"Regions that are rich in energy resources continue to be of crucial interest to our carbon-powered world. There are numerous concepts at stake, including international legal status, ownership rights, energy routes, transit corridors, state and corporate interests, environmental hazards and the overall puzzle of energy diplomacy. Additionally, the Caspian is troubled with its own specific set of complexities, encompassing its undefined legal status, territorial disputes, ethnic instabilities and its vicinity to other hot spots, such as a middle east in turmoil and the more recentlysparked conflict in Ukraine. Its geographical setting makes the Caspian of central interest for European energy security, although the supply chain from the region has traditionally been kept under Russian control. However, for the past decade or so, the EU has been becoming increasingly ambitious in planning Caspian pipelines that bypass Russian territory. The Caspian is, therefore, also at the crossroads between the grand and conflicting energy interests of Russia and western Europe "

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