Three Distinct Blocs among Caspian Littoral States Said Turning It into ‘a Sea of Discord’

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 22 – Each of the countries on the Caspian littoral has been expanding their navies and all have been entering into bilateral relations as far as exercises go. Now, Andrey Matveyev says, three distinct multi-country blocs are emerging and turning that body of water into “a sea of discord.”

            The Kazakhstan journalist says that as a result, the sea, sometimes referred to in the past as “a Russian lake” is becoming “a contested strategic zone” with these three groupings and their “competing security visions” making “the risk of escalation real” (timesca.com/opinion-a-sea-of-discord-intensifying-military-drills-threaten-stability-in-the-caspian-region/).

            “The first bloc,” Matveyev says, consists of Russia, Iran and the non-littoral state of China. They’ve been conducting annual “security belt” exercises since 2019 and the first two, with the third in support, are now holding on this month (eurasiatoday.ru/voenno-morskoj-posyl-irana-i-rossii-k-ssha-ucheniya-v-kaspijskom-more/).

            The second includes Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the other members of the Organization of Turkic States which is led by Turkey itself. And the third is grouped around cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. These groups are both fluid and changing, but the trend toward formalization is obvious, the Kazakhstan journalist suggests.

            And to the extent he is correct, that will add to the complexity of conflicts on the Caspian and its littoral states and present new challenges to Russia which would like to restore its dominance over that region and to other countries which want to use the Caspian region as a transit zone or as a place to expand their influence.