A new political bloc was formed at the summit in Krakow of leaders of Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania and Poland, which is to counterweigh the energy alliance formed in Ashgabat between Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The Western bloc will meet again in Vilnius in the autumn, where they will discuss not only an Odessa-Gdansk pipeline, the construction of which they agreed to in Krakow, but the full range of energy problems connected with deliveries of hydrocarbons from Russia, the Transcaucasus and Central Asia.
Formally, Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Kazakhstan and then Turkmenistan was a response to the summit in Krakow, and not the other way around. Invitations were sent to seven heads of state two months in advance, and Putin is responsible for the format changing from seven to five leaders.
The Krakow Energy Balance
Polish President Lech Kaczynski received Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Thursday, and Azeri President Ilham Aliev and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus on Friday. Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhammedov and Kazakh President Noursultan Nazarbaev chose to receive the Russian president instead. Nazarbaev covered all his bases and sent State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Lyazzat Kiinov to Krakow. Thus, the final communiquй of the summit is in the name of six countries.
The communiquй, dated May 13, states that an energy bloc of states united in a common approach to energy policy has been founded. There will be continual meetings of the presidents of the member states, with the next one scheduled for October 2007 in Vilnius. Before that, an interstate working group on key issues of energy policy will be set up, including the establishment of a consortium for the construction of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline through Gdansk.
Adamkus expressed the idea of the energy bloc most fully. “Energy is becoming inseparable from international relations and diplomacy in conditions where economic and energy independence is becoming an important criterion of national security,” he said. “Recent events show that manipulation of oil and gas supplies… affect the well-being of man and his daily life.” The events Adamkus was referring to were the gas war between Russia and Ukraine in 2004-2005. Therefore, “the time has come to search seriously for alternative sources of oil and gas supplies from the East free from political dependence.”
The new bloc is so far one of energy transporters and consumers. Representatives of oil and gas producers Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed the Krakow communiquй, there membership in the bloc is not guaranteed. The rhetoric of Aliev at the summit was an exact repetition of the rhetoric of the presidents of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan 3000 km. away. He explained that his participation is necessary for the diversification of oil and gas supplies. Both sides have adopted the Russian style of energy policy: almost all the presidents of the member states in the bloc spoke of energy security, only they had security from Russian actions in mind.
The unified energy strategy of the bloc, which was founded at Yushchenko's urging (his words were, “not one single state has a self-sufficient energy policy.”), will be largely an alternative to Russia's and the EU's energy policies. An attempt will be made at the EU-Russia summit in Samara on May 17 to conciliate those policies. There is no apparent support for the energy bloc from the United States yet. Thus, the alliance's perspectives depend on whether or not other EU countries join it. The members of the bloc have stated that membership is open to all.
Formally, Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Kazakhstan and then Turkmenistan was a response to the summit in Krakow, and not the other way around. Invitations were sent to seven heads of state two months in advance, and Putin is responsible for the format changing from seven to five leaders.
The Krakow Energy Balance
Polish President Lech Kaczynski received Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Thursday, and Azeri President Ilham Aliev and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus on Friday. Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhammedov and Kazakh President Noursultan Nazarbaev chose to receive the Russian president instead. Nazarbaev covered all his bases and sent State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Lyazzat Kiinov to Krakow. Thus, the final communiquй of the summit is in the name of six countries.
The communiquй, dated May 13, states that an energy bloc of states united in a common approach to energy policy has been founded. There will be continual meetings of the presidents of the member states, with the next one scheduled for October 2007 in Vilnius. Before that, an interstate working group on key issues of energy policy will be set up, including the establishment of a consortium for the construction of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline through Gdansk.
Adamkus expressed the idea of the energy bloc most fully. “Energy is becoming inseparable from international relations and diplomacy in conditions where economic and energy independence is becoming an important criterion of national security,” he said. “Recent events show that manipulation of oil and gas supplies… affect the well-being of man and his daily life.” The events Adamkus was referring to were the gas war between Russia and Ukraine in 2004-2005. Therefore, “the time has come to search seriously for alternative sources of oil and gas supplies from the East free from political dependence.”
The new bloc is so far one of energy transporters and consumers. Representatives of oil and gas producers Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed the Krakow communiquй, there membership in the bloc is not guaranteed. The rhetoric of Aliev at the summit was an exact repetition of the rhetoric of the presidents of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan 3000 km. away. He explained that his participation is necessary for the diversification of oil and gas supplies. Both sides have adopted the Russian style of energy policy: almost all the presidents of the member states in the bloc spoke of energy security, only they had security from Russian actions in mind.The unified energy strategy of the bloc, which was founded at Yushchenko's urging (his words were, “not one single state has a self-sufficient energy policy.”), will be largely an alternative to Russia's and the EU's energy policies. An attempt will be made at the EU-Russia summit in Samara on May 17 to conciliate those policies. There is no apparent support for the energy bloc from the United States yet. Thus, the alliance's perspectives depend on whether or not other EU countries join it. The members of the bloc have stated that membership is open to all.
