Raman Yakauleusky: Crises pushes Lukashenka to the most incredible alliances :: Charter'97 :: News

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov declared at the briefing in Astana on Wednesday that Kazakhstan is interested in oil transit through Belarus and its refining at the Belarusian enterprises. “Today we are witnessing the sharp crises of confidence between political authorities of Russia and Belarus. It pushes Alyaksandr Lukashenka to the most incredible alliances declaring energy independence and security from Moscow, insisting on preservation of its monopolism in the sphere of oil and gas deliveries to Europe. The potential Russia’s competitor is Kazakhstan which persistently and quietly pursues the policy of its national interests. And they are gradually expanding not only over the Central –Asian region but over China and Europe either”, the Wider Europe international portal columnist Raman Yakauleusky declared in his interview with the Charter’97 press center.

According to Raman Yakauleusky, the present strategy of the socio-economic development of Kazakhstan is based on oil. “The dollar cash flow is foreseen to update the economy in general and to solve all social, humanitarian, environmental and other problems. The republic is truly abundant in oil. Its total resources are estimated over 25 billion barrels (the Kazakhstan government gives the figure of 8 billion tons but it is evidently an overestimation). Presently all the Kazakhstan oil is mined on land and those fields are far from being exhausted .The oil proceeds are high though the market is at the initial stage of its development, thus being narrow and low profitable. Western countries searching for the alternative to the turbulent Middle East can’t ignore such place as Kazakhstan. Oil fields in the Northern part of the Caspian Sea where according to the western estimates there are over 13 billion barrels oil are the world largest discovery since the field in the Prudhoe Bay on Alaska being discovered 30 years ago”, the expert says.

Nevertheless, according to Yakauleusky, despite of the agreement with Russia on development of the pre-Caspian pipeline neither Kazakhstan nor Turkmenistan are to refuse their participation in trans-Caspian project”. That was openly spoken of by their presidents. Presidents of Poland and Lithuania dwelt upon perspectives of this project at Urata 27-28 August. That topic was doubtlessly present at the recent meetings of the Lithuanian president with presidents of Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It may so happen that Astana will be more highly represented at the Vilnius energy forum 10 -11 October that it was in Krakow. The appearance of the Belarusian special representative can’t be excluded either. In general, nothing can be excluded. As far as energy security is concerned we all have found ourselves under the pressing of the Russian monopolism”.