Thus Der Spiegel today. “Berlin has begun to see Moscow as an adversary rather than as a potential partner,” explains the newspaper. “The German government is concerned about efforts by Russian president Vladimir Putin to increase his influence in the Balkans. Stopping him, however, could prove difficult.” The article follows yesterday’s lecture held by the German chancellor at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, where she went following the G20 summit in Brisbane. The lecture focused on Russia and its sphere of influence. As the article argues, Putin is now rebelling against American monopoly in foreign intervention:

Whereas the US cavalierly intervenes around the world, Washington reproaches Russia for doing exactly that, Putin said with a view toward Ukraine. “What Jupiter is allowed, the ox is not,” he said referring to the Latin phrase often used to indicate a double standard. But the bear, he continued, “will not even bother to ask for permission.” The bear, he said, is the “master of the taiga” and will not cede it to anyone. Putin then said that he doesn’t intend to advance into other climactic zones. The taiga refers to the forested region stretching all the way across Russia, and the sentence from Putin’s speech has now led Berlin officials to wonder where the taiga ends for Putin and where other climactic zones might begin.

Apparently, the taiga reaches well into the Balkans. Merkel thus talked not only about Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, but also about the fraught peninsula. In addition to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, she is also concerned about Bulgaria. The article does not mention Romania and Hungary, but they are squarely within the sphere of Russian influence, as well. For completeness, Macedonia should be added to this list. And so should be Greece, albeit on religious grounds. Although Merkel is not yet ready to define the borders of Putin’s taiga in Europe, she is certainly right to point at the Balkans as an area where Russia and America will have conflicting interests. In this context, it is good to remember that America is deeply entrenched in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Given Kosovo, Albania is also within its sphere of influence, so to speak. This is where the taiga definitely ends.