Putin and his Energy Weapon

According to Reinhard Meier, Russia's blackmail tactics regarding Ukraine are not punishment for the latter's Orange Revolution but rather part of a long-term strategy. "Moscow is obviously trying to gain either complete or partial control of the gas pipelines through which most of Europe's energy supplies flow. In the case of Belarus, the Kremlin was recently able to achieve its goal. Belarus' dictator Lukashenko was also initially reluctant to give Gazprom a share in the pipeline running through his country. Then the Russian supplier temporarily shut of gas supplies and Lukaschenko agreed to sell the Beltrangas pipeline to Gazprom. He who controls not only the coveted gas and oil resources, but also the pipelines, wields great economic– and potentially political – influence over importing countries."

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