Security & Crisis Management International Conference “ATHENA 14” Athens June 2014 SECURITY IN THE EURASIA REGION Prof.Dr.N.Bekiarova Rakovski Military Academy, Sofia

Agenda THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF EURASIA REGION; SECURITY FACTORS; ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF SECURITY

SECURITY FACTORS: – Specific geopolitical, economic and historical role of Eurasia; – Huge reserves of natural resources and the routes of transmission ; – Human performance and quality of labor; – The growing economic, military and technical capabilities of the Eurasian countries; – Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the policy on Syria and Iran; – The crucial role of Russia;

ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF SECURITY The different geopolitical projects of major international players: Russia’s plans and ambitions; The U.S. strategy; European Union initiatives; China project "Economic Belt Silk Road“

ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF SECURITY The situation in the wider Black Sea area: The crisis in Ukraine; Frozen conflicts, unrecognized and partially recognized states. The armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno- Karabakh ( ); secessionist conflicts on the territory of Georgia in Abkhazia ( ), South Ossetia ( ) and the Transnistria conflict ( ) in Moldova;

SECURITY CHALLENGES Terrorism; Transnational organized crime; Illegal migration; Human trafficking, weapons and drugs; Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and commodities with a dual usage; Intellectual, communication and information piracy; Smuggling channels; Transnational pollution of the environment; Money laundering, etc.

CONCLUSIONS AND TRENDS Eurasia region will be the core of global uncertainty for many years. There is a small probability of conflict in the region leading to a new global military upheaval. The U.S. has no real rival for its global political role. Other countries with claims to global leadership said it, but do not have capabilities to do so.

Thank you for your attention