"NEAR" AND "FAR" NEIGHBORS

Now and then one reads and hears from officials about "near" and "far" abroad which does not make sense, and in Ukrainian, too, it sounds stupid. Another borrowing made thoughtlessly from Moscow's "Vremya" news program vocabulary. Let's say "near" and "far neighbors." In Ukraine, these word combinations seem to stress that, among other things, this country lacks precisely such "nearby neighbors" - and that their number should include not only Kyrgyzstan and Tadjikistan, but also the Slovak Republic, Belarus, Moldova, the European part of Russia, and Turkey (the latter until now seemingly nonexistent).

The Turkish Premier's visit to Ukraine was important not only in the sense that it would establish peace in the Ukrainian-Turkish fisheries and work out ways to prevent incidents like the one near Zmiyiny Island last month. Another important aspect was Ukraine's desire to get the political foothold to have at least a piece of the multibillion-dollar Turkish tender for 1,000 tanks. Last but not least, this visit was important in that it confirmed the presence of numerous points of contact and common interests in the political courses of both countries, particularly with regard to the Caucasus.

The latter was topical the more so in view of a second attempt (in less than three years!) on the life of Georgian President Edvard Shevardnadze. Turkey is interested in a stable and strong Caucasus as much as Ukraine. Both countries prefer Geidar Aliyev in Baku and Shevardnadze in Tbilisi, because this alignment of forces guarantees stability in, and good prospects for, the territory which has lived through at least seven wars over the past decade...

Just like Ukraine, Turkey is interested in a reduced Russian military presence in Georgia and Armenia. Despite the tragic history of Turkish-Armenian relations, Ankara and Yerevan will come to terms as the Armenians are bound to realize that they should build relations with their neighbor across the Black Sea relying on their own judgment, rather then stage Armenian-Russian maneuvers close to the Turkish border.

The actual, unadvertised, purpose of Project GUAM (Georgia-Ukraine-Armenia-Moldova route to transport large quantities of Caspian oil bypassing Russia's pipelines, which is formally nonexistent) makes Turkish involvement only logical (GUTAM sounds as impressively enigmatic). Although the Turkish route differs from the Ukrainian one, for both countries the main thing is leaving Russia out of it. There is enough oil in the Caspian Sea for all the interested parties, but proportion and time are the crucial factor. Turkey still has to build a pipeline linking Baku to the Mediterranean port of Ceihan, across Kurd-controlled territories. Ankara does not seem to mind the Kurds or project cost ($2.5 billion). There are no Kurds in Ukraine, but plenty of even more bloodthirsty bureaucrats, most of whom are Russian-energy-oriented, and lack of top level project coordination.

Picture a Western oil tycoon or an Azerbaijani VIP from President Aliyev's entourage... They have two different issues of the Uriadovy kurier ("Government Messenger," the Cabinet organ which carries laws, edicts, decrees, etc.). One issue is from the December and the other from February. In the former issue they read about the Vice Premier doubting the need in a new large oil terminal near Odesa. The latter has it that two months later the Premier says yes, Ukraine is indeed interested in alternative energy sources. Naturally, the oil tycoon and Aliyev's man will take a map and draw neat pencil lines, tracing future oil routes all the way from Baku and down the sheet to Turkey.