Ab~'troct Although the maln plnyer in the Caucasus is still the R11ssian Federation, it is not just neighboring powers such as Iran and Turkey. but also the EU and the US that have started showing their interest in the region during the last decade ~ namely. after the dissolution of the Soviet Union_ There is a lot of evidence us to how RU,)sia ittf!M.enced the South Caucasus in the past. Significantly, this irifluence still affects The politics, economies and social life of the region. A new

more »

... ayer, however, began to influence the regioTUJl situation in a number of important ways. Each party involved in rhe region has its own interests, but the key interest that every player has could be summarized as a desire to get a larger share of the region's energy resources. It >Hmld appear that Turkey, being a NATO partner and a close ally of tlu: US, doesn't have serirms conflicts with the US in the South Caucasus, America's more active involvement in the regiott after September 1 I. 2000, wi!i force all parties to rewexamine their policies toward the region. It seems, howevo!r, that some of the EU projects in the South Caucasus either leave Tur'i(ey aside or have been prepared without taking Turkey's interests into consideration.