Conselho
de Segurança das Nações Unidas: apresentação
do relatório final dos inspetores da ONU enviados ao Iraque nada
revela sobre armas no Iraque
Captura de
tela: transmissão ao vivo, TV Voice of America/Washington, 14/02/03
15:26
THE NEW
"GREAT GAME":
OIL POLITICS
IN THE CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
By Ariel Cohen,
Ph.D.
Senior Policy
Analyst
The Heritage
Foundation
Backgrounder No.
1065
January 25,
1996
INTRODUCTION
The vast expanses
of the former Soviet Union harbor oil and gas riches which will be crucial
in fueling the global economy in the next century. The huge oil reserves,
estimated at over 25 billion barrels, under the Caspian Sea and in the
Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are
similar to those in Kuwait and larger than those in Alaska's Northern Slope
and the North Sea combined.
Control over
these energy resources and export routes out of the Eurasian hinterland
is quickly becoming one of the central issues in post-Cold War politics.
Like the "Great Game" of the early 20th century, in which the geopolitical
interests of the British Empire and Russia clashed over the Caucasus region
and Central Asia, today's struggle between Russia and the West may turn
on who controls the oil reserves in Eurasia.
The world now
faces a choice between the cooperative exploitation by the East and West
of natural resources or a wasteful struggle that could cost a fortune in
blood and treasure. Regional conflicts in the Caucasus and Central Asia
threaten to deny Western access to the vital oil and gas reserves the world
will need in the 21st century. The wars in Chechnya, between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, and in Georgia were started or exacerbated by the Russian military,
and the outcome of these wars may determine who controls future pipeline
routes. Moscow hopes that Russia will. Powerful interests in Moscow are
attempting to ensure that the only route for exporting the energy resources
of Eurasia will pass through Russia.
The U.S. needs
to ensure free and fair access for all interested parties to the oil fields
of the Caucasus and Central Asia. These resources are crucial to ensuring
prosperity in the first half of the 21st century and beyond. Access to
Eurasian energy reserves could reduce the West's dependence on Middle East
oil and ensure lower oil and gas prices for decades to come. Moreover,
oil revenues can boost the independence and prosperity of such Newly Independent
States (NIS) as Azerbaijan and Georgia. For example, through production
royalties, Azerbaijan could generate over $2 billion a year in revenue
from its oil fields, while Georgia could get over $500 million annually
from transit fees. With these new-found oil riches, non-Russian republics
in the region would depend less on Russia, both economically and militarily.
Independent and self-sufficient former Soviet states, bolstered by their
oil revenues, would deny Russia the option of establishing a de facto sphere
of influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
Two pipeline
routes in Central Asia are under consideration. The first would allow oil
to flow from the Azerbaijani Caspian Sea shelf to the Black Sea coast.
The second would transport oil from the giant Tengiz oil field, developed
by the U.S.-based Chevron corporation in Kazakhstan, in a westerly direction
toward Europe and the Mediterranean. Western governments and oil companies
participating in the Azerbaijani and Kazakhstani pipeline projects face
a choice: Will a neo-imperialist Russia (aided and abetted by Iran) dominate
the development of Eurasian oil and its exports, or will Russia be an equal
and fair player in the region with Turkey, the three Caucasian states (Georgia,
Armenia, Azerbaijan), and possibly Iran? The U.S. should respect the right
of Russian companies to bid for the exploration and transport of oil and
gas in the region. However, the West has a paramount interest in assuring
that the Caucasian and Central Asian states maintain their independence
and remain open to the West. Otherwise, Moscow will capture almost monopolistic
control over this vital energy resource, thus increasing Western dependence
upon Russian-dominated oil reserves and export routes.
In order to
ensure free and fair access to the oil reserves in Central Asia, the U.S.
should:
* Strive to
preserve the independence and economic viability of the Newly Independent
States in Central Asia. The U.S. should try to prevent the reconstitution
of Moscow's sphere of influence in the southern parts of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS). To achieve that end, it should endeavor to
ensure that Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and other Newly Independent
States receive a fair portion of the oil revenues from the region. Moreover,
the U.S. should strengthen bilateral and multilateral political and military
cooperation with these states.
