U.S. News: With World Watching Ukraine, Russia Makes Energy Moves in Africa
Call it a “shale” game. As the world watches Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s armed takeover of the Crimean peninsula – and, by extension, waits to see whether the Kremlin will follow through on threats to cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine and Western Europe – Moscow also appears to be rekindling a lucrative Cold War-era relationship that may one day pose just as large a threat to the region's energy economy.
Already, Russia provides about 30 percent of Western and Central Europe’s natural gas, much of which is piped through Ukraine. But since invading, the Kremlin has raised prices on its neighbor and threatened to completely shut off gas supplies if Ukraine doesn't fork over roughly $2.2 billion that Russia says it owes the state-owned company Gazprom.
The moves have prompted international indignation: warnings and economic sanctions against Russian leaders by the U.S. and European Union, a vote last month by the Group of 8 industrialized democracies to expel Russia from the trade group, and – as President Barack Obama warned this week during a visit to Japan – perhaps more sanctions to come.