Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn't think the European community can do without the natural gas it gets from energy monopoly Gazprom. With a Russian economy starting to decline, however, it may be Gazprom that's too strongly interconnected to the European market to break free.
As protests in Ukraine's eastern region turned violent on Sunday leading to the death of a Ukrainian security officer in a shootout with pro-Russian militia, Kiev threatens military action while Moscow flexes its geo-economic warfare muscles.
By Robert Bensh of Oilprice.com - There is only one certainty in Ukraine: The energy sector must and will be transformed, and how long this takes will depend on who ends up in the driver's seat and how serious they are about becoming a part of Europe and reducing dependence on Russia. But by then, investors will have missed the boat.
UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond has been talking about why the UK and US must remain partners of choice in defense. This week Mr Hammond gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC about the special relationship that exists between the UK and the US, describing the UK as the most capable and interoperable ally.
By James Stafford, Oilprice.com - Having ridden roughshod over Ukraine, Russia's annexation of the Crimea is now over and a new chapter in Ukrainian politics is about to begin—but it won't be much different than the last chapter, with the same old faces surfacing for May presidential elections.
US President Barack Obama has told the European Union it cannot rely on the United States alone to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, as relations with Moscow chill over its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin called President Cristina Fernández and praised Argentina’s position against the “double standard” of world powers in the resolution of international conflicts. The Argentine leader appealed to the examples of Crimea and the Falkland Islands' referendum in her statements last week in France.
With a display of fireworks in Moscow and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin has signed a law formalizing Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the US. The European Union's latest measures target twelve people involved in Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
According to Reuters, Crimea may nationalize oil and gas assets within its borders belonging to Ukraine, and sell them off to Russia. Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister hinted at the possibility that it would take control of Chornomorneftegaz, a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise, and then “privatize” it by selling it to Gazprom.
On February 27, 1954 Pravda published a short announcement on its front page that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR had decreed on February 19 the transfer of the Crimean oblast' from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.