* Ensure that
Russia is not a dominant, but rather an equal partner in developing the
oil resources of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russian oil and gas companies
should be allowed to participate in the development of Eurasian energy
resources on an equitable basis with other countries in the region. That
is their right. Forming partnerships with Western oil companies could turn
the Russian business sector into an ally of the West. However, domination
by military means should be rejected.
* Work through
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and through
bilateral channels, to defuse ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus. Thus far,
the West has focused mainly on settling the crisis in Bosnia, relegating
the Caucasus region to the back burner. Now that a Bosnian settlement has
been reached, the U.S. should endeavor to settle the conflicts in Abkhazia
and Nagorno-Karabakh. The OSCE would be a useful vehicle for pursuing these
goals.
* Strengthen
secular Muslim societies, notably Turkey and Azerbaijan, against Islamic
militant groups. Both Russian geostrategic ambitions and Iranian-style
religious militancy pose long-term threats to the Muslim societies of the
region. These threats can be countered by helping to create free market
economies, respect for the rule of law, and a civil society that respects
democracy and political pluralism.
* Support the
Western oil route through Turkey to reduce oil transportation hazards in
the Bosphorus Straits. Absent a new oil pipeline, more potentially hazardous
oil shipments will pass through the already clogged Bosphorus Straits.
Oil tanker fires like the one in 1994 can block international shipping
through the Boshporus for days, causing tens of millions of dollars in
damage and threatening the lives and health of local citizens. The U.S.
should support a pipeline route through the territory of Georgia and Turkey
that will bring oil from Eurasia to a Mediterranean port such as Ceyhan
in Turkey.
WARS ENDANGERING
OIL TRANSIT ROUTES IN THE CAUCASUS
The War in
Chechnya. One of the main goals of the Russian attack on Chechnya in December
of 1994 was to ensure control of the oil pipeline which runs from Baku,
via Grozny, the Chechen capital, to the Russian city of Tikhoretsk. The
pipeline ends at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, designed by
Russia to be the terminal for the proposed Kazakh and Azerbaijani pipelines.
In addition, Grozny boasts a large refinery with a processing capacity
of 12 million tons per year.
During its
brief self-proclaimed independence under President Jokhar Dudayev from
1991 to 1994, Chechnya illegally exported crude oil and refined products
worth hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. The rebel government worked
closely with corrupt politicians in Moscow to obtain export licenses. Partly
to cut off this activity, Russia launched a massive but covert military
action in the fall of 1994 to support opponents of Dudayev. In 1994, Dudayev
turned to radical Islamic elements in the Middle East and Central Asia
for support. This exacerbated the religious aspect of the conflict between
the Muslim Chechens and Christian Orthodox Russians.
The overt military
action began on December 12, 1994, when the Russian army marched on Grozny,
destroying Chechnya's capital city by brutal aerial, tank, and artillery
bombardment. Since the start of the campaign, over 30,000 people have been
killed, and more than 300,000 have become refugees. Hostilities continue,
with hostage-taking crises erupting in July 1995 and January 1996.
The Drama in
Georgia. Another conflict affecting potential oil routes is occuring in
the Caucasus republic of Georgia. Russia wants to prevent oil from Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan from going the "Western" route through Georgia to Turkey.
Moscow's support of civil strife in Georgia is directly connected to its
goal of perpetuating conflict in the Caucasus.
From 1991 through
the end of 1993, Georgia was in the midst of a bloody civil war which pitted
the supporters of Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze and ousted President
Zviad Gamsakhurdia against each other. Political violence became chronic.
Eventually, the defeated Gamsakhurdia either committed suicide or was murdered
under mysterious circumstances in 1993. But even after his victory over
Gamsakhurdia, Shevardnadze faced challenges from warlords and militias.
In exchange
for crucial Russian support, Shevardnadze finally was forced to join the
CIS in October 1993, a move he had bitterly opposed. When he attempted
to read a press release announcing this step, Russian diplomats took it
out of his hands and gave him a Moscow-authored text to read. Such was
the degree of independence enjoyed by Shevardnadze at the hands of his
Russian patrons.
