NATO-Russia Clash over the Pro-Western Post-Soviet Republics

Abstract

The future of the ex-Soviet republics represents a central point of contention between NATO and Russia. The article analyzes the situation in thepost-Soviet space since the collapse of the USSR. It refers to NATO and Russia’s strategies towards the eastern European states. The pieceexplains the motivation behind the pro-Western objectives of ex-Soviet states, particularly the Baltics, Ukraine, and Georgia. The paper consists ofthree major parts. These include the aspiration of post-Soviet republics to join NATO (1), the eastward enlargement of Euro-Atlantic structures (2),and the Russian response to NATO eastward enlargement (3). The study is organized around the following question: What has been the nature ofthe NATO-Russia clash over the pro-Western post–Soviet republics? Its primary method, literature review, examines scholarly articles and books.As for the scientific relevance of the paper, the issue of NATO integration is still unachievable for particular ex-Soviet states. Hence, explaining theroots of confrontation and finding the ways of solution are likely to fill the existing gaps and give an impetus to the pro-Western states to realize theirobjectives.Keywords: Baltics, Georgia, Integration, NATO, Russia, Ukraine