Bucharest gets foothold in Caucasus

Published on 18 April 2011 at 10:48

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“Why Russia and Turkey fear Romania” headlines România liberă, setting out the energy and military strategy that Bucharest has worked out for the Caucasus. The newspaper notes that “Romania is the only European country to have signed a bilateral agreement with a country in the region,” Azerbaijan, which is specifically aimed at setting up a new Caucasian gas route that bypasses the three big powers around the Black Sea: Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. A senior Defence Ministry official quoted by the Bucharest daily said that Romania is taking part in the opening up of this strategic zone “located along the main axis of the 21st century, as defined by the military experts of the major powers: the Gulf of Aden – the Persian Gulf – Shanghai.” The ambitions of Bucharest worry Moscow and Ankara, who see in it the growing influence of the United States in the region.

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