EAP Think Bridge - № 2020-18 - Neighbors, Partners, Problems
EAP Think Bridge - № 2020-18 - Neighbors, Partners, Problems

Author(s): Sergiy Gerasymchuk, Ludmila Nofit, Lasha Tughushi, Vadim Mojeiko, Richard Giragosian, Hanna Shelest
Subject(s): Regional Geography, Governance, International relations/trade, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: PIC Promotion of the Intercultural Cooperation
Keywords: Vladimir Zelenskyy; Covid-19 pandemic; Georgia elections;
Summary/Abstract: During the first year at the office, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelenskyy hardly managed to set, or at least explain his team’s foreign policy priorities. However, the Eastern Partnership did not go unnoticed on his agenda in multiple dimensions: as an instrument of cooperation with the European Union, as a region as a whole, and at the level of bilateral contacts with partner countries. Which of these tracks was more important and who did Ukraine manage to work with more efficiently while ignoring other capitals so far? The results of the first year of President Zelenskyy for the Eastern Partnership are analyzed by Hanna Shelest. Meanwhile, in May, election campaigns launched in three countries of the region. In Belarus it started with the crackdown on the opposition, fines and arrests. In Moldova President Dodon started campaigning, in spite of all anti-epidemic measures. In the meantime, in Georgia it is still not clear which law will be applied to the parliamentary elections in October as the authorities and the opposition are still failing to find compromise. Last month, Armenia was one of the first to lift quarantine restrictions and immediately faced a new wave of incidence of COVID-19. The prime minister and his entire family tested positively for coronavirus. In May, Azerbaijan faced a wave of arrests, with both the opposition and government officials behind bars. And Ukraine managed to get into two high-profile international scandals and new difficulties in relations with its partners, the United States and Georgia. All these and other major developments of the month in the countries of the Eastern Partnership are analyzed in our traditional reviews. /// CONTENT: Analytics: Neighbors, Partners, Problems - First year of Zelenskyy’s Policy in the EaP Region // Azerbaijan: Continued Arrests of Opposition and Executives // Armenia Staggers & Stumbles // Belarus: Street Parade and Elections in Time of Epidemic // Georgia: Searching for a Way Out of the Deadlock // The Moldovan Political Chess Game Started // Ukraine: Diplomatic Actions, Financial Expectations and the President’s May Theses

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