Putin's foreign ambitions don't seem to be limited to Russia's post-Soviet sphere of influence. EU diplomats are concerned that Russia is establishing itself in the Balkans, and rightly so, says DW's Verica Spasovska, reports GHN based on DW.
The news that has leaked from confidential papers coming out of Germany's foreign ministry concerning Russia's political power games is worrying. Moscow, apparently, has placed great strategic importance on the Western Balkans.
According to observers, Russia is trying to align itself more closely with the region in order to diminish the influence of the European Union.
Russia has been putting out economic and political feelers into the Balkans for some time now. What's new, however, is how forcefully Russia is now pursuing its hegemonic demands outside of its post-Soviet sphere of influence.
Putin's Balkan strategy is clever and simple. Serbia, Montenegro and the Serbian part of Bosnia- Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska, traditionally have ties with Russia. Over the years, natural gas supplies, infrastructure projects and Russian investments have reinforced these links.
Russia is using the catastrophic economic situation in these countries to its advantage. On average, unemployment in the region is at 30 percent - almost every second young person is unemployed. Western investment has stagnated for years, with investors scared off due to corrupt administrations.
In Serbia, Russian firms are modernizing the national railway network, while in Montenegro a third of the companies are in Russian hands. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, still legally a protectorate of the West, Russia has been exerting pressure to reduce the West's influence.