Nursultan Nazarbayev embraces Mother Russia ... and Putin

Russian state-controlled media, including the RTR television channel and Radio Mayak, report Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s recent three-day visit to Moscow as a potential turning point in Putin’s struggle for control of the Caspian Basin’s oil and gas reserves.

This followed a trip to Tashkent on March 22nd to meet President Karimov where Nursultan Nazarbayev’s speech was broadcasted by Uzbek National TV-Channel on March 22,..."“I know that you defended peace of 26 million Uzbekistanis in Andijan too...We know it very well, and now, in order to defend state security in the whole world, such measures are taken......We know it very well, and now, in order to defend state security in the whole world, such measures are taken he said addressing Islam Karimov., who has of course chased the US forces out of Uzbekistan after the criticism of the Andijan massacre.

The visit resulted in an agreement to vastly expand Kazakhstan’s oil exports via Russia, along with Astana’s (Astana is the new (1998) capital of Kazakhstan) endorsement of a Moscow-led Eurasian economic union. These announcements are seen by Russian leaders as a major geopolitical victory…over the US and it’s allies in the struggle for energy resources. Consequently this raises questions about Kazakhstan’s participation in the US-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

After a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 4, Nazarbayev stated that the volume of Kazakhstani oil transported via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) route would rise to 67 million metric tons from its present level of 28 million tons. The 1,500 Km long CPC route connects the oil fields of Western Kazakhstan to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Russia has claimed (probably correctly) the route, which began operations in 2003, has been deliberately underutilized, reportedly causing significant losses. Provided that Kazakhstan follows through on its commitment, the CPC pipeline could begin to operate at near capacity.

"We can jointly determine the rules of the game in the Eurasian space," the Itar-Tass news agency quoted Nazarbayev as saying. "Of course, Russia will play a leading role" in the budding Eurasian Union.

Nazarbayev said on Russian TV that the agreement on the CPC "means that in the next seven or eight years the increase in oil production in Kazakhstan will be backed by transportation possibilities," He added that Kazakhstan and Russia would jointly develop three off-shore oil fields, which the Kazakhstani leader identified as Kurmangazy, Khvalynsky and Tsentralnoye.

The opening of the US-backed ( Clinton was a great supporter, BP wasn’t until taken over by Amoco) Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in 2005 broke an effective Russian pipeline monopoly linking the Caspian Basin to Western markets. The CPC route is the chief Russian competitor to BTC which was designed to bring oil and gas South not North to Russia.

It is claimed that heavy Kazakhstani participation in BTC is needed to make that export route viable. Astana has repeatedly said it will ship oil via BTC, but no deals have been negotiated ... so far.

On April 4, Putin said that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan would soon sign framework agreements to for joint economic efforts. Vagit Alekperov, the CEO of LUKoil, which has invested roughly $3 billion in Kazakhstan in recent years, wants to develop new joint projects, including an expansion of the CPC pipeline.(Pic 2002 NN & Dubya in happier times)

Russian-Kazakhstani trade in 2005 reached nearly US $10 billion, a 35 percent increase over 2004. After this the third meeting by Putin and Nazarbayev this year they have agreed to double trade from current levels .

The leaders also made agreements on defense and security involving reduction sin costs of Russian bases and size of military firing ranges in Kazakhstan (Sary-Shagan, Emba, and Priozersk) as well as an agreement on the Kazsat launch at Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan which is scheduled for June 8 and which President Putin will attend. The Kazakhstan Kazsat satellite is designed to provide TV broadcast and communications for Central Asia and the central part of Russia.

The Russian Vneshekonombank and the Eurasian Group headed by Kazakh millionaires Mashkevich, Shodiyev, and Ibragimov also had talks about joint projects.

Those who read the runes on these things saw significance that Nazarbayev's entourage on the visit included Timur Kulibayev, his son-in-law, now VP of Samruk a recently established major holding company , Timur is on the national Golf Team and is known in golfing circles as the "Lion King".(see pic)

Samruk

Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Singapore in autumn of 2003 and met the leader of their State Holding company (STN) who is Mrs Lee Syan Lee wife, of the President, who is the son of founder of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yu.

A year after the official visit, Singapore established joint venture between the national company "Kazakhstan Engineering" and "Singapore Technologies Engineering" . STN President Таn Pheng Hok and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Danial Akhmetov signed an agreement in Ferb 2005. The range of interests of the Joint venture include electronics, oil and gas production and shipbuilding, and reconstruction of the armed forces of Kazakhstan."

In December 2004 Nursultan Nazarbayev gave the order to the government to form a state holding which will unite the largest national companies with the help of international consulting company McKinsey & Co this is Samruk.


Kazakhstan

Total area: 1,049,149.53 sq miles (2,717,300 sq km)
Land area: 1,030,809.78 sq miles (2,669800 sq km)
Comparative area:
- Ninth largest in the world, equivalent to the size of Western Europe.
- Five times the size of France.
Boundaries: Total 7,459 miles (12,012 km). The Republic of Kazakhstan shares its longest borders with Russia, 4,251 miles (6,846 km) and China, 951 miles (1,533 km), as well as with Uzbekistan 1,369 miles (2,203 km), Kyrgyzstan, 653 miles (1,051 km), and Turkmenistan, 235 miles (379 km). It also borders 1,183 miles (1,894 km) of the Caspian Sea.
Population: 15,1 million
Ethnic Diversity:
Kazakh 51.8%, Russian 31.4%, Ukrainian 4.4%, Tatar 1.7%, German 1.6%. There are over 100 other nationalities.

Removing all its nuclear warheads by 1996, Kazakhstan became the first state in history to complete voluntary disarmament.