In 1995, Moscow
brought pressure on Shevardnadze not to build a pipeline for Azeri oil
through Georgian territory. The Georgians wanted to bring oil to the Georgian
port of Supsa (between Poti and Tbilisi), from which it then would be exported
by tanker to Turkey. However, the Russians demurred. Soon after Shevardnadze
refused to cancel the pipeline plan, he was injured in an assassination
attempt when a car bomb exploded next to his vehicle on August 29, 1995.
Shevardnadze
has insisted repeatedly that Russia was behind this attempt on his life.
The suspected culprit - Shevardnadze's security chief, Igor Georgadze -
has escaped to Russia and continues to threaten Shevardnadze's life. Shevardnadze
demanded that the Russians extradite the suspect, and the Russian Prosecutor
General's Office issued an order for his arrest. However, the Russian Interior
Minister refused the extradition, and Georgadze is still at large.
The Fighting
in Abkhazia. Another dangerous conflict is smoldering in Abkhazia, a breakaway
region in Georgia. The bitter war in Abkhazia, which began in 1992, has
claimed over 35,000 lives. It was precipitated by the Russian military
backing the Abkhaz separatist minority against the Georgian government
in Tbilisi.
One purpose
of the Russian intervention was to weaken Georgia and curb Turkish and
Western influence in the region. But more important was the Russian goal
of controlling access to oil. By acting as it did, Russia gained de facto
control over the long Black Sea coastline in Abkhazia. Moscow also was
protecting the Russian Black Sea ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse and moving
closer to the Georgian oil exporting ports in Poti, Supsa, and Batumi.
In August 1995, Georgia's beleaguered President Shevardnadze agreed to
place four Russian military bases on Georgian soil, thus assuring Russia's
control of the oil exporting routes via the Black Sea coast.
As Russia became
entangled in Chechnya in 1994-1995, and word of Chechen commando training
camps operating from Abkhazia spread, Moscow began to show less support
for the Abkhaz rebels, who are allies of the Chechens. But Russia also
has refused either to close the border with Abkhazia or to deny the separatist
government in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi, financial and military support.
Shevardnadze had hoped that this would be a Russian quid pro quo for his
agreement to permit Russian military bases on Georgian territory.
The Nagorno-Karabakh
Conflict. Yet another bloody war affecting potential oil pipeline routes
is occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh, a small, largely Armenian enclave inside
Azerbaijan. The enclave of Karabakh sits astride a potential oil route
from the Caspian Sea to Turkey. Populated mainly by Armenians, Karabakh
was put under Azerbaijan's jurisdiction in 1921 after Stalin negotiated
a treaty in the Transcaucasus between communist Russia and Turkey. Strife
between the mainly Christian Armenians and Shi'a Muslim Azerbaijanis broke
out in 1988. Full-scale war erupted in 1992, with the Armenians demanding
complete independence for Karabakh or its absorption into Armenia.
A cease-fire
negotiated in May 1994 has been holding. The Armenians in Karabakh have
proclaimed an independent republic, which Azerbaijan refuses to recognize.
Thus far, Azerbaijan has suffered political and military defeat at the
hands of the Armenians, losing one-fifth of its territory since the collapse
of the Soviet Union. One million people, mostly Azerbaijanis, have become
refugees as a result of the war. The Azeri capital of Baku has seen the
government change three times since 1992.
Russia has
supported the Armenians and the Azeris intermittently. In 1992, Moscow
proposed that Russia become a guarantor of peace in the region, promising
to send in 3,000 peacekeepers, but was rebuffed by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a regional security group in
Europe. The OSCE "Minsk group," which consists of Russia, the U.S., Turkey,
France, Sweden, and Italy, has been charged with finding a solution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict but thus far has met with only limited success.
Under Western pressure, Moscow has agreed to a multilateral OSCE peacekeeping
force for Karabakh. However, this force has yet to materialize, and there
is still no peace agreement between the warring parties.
