With Ukraine in Crisis, EU Courts Russia's Periphery

The Eastern Partnership, the grouping that since 2008 has represented the European Union's challenge to Russia's influence in the former Soviet periphery, is preparing to meet May 21-22 in Riga, Latvia. The summit, the partnership's fourth, comes amid the ongoing standoff in Ukraine between Russia and the West — a standoff precipitated by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's late 2013 decision to suspend EU association and free trade agreement talks stemming from the Eastern Partnership. Since the partnership's inception, some states have shifted toward the West while others have moved closer to Moscow. 

The Riga summit is unlikely to yield major agreements or dramatically alter the balance between Russia and the West. The ongoing European crisis and Russia's interventions in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will keep EU integration out of reach for the three states. However, the Eastern Partnership program will continue to serve as Europe's main tool to politically and economically integrate these nations and test Russia's influence in its periphery.