On 23 February 2021, the Center for European Studies of the Rutgers State University of New Jersey (USA) organized an online workshop on “Post-Soviet Spaces: Conflagrations and Integrations” with the aim to discuss the impacts of disputed territories within post-Soviet space on the European integration process. The workshop consisted of the two panels; the first one, moderated by Mikheil Mirziashvili, Center for Development and Democracy, concerned the territories of Ukraine and Georgia temporarily occupied by Russia, the second, moderated by Thomas De Wall, Carnegie Europe, addressed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Natalya Belitser, an expert/senior researcher of the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Kyiv, was invited as the speaker from Ukraine. The speakers were asked to prepare their Power-Point presentations, available for the participants by the ‘share screens‘ option. The audience consisted mostly of Rutgers faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates across disciplines who were interested in but not familiar with the region.

Since the Republic of Moldova was not presented at the workshop, Mrs. Belitser was also asked to include some information relevant to the separatist Transnistrian region of the RM – in particular, related to the issue of self-determination and status of the conflict areas.

The updated version of her presentation named “Post-2014 Ukraine: occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas in view of vectors of Ukraine’s regional and global integration” is avalable on this link.