Caspian Voices

August 2022

Welcome to Caspian Voices, Crude Accountability's monthly newsletter for scholars, policy-makers, and civil society members with hard-to-find information from the Caspian and the Black Sea regions from the communities impacted by oil and gas development.

In this newsletter, read up on China's latest involvements in Azerbaijan and harassment of environmental defenders from Turkmenistan and Mongolia. Crude Accountability has two exciting events coming up at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference next month - details below!

Kopet Dag Mountains, Turkmenistan. Picture © Adobe Stock

Beyond Oil: Examining China’s Influence in Azerbaijan

In April 2022, the governments of Azerbaijan and China celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations. Our latest blog dives into the history of this partnership in the context of oil and gas development, education, and military investments.

Read the blog here.

Press release: Turkmen activists in Istanbul

Turkmen activists were beaten by employees of the Turkmen Consulate in Istanbul while trying to deliver an open letter to President Serdar Berdymukhamedov, according to the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. The letter calls on the Turkmen government to aid its citizens who are economic migrants, students, and tourists in Turkey and are struggling to return home because of passport and flight issues.

Read the story here (also available in Русский/Russian and Türkmenler/Turkmen).

Stop Reprisals Against Defenders!

We stand in solidarity with Sukhgerel Dugersuren, our partner and a courageous woman human rights defender in Mongolia. One of the most prominent activists following development finance in Mongolia, Sukhgerel is currently facing criminalization at the hands of the authorities in Mongolia for working with a local herder community to successfully challenge a Chinese-financed hydropower plant.

Kate Watters: Exemptions from Russian Energy Sanctions Undermine Western Efforts to Stop the War

Kate Watters authored a recent article on the significant flaws of sanctions related to the war in Ukraine, warning that threatening Russia’s oil and gas revenues is not a silver bullet due to significant holes that impede the effectiveness of current sanctions.

Sanctions designed to disrupt Russia’s kleptocratic behavior have largely failed to prevent the Kremlin from funding its invasion of Ukraine. Watters points to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium as a problematic source of revenue.

Read: Sanctioning Pipelines and Oligarchs is not a Silver Bullet

Crude Accountability to attend Human Dimension Conference

We’re excited to share that Crude Accountability will be participating in the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference from September 26-October 7. We will be hosting a side event on Climate Justice in the OSCE Region on September 28th at 17:00 and another on Forced Disappearances within OSCE states, highlighting Turkmenistan on October 4th at 17:00. Hope to see you there!

For those of you who can't attend in person, keep an eye out for updates from us!

Images in this newsletter are licensed for editorial use via Adobe Stock and Stutterstock

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