Turkey: Eyeing Central Asian Energy Ties

Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler is visiting Kazakhstan after spending a day holding energy talks in Turkmenistan. Turkey's outreach to Central Asia comes as Ankara needs to protect its economic interests from a resurgent Russia. Since Russia's invasion of Georgia helped to remind Turkey that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline is not invincible, Ankara is looking to use its influence in Central Asia to protect its energy plans and keep Russia at bay.