Another article which casts doubt on claims that Trump is Putin's "puppet"
Trump could have geopolitical interest in South Caucasus
http://en.trend.az/business/energy/2684694.html
"Donald Trump could have a strategic, economic and geopolitical interest in the South Caucasus region, Cyril Widdershoven, Middle East geopolitical specialist and energy analyst, partner at Dutch risk consultancy VEROCY and SVP MEA-Risk, told Trend Nov.14.
“Based on the statements made by Trump, putting American interests first, this would mean that he will have a strategic, economic and geopolitical interest in the region,” he said.
Noting that the South Caucasus region is of the utmost importance for the US, the expert pointed out that major oil and gas companies are working in Azerbaijan.
Regarding the US support for such energy projects as the Southern Gas Corridor, Widdershoven said that European energy supply is also of importance to the US, as they have been pushing for oil and gas exports.
The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.
“US-EU cooperation is and will be strong, so European views will be taken into account,” he said, adding that a possible strategic support of the Eastern European countries, Baltic and Balkan, would mean that Russia's plans could still be under threat.
“The love between Putin and Trump could be soon over. Support from Russia is not always taken positively inside of the US,” said the expert, adding that Russia's stranglehold on EU is not an easy thing to swallow for an American president, also not for Trump."
