Continuing border skirmishes and incidents have hampered efforts to officially demarcate the border between the countries. Concern is growing about the stability of the late 2020 Moscow-negotiated armistice.

Last week, the participants in the OPEC+ deal agreed on a gradual increase in oil production from August, ending discussions that lasted around three weeks.

The country exported 13.546 million tonnes of oil for $5.744 billion and 10.348 billion cubic metres of natural gas for $1.586 billion in the first half of 2021.

The reality is none of the three countries are formal candidates for EU membership in the near future.