Editor’s Note :

One sunny day in the Turkmenistan desert, the Turkmen natural gas line to Russia mysteriously self-exploded. “Wasn’t me, wasn’t me,” Russian officials chorused in their best Bart Simpson imitation. Turkmenistan, a former Russian colony, cherishes its modern motto: ‘Turkmenistan – Motherland of Neutrality.” So, they called in the Chinese. The Chinese spun a vision of a pipeline that would allow Shanghai housewives fry eggs with Turkmen gas. The Russian Ambassador called in the Ashgabat press corps and sneered at the idea. But, 1,000 days later, on Dec. 12, 2009, China’s president, Hu Jintao, flew to Turkmenistan where he merrily turned a big wheel, opening the gas flow east. Russia’s foreign policy focuses on bottling up Central Asian gas in Central Asia. Or buying it cheap, running it through Gazprom pipes, and then selling it dear to Europe. While Russian companies build pipelines across the Baltic, Russian diplomats block Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan from building any pipeline across the Caspian. Yuriy Vitrenko wants Central Asian gas to fill Ukraine’s gas line, which now runs at 20% capacity. This credible venture will only happen if there is severe arm-twisting of the judo black belt sitting in the Kremlin. Let’s see what happens tomorrow in Geneva. With Best Regards, Jim Brooke