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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Cheney Runs Finger along Caspian Seabed |
| 2006-05-07 |
| U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Kazakhstan yesterday. He refrained from harsh commentary on the state of Kazakh democracy. The main topic of his negotiations in Astana is energy, in particular a natural gas pipeline along the floor of the Caspian Sea bypassing Russia. During his meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Cheney was generous with compliments. “We are grateful to you for the work you did in Afghanistan and Iraq and for your cooperation in the global fight against terrorism. Kazakhstan has been a friend and an important strategic partner of the United States. All America has been impressed by the progress Kazakhstan has made in the last 15 years,” Cheney said. Those words contrast sharply with the statements he made about Russia a day earlier in Vilnius. There, Cheney sharply accused Moscow of weakening democracy. No similar accusations were made by Cheney against Astana. Cheney plans to meet with leading Kazakh opposition members during his visit, including Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, leader of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan Party, who was recently released after serving a four-year prison sentence. The Kazakh Interior Ministry forbade Zhakiyanov to leave his home in Almaty to meet with U.S. vice president in Astana yesterday, however. Cheney did not comment on the incident and stuck with the more important matter. It was clear that the key question in the negotiations was the possibility of building a pipeline along the Caspian Sea floor, which would make it possible to export hydrocarbons from Kazakhstan through Turkey to Europe, bypassing Russia. European Commission representative on energy Andris Piebalgs was also in Astana yesterday to lobby for Kazakhstan's inclusion in the already extant Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline. If that project, which the European Union is prepared to finance, is implemented, Russia will lose control of Caspian natural gas and Europe will have an alternative source of energy supplies. Another topic that may be included on the agenda of the negotiations is the inclusion of Kazakhstan in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. That pipeline began service last year and is a favorite of the U.S. administration, after Washington lobbied for its creation for ten years. Nazarbaev was present the ceremonial launching of the pipeline and stated at that time that Kazakhstan was ready to connect to it. Cheney's negotiations in Astana are a logical continuation of Washington's new policy toward Russia, as Cheney formulated it the day before. In Vilnius, he stated that the region of the Baltic and Black Seas are the arena of the standoff between Russia and the West, and now the U.S. vice president has extended that line to the Caspian Sea. Cheney expressed indignation in Vilnius at Russia's “energy blackmail” and he continued his campaign against it in Astana. Cheney said after meeting with Nazarbaev that the U.S. does not consider Russia its enemy, but as a regional ally. Nonetheless, it is concerned about a certain resistance by Russia to democratic processes. He noted that his opinion coincided with that of the leaders of the countries represented at the Vilnius summit. Cheney continued that Russia is seen as using its control over energy resources as a political tool to pressure the countries whose leader assembled in Vilnius this week. Nazarbaev, who is eager to preserve good relations with both Moscow and Washington, commented in response that there is no confrontation between Moscow and Washington, rather a “friendly exchange of ideas.” |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 2b If we donÂ’t help the EU secure alternative supplies then all of EU will become highly vulnerable to Russian will. May not change their military alliance but in diplomatic scenarios they will go with Russia over US, knowing at the end of the day Russia if mad could cut or double their energy killing their economy and the US cant do anything to help short go to war a true "war for oil". And as for the whale oil jab remember 2b fossil fuels are going to be with US for at least another generation 30+ years as the primary source. Even if we discovered the silver bullet today say hydrogen it will take at least 30 years to retool the entire infrastructure from the refinery, gas station, gas hauling trucks rail road cars, mechanics, the old dude at the corner who still things gas is better. Just track you gallon of gas back all the way down the chain understanding every item will have to be scrapped and replaced with a new item of different specs. If we donÂ’t want a Imperialist Totalitarian Russia holding the Western EU balls and even more so on Eastern EU heart not even to mention places like the Baltic states and the Caucasus we need to use our clout and the EU money to help. There is a rumor old Putty is going to take over their state super oil/gas company while the current head of that company shifts to the Russian presidency. Think back recently when a gas pipeline to Georgia a (US ally) conviently broke in the middle of the worst part of winter and gas going to Ukraine just happened to need a 300% increase right after they flipped over to (US ally) in the middle of the winter this is a taste of the future. Russia has a history of embargos punishing the populations remember E Berlin. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2006-05-07 10:58 |
| #1 Call me a cynic by this strikes me as an ill-fated attempt. Turkey will backstab us, Russia will sabotage it, and Kazakhstan will change leaders and nationalize it. This seems a bit to me as if someone back at the turn of the last century came up with some great idea to increase the numbers of whales to insure the supply of whale oil into the 20th Century. Move on. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-07 10:04 |