Oil Storms

Cheney napao Rusiju
Američki potpredsjednik Dick Cheney okomio se na Moskvu. Optužio je Rusiju da nazaduje u demokraciji i zatražio da se prestane služiti opskrbom energentima kao sredstvom 'ucjenjivanja'.

"Rusija može birati ... Nitko od nas ne vjeruje da je sudbina Rusije da postane naš neprijatelj", rekao je Cheney na summitu baltičkih i crnomorskih čelnika u Vilniusu u trenutku kad su odnosi Rusije i Sjedinjenih Država ionako već zahladnjeli.

Cheney je u Litvi na summitu zemalja Baltičkog i Crnog mora na kojem će se govoriti o dugoročnoj viziji politike NATO-a i EU-a na istoku. Na skupu će sudjelovati i visoki predstavnik EU za vanjsku i sigurnosnu politiku Javier Solana.

Prema riječima američkoga potpredsjednika, protivnici reforma u Rusiji "žele preokrenuti postignuća iz posljednjega desetljeća" i ograničavaju demokratska prava. Cheney upozorava ruskoga predsjednika Vladimira Putina da bi neki postupci službene Moskve mogli naštetiti odnosima s drugim zemljama.
"Nije legitimno naftom i plinom služiti se kao oruđem za ponižavanje ili ucjenjivanje, bilo manipuliranjem opskrbom ili pokušajem monopolizacije transporta", rekao je Cheney.

UPDATE: DAY 2 - Cheney Urges Energy Export Routes That Bypass Russia
A day after chastising Moscow for its use of oil and natural gas as "tools for intimidation and blackmail," Vice President Dick Cheney visited Kazakhstan today to promote export routes that bypass Russia and directly supply the West.
With his comments, Mr. Cheney waded into a messy geopolitical struggle for energy and influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, rapidly developing into one of the world's largest producing regions.
The United States backs efforts to weaken Russia's grip by building new export routes for the enormous energy reserves of Central Asia, much of which now must pass through Russian territory to reach ports in the Black Sea or pipelines to Europe.
Mr. Cheney's visit to Kazakhstan, on Russia's southern rim, highlighted the balancing of United States interests, trying to counter Russian dominance in energy matters in the region by cozying up to states like Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan that have spotty human rights records and limited democracy — and plenty of oil.
"The United States is trying to strike a difficult balance," said Tanya Kostello, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York risk consultancy. "It is trying to encourage the regime in Kazakhstan to move toward democracy while maintaining the economic ties."
The Kazakh president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, won a third, six-year term in December 2005, with 91 percent of the vote in an election that international observers said was flawed. Two opposition politicians have been murdered in six months, raising the specter of instability and infighting among the elite. Kazakhstan produced 1.2 million barrels of oil a day last year but is expected to pump 3 million barrels a day by 2015.
Today, Mr. Cheney convened privately with officials from the Kazakh government, ending the day with a dinner with Mr. Nazarbayev, according to American government officials.
In Russia, reaction to Mr. Cheney's Thursday speech was sharp. Kommersant, a major daily, called it "the beginning of a second cold war," this time in a struggle over energy and competing spheres of influence.
In an echo of the 19th century Great Game scramble for colonial possessions in Central Asia, the United States is seeking to weaken Russia's control over oil and natural gas while also keeping China from stepping into the breach.
It is also encouraging export options that avoid Iran, another longstanding rival for regional influence. Read More...