Abstract
The European continent remains fragmented with Eastern Europe as the most vulnerable region where the grey zone comprising Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia lacks security and challenges regional security. “Countries in-between” were distinguished in a grey zone basing on common internal and external threats; staying outside major functioning security and economic systems shaped by the EU/NATO and EEU/CSTO, actors of which exert a significant impact on the marginal states; burdened by asymmetry of power interaction with neighboring states and entities; weak and unstable political and economic systems. United by common threats and challenges the grey zones states can search for joint options to escape from the marginal status. Thus, regarding strategic environment and aiming to overcome the existing threats and challenges the grey zone states may navigate within the following options: maintaining current status quo; neutrality with strong guarantees of major powers; relying on strengthened / modified international security mechanisms or establishing new ones; sub-regional cooperation and alliances; bilateral security agreements with the US; joining one of the existing security systems. The author stresses that the most viable and efficient are the last three ones.
Highlights
When we look at the map of Europe, we can distinguish the security and economic systems shaped by the EU and NATO as well as one in the East shaped by Russia (Eurasian Economic Union with its Customs Union (EEU), Collective Security Treaty organization (CSTO)) and a marginal zone embracing Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
4. Exploitation of all possible options of bilateral and multilateral cooperation should be applied with a special attention to those which enforce resilience and do not contradict the goals of European and Euroatlantic integration
Summary
The idea of reliance on powerful allies like the US is very popular in Ukraine since Russian aggression. Ukraine looked for the status of the US Major Non-NATO ally (MNNA) in 2014 when the Ukraine Freedom Support Act[12] was approved by the US Congress. For Ukraine the MNNA status would have first and foremost a symbolic essence like a tool and leverage of Russia deterrence. That is why doing our fair share is clearly necessary14” Another form of bilateral rapprochement with the US in the security domain is the conclusion of the defense cooperation treaties which would have a symbolic meaning in case of the grey zone states. GlobalSecurity.Org, https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/mnna.htm “Major NonNATO Ally (MNNA)”, last entrance: 7.12.2017. Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2017/06/address_by_minis terfreelandoncanadasforeignpolicypriorities.html “Address by Minister Freeland on Canada’s foreign policy priorities”, June 6, 2017, last entrance: 1.12.2017
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