The Ratio of Russia's Regional Policy and the US in the Energy Dimension.

Abstract

The article analyzes the goals and objectives of the diplomacy of Russia and the United States in the Caspian region. The author proves the problem of transit in Russian and American energy diplomacy in the region, examines the interstate relations between Russia and the United States with the countries of the region in the field of energy. The Caspian region has become a new center of gravity of the interests of the countries of the West and the East, and it attracts more and more attention not only as an energy exporting region, but also as an important transit hub. It is the energy factor that has become a prerequisite for political, legal and economic changes in the Caspian region. Given the geostrategic position, political, economic, environmental and other factors, the Caspian region is important for the Russian Federation, at the same time in terms of ensuring national security of military-political and socio-economic nature. The Russian Federation is trying to play a key role in the region, taking into account both the energy and geopolitical factors. In order to secure its own national interests, Russia seeks to preserve its military and political influence in the region and to exclude access of Western forces to the territory of the Caspian Sea. Significant geopolitical interests in the Caspian region are the United States of America. The United States is trying to pursue an energy policy in the region and actively influence the process of exploiting the Caspian Sea's energy resources. To this end, we adopted a new strategy of American energy policy, which was to push Russia out of the Caspian region. In this way, US energy diplomacy has created a new geopolitical situation in relations with Russia. The purpose of the article is to analyze the ratio of regional policy of Russia and the US in the energy dimension. It is stated that the regional strategy of Russia is aimed at the political isolation of the region, which was successfully implemented during the first decades. Its methods are creating zones of controlled instability, delaying the territorial delineation and creating contradictions in the relations of the Caspian states, military domination. The research methods include geostrategic analysis of the position of the countries of the region in the context of the energy goals of the policy of major countries – the United States and the Russian Federation. Used methods of comparative and comparative-historical analysis, which allowed to determine the preconditions for the formation of regional policy of Russia and the United States in the energy dimension. The author concludes that stable socio-economic development and security in the south of the Caspian Sea can only be achieved if the mechanisms of international cooperation are sought, the result of which may be the signing of a multilateral agreement on the international legal status of the Caspian Sea.