Andy at Siberian Light has posted a very interesting interview with La Russophobe today. Among numerous other comments, she has this to say about Europe’s dependence on Russian energy:
15. What changes in policy (if any) do you think the European Union should implement to deal with Russia’s increasing dominance over energy supplies? Obviously, the EU should diversify and wean itself from the Russian sources of energy as Russia tries to do in this century with oil and gas what it tried in the last century with ICBM’s and tanks. It should view Russia’s clumsy recent actions as a godsend, a wakeup call that a better regime that Putin’s might not have delivered. If the EU moves away from fossil fuels entirely, that would be a big boon to the environment as well. But the EU should also realize that the Kremlin’s power is based on selling fossil fuels to Europe, and this gives the EU considerable power. It should galvanize behind NATO and use that power, especially to tell the Kremlin that places like Ukraine and Georgia are off limits. Russia’s “sphere of influence” stops at Chechnya.