UKRAINE’S NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE CONTEXT OF PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORT AND ENERGY COOPERATION WITH AZERBAIJAN AT THE TURN OF 20–21th CENTURIES

Abstract

The article highlights the shortcomings of the national security of Ukraine on the example of the problems in development of Ukrainian-Azerbaijan cooperation in the transport and energy sector. Ukraine and Azerbaijan are of mutual interest. Since Ukraine acts as a transport-transit country between the Caspian region and Europe, at the same time, Azerbaijan is a source of raw energy for Europe and for Ukraine. Since the mid-1990s, countries have concluded a range of bilateral international agreements, including in the economic sphere. They agreed to take part in joint projects. In particular, Azerbaijan has invited Ukraine to independently produce oil on its territory. In turn, Kiev suggested Baku to participate in the managing of highway Odesa-Brody. However, the various mechanisms for the implementation of projects, as well as geopolitical factors did not allow them to support each other. In 1994 in a period of deep economic crisis in the country President Heydar Aliyev signed the largest oil and gas contract. The agreement was called the Contract of the Century. More than a dozen international organizations took part in this Contract. It would ensure internal stability and national security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, promote the recovery and growth of its economic and military potential. Formula of the main components of this plan is articulated by an Azerbaijani researcher A. Yunusov: “West — oil — stability in Azerbaijan”. Ukraine designed and built the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline without the participation of foreign investors: manufacturers, suppliers and buyers. Therefore, in Kyiv sprang up problems with the launch of the oil pipeline. The oil pipeline did not bring profits to the treasury of the country and did not ensure the needs of the national security in the energy sector. The main attention of the article is focused on the launch of the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline in direct mode. Moreover, besides the reasons of the unwillingness of Baku to sell oil to Kyiv and participate in the management of the Ukrainian oil pipeline are described. In addition, it presents geopolitical reasons of refusing Azerbaijan to transport oil via the Odesa-Brody pipeline and Baku’s participation in the construction of the oil pipeline — Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. Russian sources claimes that the pipeline did not work, because the Ukrainian government failed to conclude contracts with any suppliers of oil or its customers. At the same time, an oil refi nery in the Poland and Slovakia was not profi table to export and to buy Caspian oil, which was more expensive than Russian oil and demanded a deeper technical processing. However, state company KazMunaiGaz of Kazakhstan and Central Asian oil trader “Sompetrol” were ready to the transportation of oil via the Odesa-Brody pipeline. The following agreement with the Ukrainian government was signed in 2003. However, the main obstacle was the position of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma. In 2002 he got into international isolation by Western countries which accused Ukraine of supplying arms (the so-called systems of “Kolchuga”) to Iraq, as well as in the limited freedom of speech and media in the country due to political scandal with Gongadze. The lack of foreign capital in the Ukrainian transport route did not allow Ukraine to use oil pipeline as intended and to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the transport and energy sector with its strategic partner. It also deprived it of the most realistic in today’s world security guarantees. Therefore, during 2003, Kuchma quickly reoriented to the Russian Federation, in particular he refused from Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. Thus it is disclosed importance of the foreign investments in the development of transport and energy sector for the country’s national security in the case of Ukraine and Azerbaijan. It is revealed the reasons of inability of the leadership of the Ukrainian state to withdraw the country from the sphere of Russia influence.