Azerbaijan:
Key Oil Region. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is important because of
the immense oil reserves controlled by Azerbaijan. Since the late 19th
century, the oil in Azerbaijan has played a key role in the economies of
the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, as well as in the global energy
market. International business interests, such as the Nobel and Rothschild
families, and even conquerors like Adolf Hitler have all vied at different
times for control of Azerbaijan's oil. Even after 100 years of Russian
imperial and Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan still has some of the largest
reserves in the world.
At stake today
is a $6 billion, 4 billion barrel Caspian Sea shelf petroleum deal between
Azerbaijan and a consortium of large international oil companies. Put simply,
Russia opposes the deal. The Russian oil company Lukoil is part of this
international consortium, but other Russian oil interests felt excluded,
and the Russian foreign and defense ministries have come out squarely against
the arrangement. In addition to demanding that at least 25 percent of the
deal go to Russian firms (Lukoil gets only 10 percent), Moscow wants full
control of the oil exports.
The Caspian
Sea oil deal was facilitated first by President Abulfaz Elchibei, who was
overthrown in June 1993 by former Azerbaijani KGB Chief and Brezhnev Politburo
member General Heydar Aliev. While Elchibei was considered pro-Turkish,
Aliev had a reputation for being pro-Russian. It was Aliev who signed the
oil agreement in September 1994. On October 9, 1995, the Azerbaijani International
Oil Consortium (AIOC) announced that "early" oil (approximately 80,000
barrels a month) would be split between two pipelines. The northern line
would go to the Russian port of Novorossiysk (via unstable Chechnya) and
the western line to the Georgian port of Supsa in two separate pipelines.
This was a compromise decision supported by the Clinton Administration
and aimed at placating Moscow, but it failed to do so.
Despite his
attempts to accommodate Russia, Moscow apparently considers Aliev too independent.
Therefore, the Kremlin is backing Suret Husseinov, a warlord who reportedly
has good connections with Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev. Between
1993 and 1995, four unsuccessful coups were attempted against Aliev, reportedly
with Moscow's support. Russia also is playing the ethnic separatism card
against Aliev, bolstering the national movement of the Lezgin minority
in the north of Azerbaijan and the movement of the Talysh minority in the
south.
Aliev has proved
himself to be a tough survivor. Although Azerbaijan has joined the CIS,
he has managed to resist the pressure to deploy Russian military bases
or troops on Azerbaijani soil. However, Moscow probably can outwait Aliev,
in the meantime fostering instability in Azerbaijan. Russia will attempt
to block any large-scale production or exports of oil from Azerbaijan until
such time as a more compliant man can be put in charge.
OIL POLITICS
AND RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM IN THE "NEAR ABROAD"
The main threat
to the equitable development of Eurasian oil is the Russian attempt to
dominate the region in a de facto alliance with the radical Islamic regime
in Tehran. Russia benefits from instability in the Caucasus, where wars
and conflicts undermine independence and economic development while hindering
the export of oil from the region's states.
Moscow has
gone beyond words to establish its power in the Caucasus. The Russians
are setting up military bases in the region in order to gain exclusive
control over all future pipelines. Georgia now has four Russian bases and
Armenia has three, while Azerbaijan is still holding out under severe pressure
from Moscow. In addition, members of the Commonwealth of Independent States
are required to police their borders jointly with Russian border guards,
and thus are denied effective control over their own territory.
Attempts to
Reintegrate the South. The struggle to reestablish a Russian sphere of
influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia started in early 1992. While
not a full-scale war, this struggle employs a broad spectrum of military,
covert, diplomatic, and economic measures. The southern tier of the former
Soviet Union is a zone of feverish Russian activity aimed at tightening
Moscow's grip in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse. The entire southern
rim of Russia is a turbulent frontier, a highly unstable environment in
which metropolitan civilian and military elites, local players, and mid-level
officers and bureaucrats drive the process of reintegration.
