Natural-Gas Glut Could Bypass Europe
A major transformation of the global market for natural gas is under way. Fresh international supply routes are being drawn, new exporters are emerging and established trade patterns are being turned on their heads. READ MORE
What Can America Win From War?
“I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident. … I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies.” READ MORE
Kremlin Seeks to Alarm Southern Neighbors About Cooperating with the Pentagon
It is well-known that the aggressive foreign policy of Iran’s clerical regime makes Central Asian governments uneasy. Most obviously, Iran and its Caspian neighbors have a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s expansive claims to offshore energy resources. In addition, the Central Asian states have repeatedly rejected Tehran’s application to elevate its observer status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to that of a full member. Furthermore, they have limited educational and cultural exchanges with Iranians that could give Tehran opportunities to proselytize radical versions of Islam in Central Asia. READ MORE
Human Rights & Disarmament Should Be UN Priority, Kazakh FM Says in Geneva
The international community, with the UN at the forefront, should keep human rights and disarmament at the top of its agenda, while Kazakhstan stands ready to help in every way it can. Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov delivered this message as he spoke at the meetings of the UN Human Rights Council and the Disarmament Conference in Geneva on February 27 and 28. READ MORE
Turkish, Azerbaijani, Iranian FMs to gather for tripartite meeting
The Turkish, Azerbaijani and Iranian foreign ministers are planning to meet on March 7 in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in Azerbaijan as part of a series of meetings regularly held between the three states. READ MORE
Global Insights: U.S. Must Strengthen Ties With Azerbaijan
This month marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and the post-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, a country that is currently playing a vital role in sustaining NATO forces in Afghanistan, supporting Georgia and other U.S. friends in Eurasia, and helping to moderate Iranian and Russian ambitions in the energy-rich Caspian Basin region. But Washington needs to prioritize its ties with Baku to strengthen the partnership and to make sure that Azerbaijan and its fragile neighbors in the geopolitically vital South Caucasus region remain strong and stable. READ MORE
Russia Completing Baltic Pipeline System Construction, Reducing Druzhba Pipeline Flow
Russia is set to start crude oil exports through the Baltic Pipeline System’s second trunkline, BPS-2, with its Ust-Luga maritime terminal at the Russian end of the Baltic Sea. The BPS-1 trunkline is already operating since 2009 with its Primorsk maritime terminal. The oil is shipped on tankers via the Baltic Sea and North Sea to European consumer countries along that route, with Rotterdam as a major final destination. READ MORE
Uzbekistan’s Quest for Oi Aral Seal May Weaken Kazakhstan’s Position in the Caspian
As a part of its incessant attempts to consolidate its presence in the energy sector of Central Asia, on January 17, the board of executives of the Russian company, Lukoil, endorsed the purchase by its daughter company, Lukoil Overseas, of 6.6 percent of shares in transnational Aral Sea Operating Company. The Aral Sea Operating Company was set up in 2006 to explore and develop Uzbekistan’s oil and gas fields in the Aral Sea on a Product Sharing Agreement basis. With the additional acquisition, Russian shares in the transnational Aral project joined by Uzbekistan’s Uzneftegaz national holding, Chinese CNPC International, South Korean KNOC Aral and Russian Lukoil Company totals 26.6 percent. The 6.6 percent of shares purchased by Lukoil earlier belonged to Malaysian Petronas Company, which abandoned the project in 2011. READ MORE
Shale Gas And Oil Potential In The Baltic States And Poland To Be Discussed In Vilnius
On 29 February in Vilnius, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis will participate in a regional conference on shale gas and oil potential and on prospects for changing the region’s energy market “Shale gas and oil as potential game changers in the energy market in the Baltic States and Poland.” READ MORE
Danish approach to energy efficiency disappoints activists
Activists expressed disappointment at the EU Danish presidency’s version of the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, which is likely to become the most important piece of legislation to date on the issue. READ MORE
