ABSTRACT
This chapter carries on from to some extent by looking at how US Russian tensions have affected conflicts and conflict resolution in the Black Sea region but it also looks at the many other factors involved. Indeed, the US Russian tensions which would seem to have affected EU (European Union) policies on conflict resolution the most are within the areas of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) enlargement and spheres of influence, as well as disagreements over the conflict regions themselves, especially with regard to the Russia Georgia War in August 2008. Firstly, the war in Georgia, although initially seeming like an internal war between Georgia and South Ossetia, could be argued to have been caused in part by US Russian tensions, almost a throw-back to a proxy war as in the days of the Cold War when paranoia could be said to have been at its highest level on both sides.
