The article presents the expert opinion of a leading expert on the situation on the world energy markets in the absence of new anti-Russian sanctions. The expert assessed the development of the oil and gas market in the context of the global restructuring of supplies. The situation with the introduction of an embargo on Russian oil and the installation of a price ceiling is described. The analysis of the domestic fuel market and the reasons for the rapid price growth are given. The article provides a forecast of the development of relations in the energy sector of Russia and Central Asian countries and the overall dynamics of the global energy market.

In the current geo-economic situation, the strengthening of trade cooperation with countries pursuing a constructive, friendly policy, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is on the agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries. Political partnership needs to be backed up by potential economic benefits. Cooperation with the KSA, as a regional leader, will contribute to strengthening the trade position of the EAEU in the entire Gulf region. The authors answer the question: which promising foreign economic cooperation areas between the EAEU countries and the KSA will lead to mutually beneficial partnership in the near future? The article presents a study of the economic cooperation’s development factors between the KSA and the EAEU and its current state. The authors analyze the dynamics and structure of foreign trade between EAEU and KSA, as well as promising areas of investment and logistics, and their development in the current geopolitical situation. The current state of bilateral trade is poorly developed, the countries are not key trading partners. The economies of countries do not depend on mutual trade in goods for none of the commodity items. Services are not subject to mutual trade. Recommendations aimed at realization of the underutilized mutual export potential and resource exports’ diversification are proposed. Among the key areas of trade promotion, such commodity items as: products of the agro-industrial complex, equipment for voice/image transmission, components for railway transport and drilling machines. Financial services supply is also promising area, especially in the sphere of Islamic banking and cooperation through the Islamic Development Bank. It is advisable to expand the agenda of preferential trade negotiations to the EAEU – GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) format.

The author analyzes the dynamics and features of the world energy markets development in the context of anti-Russian sanctions. Sanctions against Russia had a significant impact on the global energy market, especially oil and gas. They reduced the supply of these resources from Russia, but increased their supplies to Western markets from other countries. European countries began to increase LNG imports from the United States and other sources. They also began developing alternative types of energy, such as nuclear energy and renewable sources. However, these measures required a lot of investment and time, and also had a number of drawbacks.
The sanctions war against Russia led to a sharp reduction in demand for Russian oil, as well as to a collapse in its prices on the world market at the initial stage. In addition, Russia lost its traditional markets in Europe and was forced to look for new consumers, primarily in Asia.
The author describes the features and history of OPEC development and assesses the relationship between the organization and Russia. The article describes the potential for the development of energy cooperation with OPEC countries. In conclusion, the author focuses on the problems of geopolitical confrontation and the impact on global energy markets.

The article examines the current situation in the domestic political and economic spheres of Turkmenistan. The state of Turkmen-Chinese cooperation in the gas sector, as well as the role and place of Turkmenistan in the Central Asian energy system, is assessed. The transformations of the continental energy transportation system that have begun, the start of the creation of an informal gas union for the transportation of Russian gas to Asia create a radically new situation and opportunities for the Turkmen leadership both to deepen the existing economic ties and to realize new opportunities for export diversification. In the context of growing global geopolitical and geo-economic tensions, Ashgabat faces the need to make important foreign economic decisions in the very near future.

The article examines the current situation on the Moldovan gas market, analyzes the actions of Chisinau in an attempt to «finally» free itself from Russian gas dependence by purchasing gas from alternative sources in European markets, as well as the role of Energocom in this process. It is stated that European gas supplies are unreliable for Moldova due to the growing shortage of «blue fuel» in the EU. As a result, here, already in the practical plane, the issue of expanding coal mining and resuming the construction of nuclear power plants is being considered. Moldova does not have any significant coal deposits, not to mention the funds needed for the construction of nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, Moldova has slipped to the last place in Europe in terms of gas supply to the population.
Prospects of transit of Russian gas for Pridnestrovie through the territory of Ukraine are also considered, possible routes of Russian gas supplies in case of termination of Ukrainian transit are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the history of the implementation of the Third Energy Package in Moldova, the reasons for the accelerated implementation of this procedure this year and the likelihood of Chisinau seizing Moldovagaz under the pretext of implementing the Third Energy Package, as well as the prospects for the return of the «historical» debt to Gazprom.

The article is devoted to the current risks of disintegration of the Central Asian countries against the background of water use problems in the context of climate change. The purpose of the article is to show the impact of climate change on the economic development and food security of countries, with an emphasis on the role of the water factor in the growth of conflict in the region and against this background to show whether there are risks of disintegration of the Central Asian space. The introduction provides a brief overview of the literature on regional issues of Central Asian development, the study of water problems and border conflicts. The structure of the article is built in accordance with the tasks set, namely, the role of climate change in the economic and political development of Central Asian countries is revealed. A retrospective of the emergence and solution of water shortage problems in the region is shown, the current state of the issue is presented. In conclusion, it is shown that the identified factors of interaction on water issues in modern geopolitical conditions are more likely to encourage countries to unite than to disintegrate.

One of the priorities for the development of Russia’s foreign policy at present is the establishment of a long-term and high-quality perspective on project activities and dialogue. In the course of this research, the author sets himself the task of determining the very basis (industry) on the basis of which it is possible to build the most sustainable format of interaction - cooperation, as well as to give the definition of the format itself better, measurable characteristics. The author comes to the conclusion that joint work on the popularization and further development of projects in the field of nuclear energy can become a reference point for Russia, since the country has extensive experience and competencies in this area: there are currently 11 nuclear power plants operating in the country, a portfolio foreign projects total 35 power units. In the total share of energy generation, nuclear power plants in Russia account for 20 %, while in the European part it is about 40 %. Additionally, it is concluded that the joint implementation of such large-scale technological projects is more resistant to changes in the geopolitical situation, since it serves as a guarantor of energy security, and in addition contributes to the achievement of a number of sustainable development goals: economic growth, assistance in providing the population with quality education, with climate change, etc.

The place and role of Armenia in the development of the Eurasian transport infrastructure are determined. The problems of formation of the Common Transport Space (UTP) of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are considered. It is established that in the modern world, the convergence of sea, land and air communications is an important condition for the development of international trade and integration. The weakest aspects of the integration process are identified, the infrastructural gap between Armenia and the rest of the EAEU countries is highlighted. The main indicators of freight traffic of the EAEU member countries are analyzed in the context of economic and, in particular, investment relations of the Union. The level of influence of the transport blockade of Armenia on the possibility of its integration into the UTP is determined. It is shown that the absence of Armenia among the founders of the Eurasian Railway Alliance indicates the absence of a synchronized transport policy among the EAEU member countries. It is established that the basic challenge of the transport development of Armenia is the integration into the international transport and logistics corridor North – South with the formation of the multimodal route Persian Gulf – Black Sea. In this regard, the main risks and threats to the transport security of Armenia are identified in the context of the competition between two international transport megaprojects – North – South and TRACECA (East – West). The prospects for the transport development and integration of Armenia are studied through the prism of the geopolitical interests of Russia, the West, China and other actors in the South Caucasus