US cannot compete with Russia in the South Caucasus

Dimitri Gorenburg, Executive Director of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies at Harvard University, thinks it is naive to think that the US can compete with Russia in exercising influence over the South Caucasus. The region is far from the USA and very close to Russia. Of course the US will have always influence in the region but if this is a threat to Russia's interests Moscow can concentrate huge resources on protecting them. The analyst thinks this became visible during the August 2008 war in particular.

Gorenburg thinks that Russia and the USA could cooperate in the region, naming the South Stream project as a possible area for such harmonious cooperation, under which Russia would have a share of the project but not be the leading player.