Promoting International Energy Security

The Scope for Expanding U.S. Air Force-Led Cooperation with Caspian Energy Producers Is Limited

• USAF relationships with counterparts in the Caspian region and Central Asia are dominated by the need to preserve transit routes to Afghanistan. The countries with oil and natural gas resources need to maintain a delicate balance with the region's leading powers — Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran. As a result, there are inherent limitations to security cooperation with the United States. The focus of any cooperation activities is likely to remain on such activities as border control, maritime security, and emergency response. Azerbaijan is a potential exception, given its desire to deepen security ties with the United States and to lessen the effects of longstanding congressional restrictions on aid.

U.S. Air Force Engagement with Turkey on Energy Security Looks Promising

• Turkey continues to be an important U.S. ally. The U.S. Air Force has established important relationships with its Turkish counterparts through extensive cooperation to deal with Kurdish terrorist threats emanating from Northern Iraq. This track record, coupled with the likely increasing importance of energy security to Turkey's leaders, could create a promising yet modest opportunity to strengthen these relationships. Thus far, military cooperation in energy security has largely consisted of informal talks at the senior leader and staff levels, but these interactions could expand, and the topics could extend beyond pipeline security to include reducing vulnerabilities in the Bosporus and applying lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.