Turkmen gas and pipeline diplomacy of the USA
U.S. Secretary’s Assistant on issues of South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Bisval has started her trip to Central Asia from Turkmenistan. President Barack Obama gave her words of gratitude to the Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for his international initiatives on provision of peace, stability and security in Central Asia and expressed confidence that the project of the Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India ( TAPI) gas pipeline at over 1 700 km length and capacity of about 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be implemented. Judging by the results of the visit the State Department’s representative, the discussion of the TAPI issue was the main purpose of her negotiations in Ashkhabad. Washington tries to convince the Turkmen party that there won’t be problems with the safety of the pipeline, which will cross Afghanistan. "We are sure that this project can be and should be realized. We are confident that we can find a solution to the security problem," - Mrs. Bisval stated.
Basis of the Americans' confidence remains a mystery. A few months ago the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which finances the TAPI project, blocked its implementation because of the uncertainty connected with the withdrawal of the international security force from Afghanistan in 2014, where the situation is not improving, but even has clear signs of escalating into civil war. The report of the U.S. Intelligence Community "Assessment of global threats in 2013" recognizes that attempts to achieve the security are particularly fragile in districts, where the responsibility shifts to the Afghan National Security Forces, which will need for international help. The Taliban still can throw down a challenge to the United States.
