Program Overview

• Hosts: Ray Suarez, Deborah Amos
• Length: 51 min.
• Original Airdate: Nov 2008

“It’s possible that after ten years we will have a very big war, because in Central Asia we see a lot of contradictions, there is Europe, [the] United States, China, Russia, Muslim terrorists, so it’s [a] dangerous combination of different interests.” -Konstantin Simonov

But there’s one interest everyone shares: black gold. Since the Soviet Union flamed out, independent-minded, oil-rich Caspian states have been courting, and courted by, those thirsty for their Texas Tea. The Chinese have Caspian Crude on their menu. Europe and America have a burning desire to kick their Middle East addiction, but petrol-powered Putin has the West over a barrel. The only pipeline that doesn't feed Russia's coffers snakes through Georgia, and recently, Russian bombs came close to cutting that vein.

Ray Suarez takes us to Azerbaijan to see how a major Caspian player balances its ties to Moscow and its partnership with the West

Deborah Amos takes a look at the history of Caspian region geopolitics since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ray Suarez looks back at how and why US, Georgian, Turkish and Azeri officials pushed for a pipeline that would transport Caspian oil westwards, bypassing Russia.

Elizabeth Arnold travels to Moscow and Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana to explore the ties that bind the oil-rich former Soviet state to Russia.

Guests on this program include:

Martha Brill Olcott, Senior Associate with the Russian & Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Zeyno Baran, Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute

Elhan Shashinoglu, Director of the Atlas Research Center in Baku

Rashan Bayramov, BP spokesperson in Azerbaijan

Vusal Qasimli, Deputy Director of Baku’s Economic Research Center

Liana Jervalidze, independent energy analyst in Tbilisi.

S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Suleyman Demirel, President of Turkey 1993-2000

Tedo Japaridze, Georgian Ambassador to the US

Mithat Rende, Deputy Director General for Energy Issues at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Richard Morningstar, Special Envoy to the Caspian Region in the Clinton Administration.

John Wolf, Special Envoy to the Caspian Region in the Clinton Administration.

Konstantin Simonov, Director of the National Energy Security Fund in Moscow

Richard Hoagland, US Ambassador to Kazakhstan

Julia Nanay, Senior Director at PFC Energy

Sanjay Srikantiah, economic advisor to the US Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan

Jonathan Simpson, Head of European Projects at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.