An EU front against Putin

Now that further European countries are being affected by the gas dispute the EU must present a united front vis-à-vis Russia, the conservative weekly Elsevier writes: "Russia is in point of fact just as dependent on Europe as Europe is on Russia. The country urgently needs the revenues from gas sales, for energy revenues account for over 60 percent of the Russian economy. ... Without these gas revenues the Russian authorities won't be able to sustain the economy, and this will undermine their power base. ... It's time for the European Union to formulate a common gas policy, set up an emergency reserve and seek alternatives to Russian gas. Such alternatives do exist. Taken together Canada and Norway export more gas than Russia. Europe must form a united front against Russia. Then Putin will soon comprehend that he needs to radically review his geopolitical position of power."

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