A lot will depend on the extent to which Russia and Ukraine are willing to make concessions on or across the main issue areas and the extent to which they and the presumptive security guarantors are willing and able to deliver on any deal that might ultimately shape up.
Differentiating between Belarus and Russia and carefully calibrating policies towards both countries should be among the priorities for western policy makers.
For the sake of Ukraine, the opportunity, however slim, to cooperate with China on stopping Russia’s aggression should not be discarded out of hand.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan poses local, regional and global stability challenges for the OSCE and its participating States.
China has become a significant actor in the OSCE area at a time of deep divisions among participating States.
Within days of Maia Sandu’s victory, the protracted conflict over Transnistria has moved to the centre stage again.
The protracted conflicts across the post-Soviet space have returned to the center of regional and international politics over the past several months.
Since the conclusion of the Minsk II agreement in February 2015, the situation in eastern Ukraine has evolved into a seemingly permanent yet highly volatile state of “no peace, no war.”
Many remember Russia’s Cold War strategy of invading, destabilizing and intervening in other countries’ governance. Putin has apparently once again made this his policy.