From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Apr 27 2000 - 11:27:51 EDT
RUSSIA AGAIN UNDERSCORES INTERESTS IN CASPIAN
Addressing the opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Economic Forum in
Almaty on 26 April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor
Khristenko warned that international projects to exploit
Caspian oil and gas reserves "cannot be decided without the
participation of Russia," Reuters reported. He added that it
is natural that the interests of various states engaged in
the Caspian should collide. On 21 April, Russian President-
elect Vladimir Putin had similarly warned that Russia has
failed adequately to protect its interests in the Caspian and
intends to do so more aggressively in future. At a meeting the same day with
Kazakh Prime Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev, Khristenko
discussed the possibilities for cooperation in the northern
Caspian, which Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on dividing into
national sectors in 1998. Khristenko also encouraged
Kazakhstan to increase the amount of oil it exports via
Russian pipelines. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev told the
opening session of the Eurasia-2000 Forum that the states of
Central Asia must consolidate their independence and emerging
economies and strive for greater regional cooperation,
according to Interfax. Nazarbaev said the TRACECA program
constitutes a basis for integration and increased
international investment in the region. He called on the UN
and OSCE to do more to end the war in Afghanistan, which he
termed "the biggest stability problem on the Eurasian
continent." LF
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