After the collapse of the USSR, Central Asian countries faced a number of political and economic challenges. The most pressing issues were inter-State interaction in the energy sector and the pursuit of their independent energy policy. But the efforts of the countries to implement integration projects in the energy sector failed. The Central Asian states had twin economies and poorly developed infrastructure. The main obstacle for expanding energy cooperation of the countries in the region was their geographical remoteness from the major hydrocarbon resource consumers. Despite the difficulties, the countries pursued a policy aimed at attracting foreign investment in the development of deposits and implementation of pipeline projects. China and Western countries had great influence on the discussion and further implementation of a series of pipeline projects. Central Asia was of great importance for China which sought to strengthen its influence in the countries of the region but curtail Russia and Western countries’ influence. In this matter, China has made significant progress with the pipeline projects in the region. The EU and the US were also promoting energy projects. However, the remoteness of the countries from the European market for hydrocarbon resources precluded projects for oil and gas pipelines going from Central Asia to the west to be implemented. As a result, the Central Asian countries largely opt for China and Russia, as an important partner, in the implementation of their energy policy.
The collapse of the USSR resulted for Azerbaijan to pursue an independent foreign policy. Azerbaijan focused on establishing and furthering relations with Western states, primarily, with the United States. Official Baku considered the United States as an important partner to provide support for the economic development and production of hydrocarbon resources. On the other side, the United States also increased its focus on Azerbaijan due to the favorable geographical position of the Caspian state and the pro-Western attitude of its political elite. The US counted on taking advantage of Azerbaijan to change the flow of oil, which was supposed to be produced in the future. The United States played a decisive role in expanding Azerbaijan's cooperation with Western oil companies, which headed for the shores of the Caspian Sea. As a result, the Azerbaijani-American cooperation in the 90s of the XX century led Baku to chose the western direction in exporting its hydrocarbon resources as the principal one. In addition, under the US influence, Azerbaijan took a tough position on the international legal status of the Caspian Sea. Cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan has had a great impact on the situation in the region, relations with Russia and the other Caspian states.
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