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BISHKEK (TCA) — Even after the signing of the Caspian Sea’s Legal Status Convention, prospects of Turkmenistan being someday able to export its natural gas via the proposed Trans-Caspian gas pipeline remain vague and problematic. We are republishing this article on the issue, written by Ilgar Gurbanov, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor: Continue reading
ASTANA (TCA) — The first container train with a batch of non-ferrous metals was sent from Kazakhstan’s rail station Novoustkamenogorsk to the Turkish port of Derince. The train of 88-mi 20-foot containers will follow along the Trans-Caspian Transport Route (TITR) through the port of Kuryk and the water area of the Caspian Sea. The cargo will be delivered to Istanbul within 15 days, the press service of Kazakhstan’s KTZ Express company said on August 16. Continue reading
ASHGABAT (TCA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted the president of Turkmenistan for talks following the long-awaited signing of a new convention on the legal status of the resource-rich Caspian Sea, RFE/RL reported. At the start of his meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi on August 15, Putin said he would like to discuss "all issues that are of interest for bilateral relations" following the signing of the agreement. "We have always built our relations based on mutual respect, so we are really doing a lot to promote our cooperation," the Turkmen leader said. Ahead of the informal meeting, the Kremlin said the talks would touch upon the "entire range of bilateral relations," including a "possible energy dialogue." The Sochi meeting came three days after an August 12 summit in Kazakhstan's port city of Aktau during which Putin, Berdymukhammedov, and the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan signed a new convention on the legal status and delimitation of the oil- and gas-rich Caspian Sea — a matter disputed by the five littoral states for more than 20 years. The talks also followed the signing of a "strategic partnership" agreement between Russia and Turkmenistan in Ashgabat in October 2017. Ties between the two countries have been strained by disputes over the issue of natural-gas supplies. Russia has suspended gas purchases from Turkmenistan for years, citing contract violations by Turkmenistan, while the Central Asian country supplied China with its fuel. Turkmenistan casts itself as a neutral country and is not a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union or the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which include other former Soviet republics in Central Asia.
BISHKEK (TCA) — The idea of building a new canal between the Caspian and the Black Sea may see implementation as the project enjoys support of Kazakhstan, China, and Russia (despite internal opposition in areas where the planned canal would pass). We are republishing this article on the issue, written by Paul Goble, originally published by The Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor: The hopes of China and some Central Asian countries for the construction of a new canal between the Caspian and the Black Sea have sparked serious ethnic and environmental opposition even before the first spade of ground is turned. The project has its roots in the megaprojects of the Stalinist Soviet era—the types of massive “public works” that have experienced a comeback under current President Vladimir Putin. The existing waterways in this region lack the capacity to be economically significant. However, any canal large enough to compete with alternative routes would not only be massively expensive—costing at least $10 billion—but would also have a deleterious impact on the environment. Therefore, inhabitants of areas through which this canal would pass, in particular the newly active Kalmyk nation and its political leadership, express increasing opposition to this initiative. Many Russian environmental activists feel the same way. But some in the Kremlin may not: giant projects like this one open the way for massive diversions of public funds into the hands of its oligarch allies. The proposed so-called “Eurasia” shipping channel would expand and connect a series of rivers and waterways across the northern territories of the North Caucasus. The eastern end of the route would open to the Caspian along the Kuma River, at the border between Dagestan and Kalmykia; the western end would open into the Taganrog (Tahanrih) Bay, in the Sea of Azov, which itself connects to the Black Sea via the Kerch Strait. As a straighter and more direct riverine transit corridor than the pre-existing Caspian–Black Sea link—the more northerly, 17-lock Volga-Don Canal—the 700-kilometer-long Eurasia canal would shave approximately 1,000 kilometers off the Volga-Don route and consist of only 6 locks. Additionally, the Eurasia canal could handle larger cargo vessels (10,000 tons, with a draft of up to 10 meters) compared to the Volga-Don Canal (5,000 tons, 5 meter draft), promising annual shipping capacities of as much 45 million tons (Zonakz.net, July 12, 2018; The Brussels Times, June 1, 2018; see EDM, October 1, 2010). The leading advocates of this project today are Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Chinese government. Nazarbayev says that such a canal would radically expand Kazakhstan’s foreign trade with Europe, especially bulk cargoes like coal. For his country, he suggests, such a canal could make all the difference between becoming an economic star or fading into a backwater with few prospects beyond its immediate region. Other Central Asian countries are interested as well but less focused on this project than Kazakhstan (Total.kz, July 21). The Chinese government is also supportive; yet, for Beijing, such a canal is not essential but rather an...
ASTANA (TCA) — A presentation of the multimodal transport hub — the ferry complex of the Kuryk port on Kazakhstan’s Caspian coast — was held in Mangystau region on August 11 with the participation of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Heads of state bodies, transport and logistics companies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Iran, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan took part in the event, the press service of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy reported. Continue reading
AKTAU, Kazakhstan (TCA) — At their summit in the Kazakh port city of Aktau on August 12, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan signed the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, after more than two decades of discussions. Continue reading
