Opinion: Putin’s Next Hunting Ground « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT

Opinion: Putin’s Next Hunting Ground « ASHARQ AL-AWSAT:



"Having flexed his muscles in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to mark out the Caspian Basin as another zone of influence for Moscow. Next week, foreign ministers of the five littoral states—Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan—are scheduled to establish an agenda for a summit in Moscow in September.



With estimated oil reserves of 28 billion barrels (compared to the North Sea’s 16 billion barrels), the Caspian Basin is the world’s largest known oilfield after the Gulf. Anxious to reduce its dependence on oil from OPEC, Washington has been interested in the Caspian since the 1990s. In 2002 a “working paper” prepared for the administration of President George W. Bush even identified Russia as a “strategic partner” for the US in managing global energy supplies."



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