Ariel Cohen at Eurasianet reports that Washington policymakers are scrambling to develop tactics that can counter Russia’s aggressive action aimed at cementing Kremlin control over Caspian Basin energy and export routes. Here a interesting remark on US concerns:

"Four major Eurasian energy developments during March have set off alarm bells inside the Beltway. First, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, the leader of that country’s former Communist Party, revealed March 12 that his country would throw its support behind a plan to pump Russian gas via Turkey to Europe, instead of joining fellow European Union states in backing the much-delayed Nabucco gas pipeline project. [...] The second development concerns an agreement by Russia, Bulgaria and Greece to construct an oil pipeline, dubbed Burgas-Alexandroupolis, which would bypass the Turkish-controlled Bosporus Straits, an oil transport chokepoint. [...] Finally, British Petroleum has hinted that its Russian partner TNK may sell its share in the TNK-BP joint venture, formed in 2003, to a Russian state-owned company. At the same time Russia is developing plans on building the second Bosporus bypass from a port on the Black Sea, such as Samsun to the Mediterranean."

Cohen predicts that US' action has no much support:

"However, Brussels is split over what to do about Russia’s ominous behavior. Germany is already deferential to Russia’s energy interests, and Berlin appears to want to do nothing that would disturb the status quo, despite the fact that the EU’s long-term energy interests demand that it diversify its sources of energy."