With the collapse
of the Soviet Union, President Boris Yeltsin called for a re-examination
of Russia's borders to the detriment of her neighbors, especially Ukraine
and Kazakhstan. For example, upon his return from a state visit to the
U.S. in September 1994, Yeltsin reiterated Russia's "right" to conduct
"peacemaking" in the "near abroad," to protect Russian speakers and to
exercise freedom of action in its sphere of influence. These statements
were echoed on numerous occasions by former Russian Foreign Minister Andrey
Kozyrev and other key policymakers in Moscow. In his September 1995 Decree
"On Approval of the Strategic Policy of the Russian Federation Toward CIS
Member States, "Yeltsin outlined plans to create a CIS military and economic
union. Some observers have termed this design an informal empire "on the
cheap," a "sustainable empire" which is less centralized than the old Soviet
Union. The aim of such an arrangement would be to ensure Russia's control
of the oil and gas reserves in Eurasia.
Competing political
interests inside Russia's neighbors often prompt local elites to challenge
the faction in power and to seek Moscow's support. For example, Russian
oil chieftains in Kazakhstan and military commanders who are still in place
in Moldova and Georgia naturally maintain close links with Moscow. Where
it lacks troops on the ground, Moscow supports the most pro-Russian faction
in the conflict, such as Trans-Dniestrian ethnic Russians in Moldova, the
separatist Abkhazs in Georgia, warlords and former communist leaders in
Azerbaijan, and pro-communist clans in Tajikistan. This is a classic scenario
for imperial expansion. What is common to these conflicts is that without
Russian support, the pro-Moscow factions (regardless of their ethnicity)
could not have dominated their respective regions, and would be forced
to seek negotiated and peaceful solutions. In each case, appeals by the
legitimate governments of the Newly Independent States to restore their
territorial integrity were ignored by Moscow.
Russian political
elites have not overcome the imperialist ideology that inspired both pre-1917
and Soviet expansionism. For today's Moscow bureaucrats and generals, as
for their predecessors in St. Petersburg prior to 1917, the turbulent southern
periphery is a potential source of political fortunes, promotions, and
careers. For Russian politicians in search of a grand cause, re-establishing
the empire and paying for it with Eurasian oil revenues is a winning proposition,
especially in the murky environment in the aftermath of imperial collapse.
KEY RUSSIAN
PLAYERS IN THE GREAT OIL GAME
The Russian
military and security services are by far the most resolute driving force
behind the restoration of a Russian-dominated CIS. They are playing a key
role in ensuring Moscow's control over the pipeline routes. The end of
the Cold War and the collapse of the Berlin Wall terminated, at least temporarily,
confrontation with the West, leaving the Red Army's General Staff, the
Russian military intelligence (GRU), and the former KGB desperately seeking
new missions. The biggest of these new missions is to establish control
over Caucasus and Central Asian oil, establishing a Russian sphere of influence
in the process.
The Russian
army and security services seek to deny foreign companies the right to
export oil without their control. Russian military activities over the
last four years indicate an attempt to consolidate strategic control of
oil sources and export routes in Eurasia. For example, the war in Chechnya
blocked an important pipeline from Azerbaijan through Grozny, and the victory
of the Abkhaz separatists, supported by the Russian military, further secured
the Russian oil terminals in the ports of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. In order
to obtain an oil route in the region, Western exporters may be pressured
to reach accomodations with the Russian generals.
The Russian
intelligence services are also involved. The successor to the KGB's First
Chief Directorate, now known as the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia
(SVRR) and led until January 1996 by KGB general and now Foreign Minister
Evgenii Primakov, published an important document in 1994 on Russia's policies
in the "near abroad," called "Russia-CIS: Does the Western Position Require
Correction?" General Primakov's staff argued that any attempt to integrate
the CIS states into the global economy without Moscow's cooperation is
doomed to fail. Russia already has effectively stopped Kazakhstani and
Azerbaijani joint oil exporting ventures in their tracks.
