Europe and Russia have become locked in an “energy cold war,” experts
say, walking a razor’s edge between mutual economic dependence and
“mutually assured economic destruction.”
“If someone makes a wrong move on this economy or energy war game, everyone can lose,” says Paul Sullivan, a professor of economics at National Defense University and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
“Europe depends on the Russians. The Russians depend on Europe. The question is who’s going to blink?”
The situation grew ever more precarious Thursday when Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to completely shut down the country’s gas pipelines to Ukraine — and, by extension, parts of Western Europe — if Ukraine didn’t pay off the $2.2 billion it owes the Russian-owned gas giant Gazprom.
Yet as much as a gas freeze would cripple the Ukrainian economy and hurt Western Europe, it would also affect Russia — and the consequences for both sides, if allowed to fester, could ultimately prove disastrous.
Read more: Europe, Russia Ensnared in 'Energy Cold War,' Experts Say - US News
“If someone makes a wrong move on this economy or energy war game, everyone can lose,” says Paul Sullivan, a professor of economics at National Defense University and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.
“Europe depends on the Russians. The Russians depend on Europe. The question is who’s going to blink?”
The situation grew ever more precarious Thursday when Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to completely shut down the country’s gas pipelines to Ukraine — and, by extension, parts of Western Europe — if Ukraine didn’t pay off the $2.2 billion it owes the Russian-owned gas giant Gazprom.
Yet as much as a gas freeze would cripple the Ukrainian economy and hurt Western Europe, it would also affect Russia — and the consequences for both sides, if allowed to fester, could ultimately prove disastrous.
Read more: Europe, Russia Ensnared in 'Energy Cold War,' Experts Say - US News
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