'natural resources' - tagged features

On Thursday, leaders and representatives from more than 20 countries descended on Ceyhan, Turkey's main Mediterranean oil terminal. They are there for the official opening of the world's second longest oil pipeline. The 3 billion euro Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline runs from Azerbaijan via Georgia to Turkey And will deliver more than million tonnes of oil a week to the world's markets. The oil comes from the Eurasian states of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The region used to be part of the former Soviet Union. And that is why this pipeline is seen as having not only economic importance but political as well. For the United States, one of the pipeline's main political backers, it is seen as a crucial step not only to unlocking urgently needed resources, but also to giving the energy rich region greater independence from its former Russian master. 

The German-Russian deal struck last autumn to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea continues to raise concerns in the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine. The leaders of these countries said they felt uneasy about what they thought was a deal made behind their back on an issue as vital as energy. Radio Polonia reports from Estonia.