CS Monitor: Is Moscow bluffing on redirecting European gas supplies?
Some pro-Moscow commentators argue that Mr. Putin's moves have been fast-footed and brilliant, confounding his European detractors and strengthening Russia's bargaining position with the EU.
But Mikhail Krutikhin, a partner with RusEnergy, a leading Moscow-based energy consultancy, says Kremlin policies are incoherent reactions to Europe's unexpected internal solidarity over maintaining sanctions against Russia for its Ukraine policies.
"This Turkey project is not a project at all, it's really just an idea. It's not even clear whether Turkey supports it, since there's been nothing signed except one vague memorandum of understanding," he says.
"It really looks like the Kremlin is just trying to blackmail Europe, but it's risking the loss of its biggest market in doing so. We're talking about 60 billion cubic meters of gas annually, which Russia has no alternative markets for, at a time when Europe is well on the way to developing its own energy independence. It smacks of desperation, not brilliance, to me."