In a further escalation in the war of nerves about sanctions by Europe, the BBC say, Russia stands by Georgia actions, whereas in actual fact, the whole point of the article is as quoted by Medvedev, the Russian premier;

On the eve of a special EU summit on Georgia, he warned that Russia was ready to retaliate against any sanctions the EU might impose.(my emphasis)

As in earlier posts, like the first in this mini-epic, the Russian are at least consistent when they state that sanctions will hurt the EU more than Russia.  But that’s not the whole story…

The BBC piece mentions that >25% of EU gas is Russian sourced.  However, Russia, as I’ve already remarked, sources >40% of European Gas.  So all the “independent” former Eastern Bloc states lying between the EU and Russia will have to decide which side of the fence they are going to sit on if they want gas, or if they sit on the wrong side, how much they are prepared to pay for Russian gas.

It’s a seller’s market for energy now, unless no-one had noticed!

As an aside, this current crisis is putting the dash for gas of the 90′s into a different historical perspective, especially that most coal mines are now gone and would cost a fortune to reopen and retrain staff.  But it may come to that – governments can quickly change laws and any talk of reducing CO₂ levels when set against a fuel impoverished population will be like hot air.

Of course, the glaciers will keep melting and the sea level will keep rising and the weather will become more extreme…..

Related external link: http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/new-russian-gas-pipeline-deal-cuts-eu-unity/article-164920

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