MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Political forces who might advocate for peaceful dialogue have disappeared in Europe, and the pan-European course has shifted toward preparation for war, Dmitry Lanko, the head of the master's program in Baltic and Nordic Studies at St. Petersburg State University, has said.

"It's time for us to stop thinking that there are two parties in modern Europe - the 'war party' and the pragmatic party. Here, in the Baltic and Nordic countries, where I'm directly involved in research, I can't distinguish between the former and the latter. Today's elites in the Baltic and Nordic countries are preparing for war not because they can't count money. They're preparing for war because they're very good at counting money," he said at a Valdai International Club discussion on "The Baltic Region: Risks of Military-Political Escalation."

"They think that preparing for war will help them restart the economy, narrow the economic gap between the southern and northern shores of the Baltic Sea, and generally restore the post-war economic boom," the expert added.

He believes that diplomacy "really works."

"What our diplomats have been doing for the last five years is a titanic task. But at the same time, we see results," Lanko noted. "We see how our point of view is reaching people’s minds on the other side."