Rusko ve Středni Asii po roce 2022 a Perspektivy Středoasijskeho Regionu v Energetice
Russia in Central Asia after 2022 and the Central Asian Region's Prospects in Energy

Author(s): Martin Laryš
Subject(s): Energy and Environmental Studies, Environmental and Energy policy, International relations/trade, Russian Aggression against Ukraine
Published by: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů
Keywords: energy from Kazakhstan; energy from Uzbekistan; energy from Turkmenistan;
Summary/Abstract: Despite the erosion of Russian influence, Moscow is managing to maintain the economic and energy dependence of the individual Central Asian countries, although in the long term these dependencies will be disrupted by other actors, primarily China and, to a lesser extent, Turkey. The leadership of the Central Asian countries does not support Russian aggression in Ukraine, but does not protest against it significantly either, as it is trying to maintain neutrality and avoid possible Western sanctions and Russian aggressive reactions. In the energy sector, the Central Asian countries, primarily Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are oriented towards Russia and China for pragmatic reasons, which, thanks to the better technological background in both countries, have shares in the extraction of oil, natural gas and uranium. The energy potential of Central Asia is not essential for the Czech Republic, as it does not offer greater opportunities for the emergence of new, stable and (relatively) cheap supply chains in the field of oil, natural gas or uranium beyond the existing possibilities and infrastructure. This policy paper aims to assess the political, economic and security influence of Russia in Central Asia (especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) and to analyse the energy policy of these countries with regard to the potential for the EU, and therefore the Czech Republic. Regarding the issue of Russian influence, the text examines whether and in which specific areas this influence is noticeably decreasing. In the next part of the paper, the paper analyses the energy potential of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for the EU and the Czech Republic.

• Details
• Contents