TURKMENISTAN:

There are many choices on the menu, but is there food in the kitchen? Officials from the United States and Turkey met in Ashgabat with President Saparmurat Niazov to promote a pipeline to carry gas from Turkmenistan across the Caspian to Azerbaijan, and thence across Georgia to Turkey. President Niazov will travel to Ankara to discuss the issue further with his Turkish counterpart later this week. At the same time, Shell has already presented a feasibility study promoting a line to Turkey via Iran–a route that Shell argues is simpler, cheaper and safer. Commercial questions in the end may decide. To be profitable, the trans-Caspian route needs parallel oil and gas pipelines that can aggregate export volumes from several countries. With oil prices low and the politics of the Caucasus so unsettled, oil companies are having second thoughts at least about the timing of the project, once called “the deal of the century.”

“Russia’s Week” is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is written and edited by Harry Kopp (email: kopp@jamestown.org). If you would like information on subscribing to “Russia’s Week”, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of “Russia’s Week” is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation