. Beijing Foreign Studies University, School of European Languages and Cultures Official Web-site, available at: http://en.bfsu.edu.cn/index.php?s=/Home/ article/index/category/UndergraduateProgrammes (accessed 21.01.2016).
24. Liuhto, K. 2015. Motivations of Russian firms to invest abroad: how do sanctions affect Russia’s outward foreign direct investment? Baltiс region, no. 4, p. 19—20. DOI: 10.5922/2079-8555-2015-4-1.