Caspian Report - Issue: 08 - Fall 2014

The Southern Gas Corridor, starting from
Azerbaijan, crossing Georgia, Turkey,
Greece and Albania, and shipping gas from
Caspian Sea into the European Union, fully
bypasses Russia. Thus it seems a very
appropriate and timely solution.
PREFACE
The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has
made the West, and especially the
EU, rethink its strategy toward Moscow.
Once again Western governments
are questioning Russia’s reliability
as a partner in international
affairs. Energy security is high on
the EU agenda. The current crisis
seems unlikely to resolve itself for
some time, and the Kremlin’s threatening
rhetoric is increasingly loud.
Against this background, there is a
powerful understanding that a common
Western policy must be established
in order to protect European
energy security from future threats
from Russia. Consequently, at a
meeting in late March 2014, European
leaders asked the European Commission
to propose a comprehensive
plan for strengthening EU energy
independence. In that context, the
Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) is being
posited as a possible solution.
The Southern Gas Corridor, starting
from Azerbaijan, crossing Georgia,
Turkey, Greece and Albania, and
shipping gas from Caspian Sea into
the European Union, fully bypasses
Russia. Thus it seems a very appropriate
and timely solution. However,
there are also obstacles. Any attempt
by the West to strengthen its
political and economic presence in
the post-Soviet world may be seen
by Moscow as a direct threat to its
strategic interests, especially in the
context of the EU’s energy diversification
strategy. To avert any further
Western engagement in what Russia
conceives of as its sphere of Influence,
any kind of destabilisation in
the already fragile South Caucasus
region may become a useful tool in
Moscow’s hands, ultimately jeopardising
regional security and thereby
the entire project .
While acknowledging both the urgent
need to diversify Europe’s energy
supply, as well as the positive
security and economic impact of the
Southern Corridor on the EU and
the countries of the southern region,
this paper argues that the security
issues in South Caucasus, such as the
unresolved conflicts and Russia’s active
military presence in the region,
cannot be ignored and should be addressed
at a strategic level. Thus restoring
stability to the region should
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CASPIAN REPORT, FALL 2014