Beyond Asymmetry: The Ukraine War and the Baltics’ Role in Redefining EU-Russia Relations

Since 1991 the main issue at stake for the Baltics has concerned their security in the post-Soviet space within the architecture of the European security and cooperation system. Whereas NATO membership was—and is more than ever—the core element of the Baltics’ security doctrine, thought to meet their expectations with regard to the fear of possible Russian aggression, the latest—ongoing—full-scale war launched by Moscow against Ukraine has put the West for the first time in jeopardy of a direct confrontation with Russia as the main heir of the Soviet Union. The Baltics have shown particular activeness in trying to influence the new contours of the EU’s relations with Russia. Their engagement on the diplomatic field as well as through deliveries of lethal arms to Ukraine has been invertedly proportional to the asymmetry characterising their position in international relations in terms of hard powers.