Today.az 15 Giugno 2008

Russia attempts to destabilize situation in Georgia to take control over the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, passing via Georgia, says former adviser for US president in Jimmy Carter's administration, famous US political scientist Zbignev Bzhezinski

He said the United States witnessed "cases of possible threats by Russia, addressed to Georgia, in fact, motivated not by some territorial disputes, though Russia and Georgia really have territorial disputes, but caused by intention to take control over the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

"If Georgia government is destabilized, western access to Baku, Caspian Sea and further will be limited", said Bzhezinski during the hearings in the US Senate Thursday.

Devoting his speech to analysis of Russia's actions on the energy markets in Eurasia, he stated that Russia will try to consolidate its monopoly on these markets and will use all existing political and economic levers, including "politically motivated cessation of energy supplies" in Europe and Baltic states.

"Russia actively tends to isolate the Central Asian region from direct access to world economy, especially to energy supplies", considers the political scientist.

Calling to expand the access of western states to oil and gas reserves of Central Asia in a response to Russia's actions, Bzhezinski spoke for construction of a net of alternative pipelines in Europe and Asia, including "for intensive study of possible construction of a pipeline from Central Asia via Afghanistan to the south, which will maximally expand world society's access to the Central Asian energy markets".

"We should support Baltic states, Sweden and Poland in their doubts about the North flow pipeline, which is planned to connect Russia to Germany", announced he.

Bzhezinski said the United States "should also encourage Germany for diversification of profits from the North flow, when it appeares, to ensure that they will be used by not only Germany, but also the EU member-states to the east of Germany".

Pointing at the "negative role of the former chancellor of Germany, who became the hired employee of Gazprom, Bzhezinski noted that this role "is a complexity which should not be ignored".

At the same time the US political scientist criticized the position of the leaders of several other European countries.

"This is the Italian Prime Minister, who has recently been restored in this position, who practically turned the worshipping of Vladimir Putin into a sport", said he adding that for some reasons Greece also sympathizes a number of Russian initiatives in the energy sector".

"The government of Hungary, which is oddly sensitive to Russian orders and perhaps even financial stimulus, whose position on the Nabucco pipeline causes damage to it (pipeline). We have recently seen a number of financial interests in Austria, fixing the same", said he.

In turn, Josef Biden, head of the Senate committee of foreign affairs and democrat senator, chairing the hearings said his committee almost has no time to influence the policy of George Bush's quitting administration.

"Frankly speaking, the role of this committee has a low influence on the remaining time of this administration", said Biden.

He voiced hope that the topics, considered by the committee will define a circle of issues, to be dealt with by the next government of the United States.

Source >  Novosti-Gruziya (june 13)