The majority victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the recent parliamentary elections in Turkey will lead to still deeper Azerbaijan energy cooperation. At the same time, it underlines the Turkish hesitations about deeper cooperation with either Russia … Continue reading →
With the accord having been reached over Iran’s nuclear development program, there is now more active interest in the possibility of Azerbaijan Iran gas cooperation. Both Iranian and Azerbaijani reports suggest that the two countries are discussing this. I have … Continue reading →
Two unrelated announcements this week give the unhappy impression of Russian sanctions busting by German energy companies. The European Union decided last month to extend the sanctions against Russia that were set to expire at the end of July. Such … Continue reading →
The EU’s Eastern Partnership Ukraine policy fails to recognize the fact of a conflict situation in Ukraine. This failure exacerbates the deleterious results of the EU’s failure to define its goals there, as well as with respect to the Eastern … Continue reading →
Regional energy governance and the Southern Gas Corridor Public lecture at the Ludwig von Mises Institute–Europe, Brussels, 16 June 2015. Audio Topic Not long ago Russia’s President Vladimir Putin scrapped plans for South Stream, the major new natural gas … Continue reading →
Russia began Turkish Stream construction this month without even a sales contract in place for Turkey to accept the gas. The European Union is unsympathetic to Turkish Stream, which is Russia’s last-minute replacement for the cancelled South Stream project that … Continue reading →
Regardless of Turkish elections results, energy minister Taner Yıldız was going to be leaving his post anyway, because of the term limits on AK Party members that its de facto (because in Turkey the president should in principle be above … Continue reading →
It is in serious trouble, but is the Russian economy unsustainable? Western sanctions have restricted Russian companies’ access to international financial markets, but it is the state’s policies and priorities that are tanking its economic performance. Recent statistical releases show … Continue reading →
Russia is gambling big with its Turkish Stream problem. Gazprom is preparing to begin work on the Turkish Stream pipeline without there being an Russian-Turkish intergovernmental agreement in place. The Japanese firm Saipem, which Russia has been paying for months … Continue reading →
Interview on John Batchelor Show, WABC-AM (770AM, New York City), 18 May 2015.
Turkish Stream pipeline prospects are not good in the long run even if Russia immediately begins laying the pipeline originally commissioned for use in South Stream.