Publication

This edition of the RAD examines Russia’s relations with three states in the Black Sea region – Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. The first article examines Russia’s political relationship with Turkey and emphasizes that the relationship may have suffered from serious disputes over Georgia and Syria, but it remains fundamentally sound. The second article looks at the economic relationship between Russia and Turkey in greater detail. The author describes some of the problems both sides face and highlights the different positions they’ve taken on how to solve them. The third article analyzes Russian-Bulgarian relations. According to the author, the fall of Boyko Borisov’s government has revived hopes in Moscow about resurrecting Russian energy projects in Bulgaria, most notably the Belene nuclear power station. The final article describes the strained dynamics at play in the Russian-Romanian relationship. Normalizing it remains difficult, the author concludes, because of incompatible national interests and the still hostile perceptions each country has of the other.