Eurasia Risk Watch

Blog Dormant

A message by the blog owner: This weblog will be kept online, but “dormant”. This blog has been a very enriching experience and has brought enough visibility to its author and his collaborators. As new professional duties require a reschedule, I believe that the time has come to stop posting. However, readers will be able to find [...]

Hopes Raised Anew About Future Of Nabucco Gas Pipeline Project

Analysis by Bruce Pannier with parts of my recent interview on Nabucco’s latest developments. After a long, cold winter for the Nabucco pipeline project, March has brought a fresh wave of energy to the long-stalled Western plan to diversify Europe’s natural gas supplies. Nabucco, which aims to bring some 31 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Caspian [...]

China’s Ambitions Reshaping South Asia

Interesting analysis by OilAndPrice.com geopolitical watch: “It’s a truism that the 21st century future of not just Asia, but the entire world, will be significantly determined by the relationship between the globe’s two fastest-growing large economies, China and India.”

Post-Orange Ukraine to Support Main Russian Plans in Europe

Viktor Yanukovych’s electoral win in Kiev is likely to produce important political-strategic and economic developments in Eastern Europe, which will, in turn, consolidate Russian resurgence in its “Near Abroad”. First of all, as Andrew Rettman reports for EUObserver, On the energy front, he renewed a call to create a Russian-led consortium to take ownership of Ukraine’s gas [...]

Turkmenistan Seeks Ways to Boost its Gas Sector

A couple of interesting briefs on Turkmenistan and natural gas: Turkmenistan aims to accelerate large gas field development Ashgabat revisits TAPI gas pipeline As for the first issue, it is noteworthy that after rumors and heated debate over Ashgabat’s alleged miscalculations of its gas reserves, the Turkmen authorities are trying to accelerate the development of the much discussed [...]

State Fragmentation in Europe

A Russian forward-looking analysis of Europe’s separatist movements. Hotbeds of separatism in modern Europe 09:33 31/07/2009 Today, Europe is the venue of both integration and separatist processes. Experts have calculated that in the 21st century more than 10 new states may emerge in Europe.>> Other news of the day

India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia

There are analysts who predict that China will not be like classical superpowers. It will be more open to cooperation, more concentrated on peaceful commerce, less prone to security-related paranoia, and therefore less aggressive. Most importantly, these analysts argue that China has no real hegemonic drive, not even in its own strategic region. But a [...]

Ukraine in Customs Union with Russia?

If Yanukovych will implement Kiev’s entry into the Customs Union with Moscow, Minsk and Astana, an important step toward the realization of Russia’s aim to lead its “Near Abroad” will be taken. Possible implications If the project will see the light, political forces in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Uzbekistan would likely consider strengthening ties with the Union, [...]

Greece: A Political Time Bomb for the E.U.

David Goldman on his financial blog reminds readers that Although Greece is an EC member, its finances and political system have the character of a banana republic. EC membership, though, enabled Greece to borrow far more money than any banana republic, such that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is about triple that of Argentina just before the [...]

India Looks for Gas: Turkmenistan, Iran…

New Delhi is constantly looking for ways to diversify its hydrocarbon acquisitions. As far as natural gas is concerned, India has a number of alternatives for acquiring gas from Eurasian fields. But it won’t be easy, because of logistical and diplomatic difficulties. One option is to engage Iran, which is eager to develop the South [...]