Rusya - AB İlişkilerinde Stratejik Ortaklıktan Stratejik Depresyona
From Strategic Partnership to Strategic Depression in Russia-EU Relations

Summary/Abstract: With the dissolution of the Eastern Block and the USSR, Russia, experiencing grave economic and political diffıculties, has required the economic and financial assistance of the EU. After 1990, in the following decade, Russia followed a soft line in strategic and political relations with the EU. With the election of Putin as the president of the Russian Federation and increase in the prices of commodities, primarily increase in natural gas and crude oil prices has immensely increased the national income of Russia. As a result of this, Russia’s political and strategic policies towards the EU have toughened. In addition to paying off most of her debts from the 1990s, Russia, who is very rich in natural gas and petrol reserves, has accumulated a very large reserve of dollars. Not needing EU’s financial assistance once Russia reached a certain economic strength, Putin has started making policies with hopes of re-living the golden age of the USSR. In this context, Russia has shown a sharp reaction to EU’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence; Georgian claim to sovereignty over the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and has carried out military intervention against Georgia in August 2008. Also she objects to NATO enlargement in the Blacksea and Caucasus region with Ukrainian, Azerbaijani and Georgian membership and uses the energy card against the EU as sanction. In the extension of this policy, she has rejected the renewal of the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (SPCA) signed with the EU and has requested significant modifications from the EU to the agreement, according to her own interests. Thus the Strategic Partnership initiated between Russia and the EU at the beginning of the 1990s has turned into a Strategic Depression.

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