Caspian Sea

The United States is the world’s biggest consumer and importer of oil. But the Chinese economic juggernaut is fast catching up with the US as an oil importer and is projected to have more cars than the US by the year 2020. The competition between the two countries for new sources of oil is going to be intense. With crude oil prices closing in on an all-time high of $ 100 a barrel this week and expected to breach that barrier within the next few days, the US’s interest in getting a hammerlock on Central Asia’s vast oil and gas reserves is likely to become greater than ever before.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear to Washington on Tuesday that Moscow would not accept military action against Iran and he persuaded other Caspian Sea states to rule out any such strikes from the region.