“… The immediate aim, to be sure, is to return Ukraine to Russia’s orbit. But …. Putin’s design is grand: to refashion the post-Cold War settlement, in the process guaranteeing … Russia’s personalized power system. … Today, Ukraine is the jewel to fight for. But it won’t end there: Belarus, whose embattled leader relies on Russia’s support, could be the […]
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Yet the severity of the response hinges largely on Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and a diplomatic heavyweight within the 27-nation EU […]
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Russia currently has about 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine in what the United States says could be preparations for an invasion […]
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(Paul Goble – Dec. 12, 2021) I am happy to report that my health situation has stabilized sufficiently to allow me to prepare Windows on Eurasia again. I have managed to keep up my daily surveys of URLs since mid-October but only more recently have been able to prepare my own posts on them. Because I was not certain how […]
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Skeptical capitals including Berlin persuaded of the need to draw up threat of robust sanctions […]
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“… Moscow has been calling for a new post-Cold War security deal with the West since 2008, when … Medvedev offer[ed] the EU a … deal during his first foreign trip. … [which was] was dismissed out of hand. Putin brought the issue up again during a … speech where he ordered Russian diplomats to get a new security deal […]
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“Russia indicates that the move was in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of more than 50 Russian diplomats.” “Russia ordered U.S. Embassy staff … in Moscow for more than three years to leave the country by Jan. 31 … [even as] diplomats [will soon] hold talks to address the worsening [U.S.-Russian] relationship …. Foreign ministry officials … indicated that the decision […]
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“For the first time in our history, we have combat-ready battle groups in the Baltic region … in Latvia and … Lithuania,” Stoltenberg said …. NATO also conducts air policing and has an increased naval presence … in the Baltic region […]
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Europe receives a third of its gas supplies from Russia and has seen energy prices surge to record highs in recent months. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 29, 2021) Russian gas giant Gazprom on Monday said its net income rose to a record 582 billion rubles ($7.8 billion) in the third quarter on the back of soaring gas prices […]
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To understand Germany’s future approach to Russia, look beyond it. Security and energy policy, more than foreign policy alone, will play an important role […]
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(Oilprice.com – Alex Kimani – Nov. 15, 2021) While plenty of traders have accused Russia of withholding natural gas from Europe, it is now looking like the natural gas giant simply cannot significantly increase exports Natural gas prices originally fell when Putin promised to open the taps, but prices are climbing again now that Russia is failing to book additional […]
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The Kremlin has vowed to safeguard its borders in the face of actions by countries it accused of trying to “contain” Russia and sought to walk back a Belarusian threat of a cutoff of Russian natural gas to Western markets […]
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Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot has denied helping migrants and refugees from the Middle East travel to Belarus as European leaders scramble to deal with a migrant crisis on the Polish border […]
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“… Lukashenko has threatened to cut off [Belarusian] gas transit to Europe … shutting down the Yamal-Europe pipeline if the EU imposes new sanctions …. The Yamal-Europe pipeline is part of the northern route that also includes … Nord Stream 1 and 2 … and transits gas from Russia’s Arctic Yamal fields via Belarus to Poland and on to Germany. […]
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“… On Tuesday, Russia[‘s] Gazprom … said it had started to refill its European gas storage. … push[ing] down spot prices in the region although analysts said Moscow would have to do more to ease concerns in Europe to lead to a more significant drop in prices. … Gas prices have risen this year because of factors including low gas […]
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Despite Putin’s pledge of increased natural-gas supplies, Moscow is showing little sign of ramping up deliveries to Europe […]
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(Oilprice.com – Tsvetana Paraskova – Nov. 7, 2021) Europe is experiencing the lowest level of gas in storage in a decade just ahead of the winter sent natural gas prices spiking to record highs last month The very tight European gas market may find relief from the supply crunch if it taps part of the so-called cushion gas. Increased Russian […]
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Danish authorities have detained a Russian research vessel north of the Jutland Peninsula in an apparent legal dispute … [reportedly] with a Canadian company […]
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“Benchmark European gas prices jumped 15% … after a major pipeline … from Russia began sending flows eastwards. … Europe relies on Russia for around 35% of its natural gas[,] [t]he bulk … through pipelines including Yamal … through Belarus and Poland to Germany, Nord Stream … to Germany, and pipelines … through Ukraine. … Last year [Russian] gas exports […]
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“… Nord Stream 2 may need a few more months to clear remaining red tape … to help ease Europe’s energy crunch. The Baltic Sea project … has raised concerns over the Kremlin’s control of [European] energy supplies … [It] is complete [but is] … awaiting certification from national and [EU] authorities. … Putin has pledged to step up gas […]
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“… Russia has bristled at … U.S. and other NATO ships … [T]ensions between Moscow and the West have sunk to post-Cold War lows after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, … [the] insurgency in eastern Ukraine and other irritants. … Russia suspended its [NATO] mission … and ordered the closure of [NATO’s] office in Moscow after NATO … […]
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“The Russian president told the state energy giant to pump more fuel to Germany and Austria to ease a supply crunch.” “… European gas prices are more than five times as high as they were a year ago even after Thursday’s slide, hurting consumers and holding back economies’ post-pandemic recoveries. The continent’s stores of gas [reportedly] are 15% below the […]
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A senior U.S. state department official has warned Europe against bowing to Russian pressure and waiving the lengthy process needed to approve Nord Stream 2, a controversial Baltic Sea natural gas pipeline to Germany […]
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Moscow’s huge oil and gas reserves have given it more influence over Western and Chinese economies grappling with rising prices […]
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Russia has been criticized for exacerbating the gas crisis by withholding some supply – whether to put pressure on the EU to allow Nord Stream 2’s launch, or simply to drive up prices […]
