West looks to bypass Russia for energy

Obscure republics of the former Soviet Union have taken centre stage in the new Cold War: the struggle to secure supplies of oil and natural gas.

Daniel Fried, an assistant secretary of state at the State Department, says: “It is important to develop multiple routes and non-Russian routes, but that doesn’t mean anyone is going after the Russians. Russia will be a major supplier to Europe but transparency is critical.”

Washington hopes that encouraging competition in markets around Russia will encourage reform there.
“We are trying to convince the Russians we mean what we say about open systems and that there is a lot of money in it. They are going to make billions of dollars, it’s just a question of in what manner,” said Mr Fried.

This month the EU issued a dramatic review of energy policy, which demanded cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and stressed the need for closer ties with central Asia and the Caucasus “to facilitate the transport of Caspian energy resources to the EU”.

The Caspian Sea’s other -littoral states include Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which, thanks to the BTC and South Caucasus pipelines, now also have an opportunity to bypass their traditional master, Russia, which has often paid prices lower than those in European markets.

Telegraph