Germany's Trilateral Initiative with Russia and Poland

In 2014, Germany will struggle to balance its relationship with Russia with the interests of Berlin's Central and Eastern European allies. To this end, Germany's new coalition government will attempt to boost its trilateral interactions with Poland and Russia in order to increase cooperation and defuse tensions in the region. This trilateral arrangement likely will focus on several contentious issues, including the European Union's energy disputes with Russia, missile defense and the future of Ukraine.