ABSTRACT
Trade in energy and the resultant East-West projects have become quantitatively the most important factor in East-West economic relations. The sheer scale of energy trade means that it enhances the political salience of East-West economic relations. In order to assess the arguments of both sides, it is necessary first to describe the magnitude of East-West energy relations. Energy is the product in economic relations between East and West to which both camps ascribe the greatest importance. Soviet energy exports, however, thanks primarily to price developments, have become the main product of East-West trade. In the Soviet Union, energy exports, far more than energy productions are in a state of upheaval. In production, natural gas must assume the largest share of growth; in exports, natural gas must substitute for oil completely. The Soviet Union was obviously of the opinion that there were great possibilities for the expansion of economic cooperation in the field of energy.
