4. Russia: conflicts and peaceful settlement of disputes*
Vladimir Baranovsky

In 1997 Russia intensified its efforts to promote settlement of the unresolved conflicts over territory and status across the former Soviet Union. At the same time there was growing concern in Moscow about challenges to its position from competing influences, particularly in the oil-rich areas of Central Asia.

Russia played a prominent role in launching and promoting a political reconciliation process in Tajikistan. It increased pressure for negotiations between the conflicting parties in the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova, Abkhazia in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, where the peace process remained fragile. Russia and Chechnya moved towards a practical modus vivendi in their postwar relations, although the future status of Chechnya remained an open question.

While Russia continued to place a high foreign policy priority on developing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a reliable Russian-centred power pole, the viability of this policy was called into doubt as CIS member states increasingly sought to distance themselves from Russia.