Latest articles from Vladimir Socor

Increased Western Involvement in Caspian Sea Energy Transport

On December 23 Austria’s OMV energy conglomerate and Germany’s leading power producer RWE (Rheinisch-Westfaelische Elektrizitaetswerke) announced an initiative to create a joint company for gas transportation from the Caspian Sea’s eastern shore westward. This initiative targets mainly Turkmen gas, aiming to build a trans-Caspian pipeline... MORE

Serbia’s Oil Industry: a Christmas Gift to Gazprom

On December 24, 2008, the Serbian government ceded control over Serbia’s Oil Industry (Naftna Industrija Srbije, NIS) to Russian Gazprom’s oil subsidiary, Gazprom Neft. Motivated to a large extent politically and negotiated poorly by Belgrade, the cession amounts to a Christmas gift for Gazprom and... MORE

Russia to OSCE: Recognize South Ossetia or Get Out

Russia is threatening to run the OSCE out of South Ossetia at the end of the year. Moscow will only relent if the OSCE recognizes the Russian-installed authorities as legitimate and treats Russian-occupied South Ossetia as an essentially sovereign state.The OSCE has maintained a monitoring... MORE

U.S.–Georgia Security and Military Agreement in the Works

Discussions are advancing on a framework agreement between the United States and Georgia, covering various aspects of relations including security and military cooperation. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, in Tbilisi on December 16 and 17 for consultations, was tight-lipped when journalists asked... MORE

Hungary Doubling Efforts for Nabucco Ahead of Budapest Summit

The Hungarian government and the private MOL energy company are doubling their efforts to help launch the Nabucco gas project on schedule. Given Hungary’s 80 percent dependence on Russian gas, even the oft-wavering Socialist Party has joined the consensus view that supply diversification through Nabucco... MORE

OSCE’s Year-End Conference Continues Pattern of Failure

The OSCE’s Finnish chairmanship fell between two stools at the organization’s year-end conference on December 4 and 5 in Helsinki. Despite Russia’s recent invasion of Georgia, a chairmanship overly eager to produce a final political declaration by consensus gave in to Russia on basic issues... MORE