By Mamuka Tsereteli (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: After gaining full control over Armenia’s pipeline network and the Moldovan distribution network, as well as partial control over the Belarusian transit pipelines, Russia’s State-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom, is getting closer to its ultimate goal to control all pipelines connecting the former Soviet Union’s states to other markets and potential suppliers. The same strategy is now being applied to Europe. Russia is the primary source for imported natural gas in most European states, and its role is set to increase in next decade, despite a potential shortage of the gas on the domestic market.

By Fariz Ismailzade (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In December, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev traveled to Brussels to meet with EU and NATO officials, and to sign the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan. This agreement has started a new chapter and is aimed at further deepening relations between Azerbaijan and the EU and the integration of the country into European structures. Similar agreements have been signed with Armenia and Georgia, and Azerbaijan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO is already under implementation.

By Richard Weitz (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Several factors have led Central Asia to assume a prominent place on the agenda at recent EU meetings. First, continued friction with Russia over energy issues has increased European interest in importing oil and natural gas from Central Asian countries as well as in promoting these states’ independence from Moscow. Second, some EU members, such as Germany, have substantial commercial interests in Central Asian countries that extend beyond their energy trade.