LTEuropos Sąjungos ir NATO plėtra Baltijos jūros regione ir tiesioginio priartėjimo prie Nepriklausomų Valstybių Sandraugos (NVS) valstybių - Rusijos, Baltarusijos ir Ukrainos - procesas nagrinėti daugelyje monografijų ir straipsnių. Paprastai tokio pobūdžio darbuose keliami arba specifiniai klausimai, susiję su konkrečiais šių organizacijų plėtros padariniais valstybėms kaimynėms, arba globalios problemos (hipotetiniai svarstymai, kokie galimi tolesnio euroatlantinių institucijų ir šių valstybių bendradarbiavimo scenarijai, koks galimas vieno ar kito scenarijaus įgyvendinimo poveikis Baltijos jūros regiono ir Europos saugumui). Pažymėtina, kad šiame akademiniame diskurse aktyviai dalyvavo ir Lietuvos mokslininkai. Kita vertus, iki šiol pasigendama konceptualaus tyrimo, kuriame būtų visapusiškai įvertintos Lietuvos - kaip ES ir NATO narės -užsienio politikos Rytų kryptimi perspektyvos. Tokio tyrimo poreikį rodo pastaruoju metu suintensyvėję akademiniai ir politiniai debatai tiek dėl Lietuvos vietos ir statuso NATO ir ES, tiek dėl šalies užsienio politikos tikslų ir uždavinių.
ENThe survey analyses how the fifteen year long experience of Lithuania in foreign policy, taking into consideration the changing international environment and while identifying its position and role in NATO and EU, can actually be used for projecting the perspectives of relations with the eastern neighbours. Three sections were invoked for the purpose: a) How the process of Lithuanian integration into EU and NATO influences Russian policy towards RF Kaliningrad Region? b) How domestic situation in Belarus is influenced by the proclaimed idea of confederate State of Russia and Belarus and how it correlates with the Lithuanian membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions? c) How the process of Ukrainian domestic policy influenced its geopolitical identity and what are specific measures that can be offered by Lithuania as EU and NATO Member State in order to contribute to geopolitical self-determination of Ukraine? [...]The survey reveals how specifically the said overlapping of interests of the West and Russia is taking place in cases of RF Kaliningrad Region, Belarus, and Ukraine. Revealed dynamics of the overlapping process of these structures, where periods of cooperation were followed by periods of tension, allowed identifying development of Lithuania's role as well: from Lithuania, which, in cooperation with its eastern neighbours created community of security in the area of former USSR, observing the principle of good neighbourhood; to Lithuania as intermediary between, e.g., Ukrainian and Western structures. It also must be noted that the overlapping of western and Russian interests, when it acquired a form of conflict, created tensions for Lithuania as well, for example during individual periods of relations with RD Kaliningrad Region and Belarus.