It looks obvious

“Things should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” — Albert Einstein

Oppening moves

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Old rivalries don’t disappear, they just waiting hidden to show again. It is interesting to note the fast reaction, almost reflex, of Europe to the fading Russian Glasnost. As Russia being dragged back into the dark, when the short rising of freedom and democracy becoming only a short note in the history, Europe aligning itself toward the new-old threat. And these are probably just first moves:

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — In the European Union’s growing struggle to break Russia’s grip on the bloc’s gas imports, all roads are leading to Kazakhstan.

Today, the EU signs a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan on energy aimed at binding Europe closer to this vast country — which stretches from the Caspian Sea to China.

Kazakhstan is critical to building the home stretch of a new southern energy corridor that would carry gas from the Caspian and beyond to the EU, via the Caucasus and Turkey. Such a corridor for the first time would allow the countries of Central Asia to sell gas directly to the EU, rather than to Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom, which can then re-export the gas at a high profit, as it does currently. Russia accounts for 44% of EU gas imports, a proportion that is expected to rise significantly, especially after Russia builds a northern gas corridor directly to Germany, under the Baltic Sea.

 

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Written by Rogel

December 4th, 2006 at 2:16 am

Posted in In The News

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