The EU wants to secure energy supplies by pledging aid; Russia and China are countering with a different tack; and Turkey has a renewed interest in the regionRussia and China are trying to counter EU efforts to secure fresh energy supplies in Central Asia, the EU's top regional envoy, Pierre Morel, has warned, with analysts worried Turkey could also start competing with European interests if its EU accession hopes fade.
"There's a level of competition - you've got Russia, China and the US. There's Turkey as well, and India is developing a strategy," Mr Morel told MEPs at a European Parliament debate in Brussels on Tuesday (8 May), as Europe gears up to launch its first ever Central Asia policy at the June EU summit.
Focusing on Russia and China, the diplomat explained that despite traditional "rivalry" between Moscow and Beijing, the pair are increasingly using the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - a dormant anti-terrorist club formed in 2001 - to discuss the energy map in Central Asia.
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