The states
of the CIS's southern tier were coerced by Russia even before they declared
their independence from the USSR. Moscow incited local pro-Russian factions,
such as Abkhazians in Georgia, Armenians in Karabakh, and hard-line communist
pro-Russian clans in Tajikistan, to challenge the independence and territorial
integrity of these nascent states. The Russian military provided advisers,
hardware, training, planning, and coordination for the military activities
in these areas. As a result, hundreds of thousands have been left dead,
wounded, or homeless. In addition, these violent conflicts blocked the
transit routes to the West for Caspian and Central Asian oil.
THE U.S.
ROLE IN THE GREAT GAME
Much is at
stake in Eurasia for the U.S. and its allies. Attempts to restore its empire
will doom Russia's transition to a democracy and free-market economy. The
ongoing war in Chechnya alone has cost Russia $6 billion to date (equal
to Russia's IMF and World Bank loans for 1995). Moreover, it has extracted
a tremendous price from Russian society. The wars which would be required
to restore the Russian empire would prove much more costly not just for
Russia and the region, but for peace, world stability, and security.
As the former
Soviet arsenals are spread throughout the NIS, these conflicts may escalate
to include the use of weapons of mass destruction. Scenarios including
unauthorized missile launches are especially threatening. Moreover, if
successful, a reconstituted Russian empire would become a major destabilizing
influence both in Eurasia and throughout the world. It would endanger not
only Russia's neighbors, but also the U.S. and its allies in Europe and
the Middle East. And, of course, a neo-imperialist Russia could imperil
the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf.
Domination
of the Caucasus would bring Russia closer to the Balkans, the Mediterranean
Sea, and the Middle East. Russian imperialists, such as radical nationalist
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, have resurrected the old dream of obtaining a warm
port on the Indian Ocean. If Russia succeeds in establishing its domination
in the south, the threat to Ukraine, Turkey, Iran, and Afganistan will
increase. The independence of pro-Western Georgia and Azerbaijan already
has been undermined by pressures from the Russian armed forces and covert
actions by the intelligence and security services, in addition to which
Russian hegemony would make Western political and economic efforts to stave
off Islamic militancy more difficult.
Eurasian oil
resources are pivotal to economic development in the early 21st century.
The supply of Middle Eastern oil would become precarious if Saudi Arabia
became unstable, or if Iran or Iraq provoked another military conflict
in the area. Eurasian oil is also key to the economic development of the
southern NIS. Only with oil revenues can these countries sever their dependence
on Moscow and develop modern market economies and free societies. Moreover,
if these vast oil reserves were tapped and developed, tens of thousands
of U.S. and Western jobs would be created. The U.S. should ensure free
access to these reserves for the benefit of both Western and local economies.
In order to
protect U.S. and Western interests in Eurasia and ensure free and fair
access to the oil reserves of the region, the United States should:
* Strive to
preserve the independence and economic viability of the New Independent
States in the region. In cooperation with Britain, Germany, and France,
the U.S. should prevent the reconstitution of Moscow's sphere of influence
in the southern CIS. The West should not grant Moscow carte blanche in
the "near abroad" in exchange for cooperation in Bosnia.
The U.S. should
lead other Western countries in implementing programs that support independent
statehood, free-market development, and the rule of law in Azerbaijan,
Georgia, and the Central Asian states. Training for the civil and security
services of these countries should be stepped up, and economic reforms,
including privatization of industries and agriculture, should be continued.
Moreover, sanctions on technical and humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan,
imposed at the height of the Karabakh conflict, should be lifted to increase
Washington's leverage in settling the conflict there.
* Ensure that
Russia is not a dominant, but rather an equal partner in developing the
oil resources of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Russian oil companies should
be assured of equitable access to the development of oil resources and
pipeline projects. The strategic goal of the West should be the creation
of a level playing field that allows Russian and Western corporations to
participate in the development of Eurasian energy resources on an equal
footing.
If cooperation
from Russia is not forthcoming, the U.S. should oppose attempts by the
Russian security establishment to impose a single direction for the pipelines
- i.e., north, via Russian territory. This kind of geopolitical diktat
would give Moscow an unacceptable level of control over the flow of oil
to Western markets and would make the West vulnerable to Russia's political
whims. The U.S. government should demand that Russia stop fostering conflicts
in the area. At the same time, Washington should promise that the interests
of Russian companies operating in the region will be taken into account
in current and future oil consortia.
