Financial Times discusses Eastern Partnership Summit under the headline ‘EU offers stronger ties to eastern nations — but cautiously.’ “The EU renewed its vows to strengthen ties with six former Soviet republics on Friday, but did it with circumspection and without offering any new pledges over future membership that would risk rattling Moscow,” the article reads.  

The Wall Street Journal  writes that “Tensions among Europe’s eastern neighbors surfaced on Friday, casting doubts on the European Union’s flagship initiative to deepen economic and political ties with the six former Soviet republics.”

According to Reuters, looking over their shoulders at Russia, the European Union and six former Soviet neighbors patched up their differences to renew vows of cooperation in the interests of peace and security. “Despite sympathy from some EU leaders, especially in the east, who urged firmer commitments to eventually bringing the most pro-Western states into the bloc, the EU's big powers are wary both of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin and of burdening the Union with impoverished and unstable new members,” the article reads.

The New York Times writes: “Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain showed up hours late, but the absentee who really mattered — and haunted all discussion during a two-day meeting of leaders from Europe and former Soviet lands — was President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who had not even been invited.”  

Deutsche Welle notes that the EU and eastern partners were engaged in delicate balancing act over Russia. “The EU's fourth Eastern Partnership summit has wrapped up with the Western bloc and its eastern neighbors reaffirming their vows of cooperation. However, the summit also exposed strains over relations with Moscow,” the article reads.

The European newspaper Politico published an article entitled ‘Eastern Partnership summit fails to impress.’ The three ex-Soviet republics hoping for much closer ties with the EU got little out of the latest Eastern Partnership summit. Expectations were pretty low going into the Eastern Partnership summit and in the end the meeting between European Union leaders and six post-Soviet republics lived up to that unambitious standard,” the newspaper writes.

Under the headline ‘EU's Cynical Plan to Use Eastern Europe,’ Bloomberg View writes: “The European Union doesn't have much to offer to the six former Soviet republics to its east. Still, three of the partnership nations -- Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine -- aren't going to abandon their efforts to get closer to Europe, because the alternative is even worse: embracing Vladimir Putin's Russia. The other three -- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus -- don't expect much from Europe, anyway.”

Referring to the Riga Summit, The Guardian writes that the EU summit pledges €1.8bn to Ukraine but Russia remains elephant in room. “European leaders in Riga [are] accused of expecting Eastern Partnership countries to bring in reforms for little in return while Kremlin offers ‘cash with fewer strings,’” the article reads. 

RIA Novosti writes: “At Riga Summit the EU expressed itself in favor of ‘developing and deepening’ of relations with Eastern Partnership member-countries. In the final declaration, the Summit participants confirmed the importance of ‘developing deep cooperation’ between the EU and six countries of the program – Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The preamble was followed by a clarification: The partnership will be differentiated.”

RBK stresses that the controversies over Crimea didn’t prevent the Eastern Partnership Summit from adopting a declaration meeting everyone’s views.