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“Europe is currently in the grip of an unfolding energy crisis that is sparking questions over the role of … Putin’s Russia in exploiting rising demand, low supply, and geopolitical unpredictability. … Natural gas prices have soared by 600% …. [M]arket volatility is hitting key economic areas across Europe, from fertilizer plants to the food industry and health sector. The […]
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[T]he Biden administration’s decision to waive sanctions against NS2 notwithstanding, there are enough reasons to conclude that the NS2 pipeline will not become operational until the end of 2021 […]
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Subject: RUSSIA, Gas, WTO and other calamities Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2021 From: Andrei Liakhov <gaffriloff@yahoo.co.uk> RUSSIA, Gas, WTO and other calamities By Andrei Liakhov This is the view of the prequel to the brewing problems in the European gas markets of someone who was a part of most of the events set out below or read the underlying documents […]
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“The big bounce in Russian gas production in 2021 has proven to be insufficient to meet the simultaneous spikes in demand at home and abroad. Russian gas output has risen robustly and has been close to its maximum productive capacities but the necessity to fill the depleted domestic gas storage facilities in Q3 2021 limited the availability of Russian gas […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Aleksandra Srdanovic – Sept. 21, 2021) Aleksandra Srdanovic is a graduate student at Harvard University and a student associate with Russia Matters. The Levada Center recently polled Russians on their attitudes toward Russia’s general standing in the international community, as well as their attitudes toward strategic competitors and countries within the post-Soviet neighborhood. Polling shows […]
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The September 17-19 Duma elections in the Russian Federation took place under conditions not conducive to free and fair proceedings […]
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The Kremlin says spiraling gas prices demonstrate the importance of Nord Stream 2, long-term contracts with Russia’s Gazprom […]
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The EU and United States have opposed controversial Nord Stream 2, concerned about Russia using gas as a political tool […]
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Europe resents Russian gas for the influence it gives a country that the EU considers unfriendly, …, but … is increasingly thirsty for gas because … [last year’s] winter… drained its reserves. … [and] summer … LNG cargoes [got] diverted from Europe to Asia […]
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It is now time for Russia to hold exercises in its western regions again, and we hear warnings that Moscow will use it as cover for the start of aggression against another country […]
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Natural gas prices are way up; reserves are way down; winter is around the corner; and energy traders, policy watchers, and regional experts are getting nervous […]
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“Afghanistan withdrawal heightens Zelensky’s fears of dwindling support from Washington” “… Ukraine has fought an eight-year war against Russia and Russian-backed militants …. Yet even before the chaotic pullout from Kabul, alarm was spreading … over fears … [that] Biden wanted to focus more on other foreign policy issues, especially … China. The first warning sign … came … when […]
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“Europe’s border tax and China’s carbon-neutral ambitions might just force a fossil fuel giant to face climate facts.” “… Sooner than expected, Putin’s hydrocarbon-dependent regime has found itself watching key markets slip away as China targets net-zero emissions and Europe introduces measures including a levy on heavy industry imports that fail to meet its climate protection standards. Having lauded the […]
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The United States has opposed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea that will bring Russian gas directly to Germany, bypassing land routes through Ukraine […]
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(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, May 31, 2021) Once Alyaksandr Lukashenka is ousted from power, Belarus would find it far easier to become a normal European country than Ukraine seeking the same thing has, Vladislav Inozemtsev says, something that restrains Moscow from seeking his ouster precisely because it would give the West such an enormous opportunity. The […]
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Putin’s aggressively anti-Western posture is helping the West to recover its lost self-discipline and unity […]
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… And so, more than two decades after NATO’s original 16-member Cold War composition was first enlarged to take in three former Warsaw Pact states, and with Putin poised to potentially stay in office into the 2030s, the past is very much present […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 19, 2021) Russia is one step closer to bringing home its second ever Eurovision song contest trophy after Tajik-born singer-songwriter Manizha Sangin qualified for the finals late Tuesday. Manizha’s feminist anthem “Russian Woman” was among the 10 semi-final qualifiers, which also included Ukrainian folk-dance act Go_A, who have secured their place in this weekend’s […]
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“… As Russia’s chief decision maker, Putin’s personal moods obviously matter. However, more important is the logic of the Russian system of power, with its demand for … great power status. According to this logic, Russia cannot be ignored and must be a member of the global concert of powers. It believes macho bullying is the entry ticket …. Despite […]
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“This report deconstructs 16 of the most prevalent myths and misconceptions … shap[ing] … Western thinking on Russia. … explain[ing] their detrimental impact on … policy …. Western positions need critical re-examination to ensure more rational and effective responses to Russian actions. … [C]ontrary to wishful thinking … there is little prospect of Russia becoming a more constructive and cooperative […]
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Kyiv says it does not expect that next month’s NATO summit will produce a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine because some members … worry that such a move would provoke Russia […]
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(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, May 2, 2021) No one disputes that there are enough reasons on the ground for conflicts among the countries of Central Asia over borders and enclaves, but according to Moscow military analyst Vladimir Prokhvatilov, the number and intensity of such conflicts has increased because of Western civil society programs (fondsk.ru/news/2021/05/01/mjagkaja-sila-i-prigranichnye-konflikty-v-centralnoj-azii-53486.html). According to […]
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“The battle over natural gas: Worsening relations between Europe and Russia are reflected in tensions over energy, in which US demands, Russian and German interests, the EU’s neoliberal doctrine and the climate emergency all play a part.” “… The Russia-Ukraine conflict … the Nord Stream 2 pipeline … and tensions … over offshore reserves near Cyprus, have put natural gas […]
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