* Work through
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and through
bilateral channels, to defuse ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus. The OSCE
has been charged by its members with settling the conflicts in Chechnya,
Abkhazia, and Karabakh. This authority is recognized by Russia. So far,
the OSCE has not been successful. To become more so, the OSCE should step
up efforts to bring together the leaders of the Newly Independent States
and separatist ethnic groups so they can find acceptable political solutions
to the conflicts in the region. The OSCE should assign senior politicians
to mediate in order to prevent new conflicts, particularly between the
Azerbaijanis and the Lezgin and Talysh minorities in Azerbaijan, or between
the Georgians and the Adzhar minority. An OSCE-sponsored conference to
promote minority rights in the Southern CIS would be in order. The U.S.
and its allies should support the OSCE's efforts and initiate a bilateral
dialog with leaders of the ethnic groups to assist them in finding a modus
vivendi in their countries.
* Strengthen
secular Muslim societies, notably Turkey and Azerbaijan, against Islamic
militant groups. Both Russian ambitions and Islamic radicalism threaten
the pro-Western orientation of regimes in the region. Economic development,
support for basic human rights, and cultural affinity with the West are
important to prevent a radicalization of Islamic politics in the region.
An important ally in this regard is Turkey. The U.S. should support Turkey's
bid for membership in the European Union. Turkish efforts have been sidetracked
by the Europeans because of Ankara's crackdown on the Kurds last year.
Washington should urge the Europeans to refrain from rejecting Turkish
Westernizers and pushing the Turks into the hands of militant Islamists.
* Support the
Western oil route through Turkey to reduce oil transportation hazards in
the Bosphorus Straits. As an important U.S. ally and founding NATO member,
Turkey has raised serious concerns regarding tanker exports of Eurasian
oil through the narrow and twisting Bosphorus Straits. Istanbul, the largest
city in Turkey, would be endangered by the nonstop tanker traffic the exports
of vast new quantities of Eurasian oil would require.
The Straits
today are one of the busiest maritime passages in the world. The shipping
of more oil from Eurasia would clog the already crowded waterway. Recent
accidents involving burning tankers prove that Turkish concerns are justified.
Free access to shipping via the Straits was envisaged in the 19th century,
when the volume of traffic was twenty times lower than today. Therefore,
the safest (and cheapest) route for Eurasian oil, which is preferred by
Western oil companies, is a large pipeline from the Caucasus via Turkey
to the Eastern Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
CONCLUSION
The struggle
for Eurasian oil is a multifaceted game. It involves security, geopolitical,
and economic interests not only Russian and Eurasian, but American and
Western as well. In Russia, nothing less than democracy is at stake. If
Russia pursues a cooperative engagement with the West in the Caucasus,
it will strengthen its economic and political integration with the West.
However, if it chooses to challenge the West and reverts to its old imperial
ways, Moscow likely will become increasingly hostile toward the West in
other areas as well.
The oil and
gas reserves of the Caucasus and Central Asia are vital to Western geostrategic
and economic interests in the 21st century. They have the potential to
secure prosperity and economic growth bolstered by low oil prices. In addition,
these resources are key to ensuring revenues and, with them, the sovereignty
of the Newly Independent States. In addition, the wealth brought by oil
can fuel both economic and democratic development in the Caucasus and Central
Asia, fostering the independence and freedom of countries which serve in
turn as an obstacle to potential Russian imperial expansion.
The Russian
military and political establishment is attempting to impose a sphere of
influence on the CIS and secure control of the region's oil. If a hardliner
wins the Russian presidential elections in June 1996, these efforts may
redouble. A major campaign to assert influence in the Russian "near abroad"
would be a setback for U.S. interests. In addition, control of the Caucasus
and Central Asia would allow Russia geographical proximity to, and closer
cooperation with, the anti-Western regimes in Tehran and Baghdad. Together,
an anti-Western Russia, Iran, and Iraq, if they desired, could pursue a
common interest in driving up the price of oil.
