### US's Interests

The United States has five explicit objectives concerning the Caspian region: 1) to promote the sovereignty and independence of the Caspian states, 2) to support the commercial opportunities of American companies, 3) to encourage the flow of Caspian oil and gas to the marketplace, 4) to leverage the economic development of the region to mitigate regional conflicts, and 5) to restrict Iran's participation in the Caspian.
The U.S. hopes to achieve these goals by advocating multiple East-West pipeline routes from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan that would avoid Iran and simultaneously forestall Russian plans to control the transit of oil and gas. The U.S. has specifically lobbied hardest for the Baku-Ceyhan route through Turkey that bypasses Russia, Iran, and the Bosporus.

U.S. interests have an exceptionally powerful impact on internal Caspian policies, negotiations, and choice of pipeline routes. The three resource exporting states, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, are struggling to shed their political and economic dependence on Russia, and believe that allying themselves with the United States would further promote their autonomy. A top Kazakh official explains that only the U.S. could provide a counterbalance for big powers such as Russia and China. The Caspian states create such an alliance with the U.S. by signing contracts with American corporations. Normally, when an American oil company wishes to invest in a peaceful host country with a stable democracy, the U.S. government remains a supportive spectator. But due to numerous regional conflicts, the threat of Iran, the overwhelming Russian presence, and the economic and environmental desires of Turkey, the oil and gas companies are unusually dependent on American diplomacy to negotiate pipeline routes.

Thus, the U.S. government has substantial leverage on the oil companies, and may be able to use them to bridge national security interests and the interests of the Caspian states.

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