On October 21 Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev met his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Ankara. During his extended official visit Nazarbayev prioritized cultural and economic links with Turkey and stressed the importance of the unity of Turkic nations. He visited the headquarters of TURKSOY, an... MORE

Political risks to Caspian gas transportation have emerged westward of the Caucasus in Turkey, where such risks were least expected. Azerbaijan has become the first gas-exporting country to experience those risks, stemming from Turkey’s position as a transit monopolist. Turkey’s AKP government is practically blocking... MORE

Moscow and Beijing claim that their long-awaited gas supply deal is proof of what they describe as their bilateral strategic partnership, but the Russian and Chinese state-controlled energy giants apparently remain divided on the sensitive issue of gas prices. On October 13, the Russian gas... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s October 20 visit to Belgrade (EDM October 27) helped accelerate Serbia’s orientation toward Russia’s economic orbit. The Serbian government is handing additional energy assets over to Russian companies and is eagerly seeking Russian involvement in infrastructure projects and joint enterprises in... MORE

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev paid an official visit to Turkey on October 21-24, as the guest of his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul. In addition to his meeting with Gul, Nazarbayev was hosted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressed the Turkish parliament, and met with... MORE

On October 19, Turkey, Italy and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline (SCP). Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, the Italian Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, inked the agreement that regulates the commitments... MORE

Russia and Turkey, with Italy in tow, have seemingly struck a grand oil and gas bargain in the Black Sea. On October 19 in Milan, government ministers and corporate officials from the three countries signed agreements to move ahead with the Russian South Stream gas... MORE

Countries and companies along the Nabucco route in Europe (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany) as well as Greece, Italy, and Switzerland are all expressing interest in purchasing Azerbaijani gas. If Turkey continues to block the transit agreement and if the E.U. and the U.S. fail... MORE

President Ilham Aliyev broke two years of silence regarding Turkey’s obstruction of Azerbaijani gas exports westward, while chairing an expanded session of Azerbaijan’s government on October 16 (www.day.az, October 17). Ankara’s stonewalling can cause further delays to the European Union’s Nabucco and Southern Corridor projects,... MORE

As the Ukrainian government of Yulia Tymoshenko continues to struggle with the impact of the global economic crisis, its troubled energy sector has taken a number of new hits. The state-owned oil and gas monopoly, Naftohaz Ukrayiny, was degraded by Fitch Ratings to “restricted default”... MORE