To counter
this prospect, the U.S. and the West need to convince the Russians to approach
the oil question in Eurasia as an economic, not geopolitical, opportunity.
The U.S. should reassure Russia that its companies will be included in
future economic ventures in the region. Russian companies alone do not
have the technological and financial resources to develop the hydrocarbon
reserves of Eurasia. They will need Western oil companies to do that.
To become richer,
Russia needs American and Western help. To foster peace and stability in
Eurasia, America needs Russian help. A modus vivendi can be reached only
if Russia accepts that the principles of free markets, democracy, and state
sovereignty take precedence over the outdated geopolitical practices of
the past century.
Endnotes:
1. Jamestown
Foundation Monitor, October 23, 1995.
2. Testimony
of Ambassador John Maresca, U.S. Department of State, in hearing, Ethnic
Violence in Transcaucasia, Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe, 103rd Cong. 1st Sess., March 8, 1993, p. 8.
3. See footnote
1, above.
4. Aliev later
became president with 98.5 percent of the "popular vote." In the parliamentary
elections of November 1995, the pro-Aliev party received over 60 percent
of the popular vote amidst massive voting irregularities.
5. Husseinov's
patron was former Azerbaijani defense minister Rahim Gaziev, who is closely
connected to Grachev. Elizabeth Fuller, "Azerbaijan's June Revolution,"
RFE-RL Research Report, August 13, 1993, p. 27. Husseinov was a key player
in ousting Elchibei and engineering Aliev's return. He later turned against
Aliev.
6. Russia
currently is supplying nuclear reactors to Tehran, and its intelligence
services are training Iranian secret agents. Bill Gertz, "Russian Agents
Teach Iranian Spies," The Washington Times, November 9, 1995, p. 1.
7. The Russian
Foreign Ministry recently claimed that the land-locked Caspian Sea should
be declared a lake. Such a declaration would force all littoral countries
to develop Caspian natural resources in a condominium - a guarantee that
very little would be achieved because of incessant bickering among the
states. This position would effectively deny oil revenues to the non-Russian
republics in the region. Author's interviews with Russian Foreign Ministry
officials, Moscow, May 1995.
8. Ariel Cohen,
Russian
Imperialism: Development and Decline (New York: Praeger, forthcoming,
1996), Chapter 1.
9. Yeltsin's
press conference, Radio Liberty-Radio Free Europe Daily Report,
October 5, 1994.
10. Russian
Federation Presidential Edict No. 940, September 14, 1995, "On Approval
of the Strategic Policy of the Russian Federation Toward CIS Member States,"
FBIS-SOV-95-188, September 28, 1995, p. 19.
11. Ian Bremmer
and Anthony Richter, "The Perils of 'Sustainable Empire,'" Transition,
March 15, 1995, p. 14.
12. Rossiya-SNG:
nuzhdayetsia li v korrektirovke pozitsia zapada,
Sluzhba Vneshnei
Razvedki Rossiyskoy Federatsii, Moskva, 1994.
13. Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, mouthpiece for the most irredentist elements in the Russian
security and military services, constantly articulates this threat.
_______________________________________________________________
COMMENTS by
Lester D. K. Chow: One large difference between Dr. Cohen and myself is
that Dr. Cohen takes the position that peace in the Middle East comes about
by a strong defeating presence, against Arab or Muslim forces, while at
the same time endorses the backing of other Muslim groups. A decent position
would allow those of good integrity to think and to respond to crisis,
rather than the putting of the gun to their heads or trying to control
their environment. Dependence upon a Russian solution to control or bring
stability to that region would work against US and Western economic interest.
To unleash the Soviet Union, once again, under the guise of democracy would
certainly be in error. There are, as a side note, many good well-educated
people from the Middle East and the Caucasus that are loyal to their brethren
and to the US/and US
interest.
Many of these people are very westernized and advance; and work well with
the US, if given the opportunity to do so.
Lester D. K.
Chow
http://www.idis.com/ChouOnline/chechnya.html
lchow@idis.com |