BSF: Russia a troublemaker in the Balkans, EU has no alternative

BELGRADE, (Patria) - Russia is trying to act as a "troublemaker" in the Balkans, refusing to accept that each country has the right to choose which organization it wants to belong to, including NATO, but its policy is not yielding significant results because for the region, EU membership has no alternative in Russia, some of the assessments by participants of the Belgrade Security Forum panel on Russia-West relations.

Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Clarissa Duvinjo, said that the question for Russia is what the problem is with the EU and NATO wanting more security, stability, and freedom in the Western Balkans region and Europe, Tanjug reports.

- NATO is very interested in better relations and cooperation with Russia, but we have clear red lines, which is that we do not tell others what to do. We offer dialogue to Russia, but every country has the right to join the organization it wishes, Russia does not accept this, and from our perspective, there is no compromise on this - she said at the panel "Beyond Ideology: West-Russia Relations and Political Pragmatism".

Visiting Fellow at Carnegie Europe, Stefan Lehne, says he often reads articles claiming the Balkans will be the new arena between the EU, US, and Russia, but he personally does not believe it.

The European Union attracts Western Balkan countries, although it sometimes has an ambivalent relationship, and Russia dislikes these goals and obstructs them as much as it can, he says, adding that Russia today, apart from in energy, does not have a hegemonic policy.

- Russia is not a player in the true sense of the word. We cannot say that its policy in the region over the last 20 years has yielded any significant results because most countries are in NATO and increasingly in the EU. Russia has little to offer; it tries to provoke frustration, to sabotage, but it has neither the ambition nor the means to take the helm in the region - says Lehne.

He emphasizes that for the region, EU membership has no alternative in Russia.

- I am more concerned about the EU's lack of action than Russia's actions - he said.

Pavel Luzin, columnist for Ridl media and analyst for Russia and the Middle East at Wikistrat, says that the only way for relations between Russia and the West to change lies in positive changes in the Russian political system.

- Even a hypothetical withdrawal of Putin would not be enough. The Russian political system is significantly more sophisticated than classic dictatorial regimes. Things must change in Russia; institutions must change because they are not working properly now. There is another way - a high level of self-isolation - he says.

According to Luzin, Russia does not care about the prosperity of the Balkans; it does not offer a model of positive modernization but only tries to be a "troublemaker" for Europe because it cannot adapt to a globalized world.

- That is why it will try to destroy integrity - European, Euro-Atlantic. Modernization would kill the Russian political elites; they would not survive - believes Luzin.

Luzin also claims that Russians do not love Putin but, as an extremely demoralized society, fear the future.

Finnish researcher Niklas Novaki from the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies recalled that his country had problematic relations with the "bear in the east" in the past and that a certain degree of pragmatism in relations with Russia is therefore necessary.

- Whether we like it or not, and sometimes we don't, Russia is our neighbor, and it is important that we ensure our own security by keeping communication channels with the Kremlin open, even though we support the sanctions imposed on Moscow - he says.

Finland is militarily neutral but oriented towards the EU and supports its foreign policy.

Ulrich Kuehn, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, points out that preserving peace and not changing borders by force are key values that Russia and the West should share.

- Russia's annexation of Crimea and the violation of Ukraine's integrity are fundamentally contrary to the interests of the West - he says, adding that the West should limit Russia's options and prevent Russia-China partnership. Russia needs to convince its European neighbors that it is not a threat to their security," he said.