Kremlin’s gas(o)line
GAZPROM AND Putin are two catchwords these days that come to define the current history being written in Europe and Russia. The closely-guarded moves on the part of Kremlin, resulting in the economic coercion of Ukraine, could rightly be termed as neo-colonialism. For an alleged unpaid bill of a mere $2 billion by Ukraine, which are peanuts in international transactions, Russia is bent on penalising not only millions of Ukrainians but also several other European and lower lying Asian states that get gas supplies across Kiev. Ukraine for long has acted as a transit route for Russian gas to the western regions and had been pivotal in keeping the socialist zone connected through big money with the capitalist West.
The point to be debated is that the outstanding debt, if it is so, is not the result of Kiev’s mismanagement but owing to a figure-fudging exercise by Russia and that too after the fall of president Viktor Yanukovych’s regime. Kremlin, in its efforts to keep the regime afloat, had granted Ukraine many concessions, including discounted gas, which were annulled with the fall of the government. This squarely reflects that Russian President Vladimir Putin is bent on avenging the Western support for the Ukrainian rebels who revolted againt the Yanukovych’s regime. By using the economic sanctions card, Russia and the West are putting on the back burner the issue of Crimean annexation and its future as far as the mainland Ukraine is concerned. Similarly, the new tug of war has conveniently sidelined other international flashpoints from the eyesight of diplomacy, including the Syrias war which has displaced more than five million people and killed hundreds of thousands.
Russia’s rationing of oil and gas and hike of prices are likely to have an adverse impact at the global level. By exploiting the resources-transit option, Putin has dealt a death blow to his vision of Eurasia. He has sent down a negative message in other pro-Russia states that if and when they have a political confrontation with Moscow, their lifeline of essential supplies will be at risk. It’s high time for Putin reconsiderd his strangulation strategy and deal with the Ukrainians as a sovereign entity. The present policy is like dealing with a satellite state.
Russia’s gas diplomacy is likely to have an adverse impact globally
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