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Category Archives: Geopolitics

Moscow’s Veto of MH17 Tribunal: A Blunder of Potentially Huge Proportions

Articles & Blogs, Europe, Geopolitics, Russia & Eurasia
Posted on: August 5, 2015

On July 29, Russia vetoed a draft UN resolution seeking to set up a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines jumbo jet more than a year ago.

By exercising its Security Council veto against the resolution, Moscow has lost control of the process, committing a possible error that may ultimately lead to convictions of rebel leaders and Russian officials—and a new round of sanctions against the Kremlin. This appears to be a massive strategic misstep, which the West may exploit.

Earth to Russia. Come Back to Reality

Articles & Blogs, Geopolitics, Russia & Eurasia
Posted on: July 15, 2015

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Vice Speaker of the Duma and leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, has announced that in 2016, Russian flags will fly over Kyiv, Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius. Zhirinovsky is known to fly trial balloons on the Kremlin’s behalf. One cannot tell whether this is information warfare, a mere bluff to unsettle NATO, or a real signal. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

CHINA’S “ONE BELT – ONE ROAD” MEGA-PROJECT WILL BOOST EURASIAN NATURAL GAS OPPORTUNITIES

Articles & Blogs, Energy Security, Geopolitics, Russia & Eurasia
Posted on: June 29, 2015

Natural Gas Europe
June 29th, 2015
By Ariel Cohen

The efforts of China to ensure its economic development and preeminence include the creation of the “New Silk Road” – the enormous system of infrastructure mega-projects to stretch from the Pacific to the Atlantic. If completed, it will be the largest infrastructure undertaking ever built. Natural gas features prominently in the plan.

Beyond Oil and Gas: Kazakhstan Bets its Future on Reform

Articles & Blogs, Energy Security, Geopolitics, Russia & Eurasia
Posted on: June 8, 2015

Natural Gas Europe
June 08, 2015
By Dr. Ariel Cohen

Recent events in Ukraine and Russia’s anti-Western rhetoric and military posture force European energy consumers to look for alternatives for Russian hydrocarbons. One of the possible suppliers of both oil and gas could be Kazakhstan, which boast the largest hydrocarbon resources in the oil-rich Caspian basin.

SYSTEMIC VIOLENCE THREATENS MIDDLE EAST OIL OUTLOOK

Articles & Blogs, Energy Security, Geopolitics, Middle East
Posted on: June 3, 2015

The Atlantic Council
June 03, 2015
By Dr. Ariel Cohen

When oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meet in Vienna on June 5, they’ll face a strategic dilemma. Political instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is discouraging capital investment in local oil and gas projects, and shifting interest to North Americanshale—despite MENA’s cheap, abundant and easy-to-extract hydrocarbon resources (see graphs below). Although the current oil slump has hurt investment worldwide, the recovery period appears to favor investment in North America, the Caspian, and Africa at OPEC’s expense.

WILL GREECE–RUSSIA GAS DEAL THREATEN EU ENERGY SECURITY?

Articles & Blogs, Energy Security, Geopolitics, Mediterranean, Russia & Eurasia
Posted on: May 4, 2015

Natural Gas Europe
May 04, 2015
By Dr. Ariel Cohen

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that Greece would get “hundreds of millions of Euros every year” for bringing Russian gas into the EU. Gazprom’s goal is to establish a new entry point to Europe bypassing the traditional route through Ukraine. Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Greek energy minister, announced last week that Athens may repay the advance provided by Moscow once the “Turkish Stream” extension becomes operational in 2019.