The internationally unrecognised break-away region of South Ossetia, de iure still part of Georgia, announced it would hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation. The declared President of the region Leonid Tibilov stated the referendum is driven due to concerns of NATO expansion and so called anti-Russian and anti-Ossetia rhetoric from Georgia. The region has stated earlier it was planning to hold a referendum. It is unsure if the Russian Federation would accept the outcome in case of a positive vote in the illegal referendum. The region already declared independence in 1992 and Georgia effectively lost the remainder of its control over the region after the Georgia-Russia war of 2008, when Russian troops drove out Georgian forces in both South Ossetia and Abkhazia. 

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk surprisingly narrowly survived a no-confidence vote on 16 February, following earlier calls by President Poroshenko to resign amidst criticism of not bringing about sufficient reforms to the country. There seemed to be a majority earlier for a no-confidence vote for which 226 votes were needed. In the end however, only 194 deputies voted in favour of the no-confidence vote. Following the negative vote another 2 parties left the coalition on 17 and 18 February: the Self-Reliance (Samopomich) party and earlier the Fatherland party (Batkivshchyna), depriving the coalition of a majority in parliament. Earlier in September last year, the Radical Party already left the coalition.  

EU Leaders have agreed during a Council of Ministers meeting on 15 February 2016 that the targetted sanctions on 170 Belarus officials will be lifted. The sanctions already had been suspended before. The move comes following an improvement in EU-Belarus relations following the troubles in the Ukraine during which Belarus played a mediating role. While not all sanctions were lifted, it means the end of the isolation of Belarus, that has been faced by increasing sanctions since 2006. In the following statement by the Council of Ministers, the Ministers stated "There is an opportunity for EU-Belarus relations to develop on a more positive agenda and that progress in a variety of fields can better be achieved through enhanced channels of communication".

Leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) met in Moscow. The meeting was devoted to the problem of border destabilization by terrorist and extremist groups. In the statement released after the meeting, the leaders warned that anti-terrorism actions should be in accordance with the UN Charter and international law. Defeating the Islamic State was identified as a core priority. Furthermore, they highlighted threats to security in Central Asia due to the increased activity of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.

Between 14-16 December, the 4th International Cultural Forum was held in St. Petersburg. Representatives of nearly 70 countries attended the event, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova. The event was held by the General Assembly and devoted to the 70th anniversary of UNESCO. During the event, 20 agreements were signed related to cultural cooperation. Furthermore a Declaration on the protection of culture in the areas of armed conflict was presented.

Armenians voted in favor of constitutional amendments during a referendum. The amendments included a limitation of the competences of the President, while at the same time extending the powers of the Prime Minister and the Parliament. Doing so, Armenia shifted from the present presidential system to a parliamentary system. According to the opposition, the constitutional reform has extended the rule of President Serzh Sargsyan, whose term in office ends in 2018. Due to the constitutional changes, he is able to continue to rule as Prime Minister. The reform was favored by 63% of the voters while 32% voted against. The turnout was 51%.